What is Gnome?
Gnome is short for GNU Network Object Model Environment.
The Gnome project has built a complete, user-friendly visual desktop made up of large applications and smaller utilities. The visual desktop is referred to as the Gnome Desktop Environment. Applications that were written as part of the Gnome project generally start with a G for example, the Gimp and Gnotepad+. Gnome and GNU applications are pronounced with a hard G--for example, guh-notepad.
Gnome applications and the Gnome Desktop Environment share a common look and feel. The Gnome Desktop Environment and related applications are free software, available under the GPL.