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Does anyone know what the acronym IDEA stand for? I would assume Integrated Development Environment, then maybe Application? Also does Intellij stand for anything?

Chris Watts
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    Uhm, what a strange question... Also, it is now JetBrains, not Intellij anymore. Maybe Advanced? But anyway, I think it is an intended pun. Ultimately, I have no... Idea... – fge Feb 25 '14 at 21:04
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    They still call the product IntelliJ IDEA, even if the company is named JetBrains now. – user2357112 Feb 25 '14 at 21:05
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    IBM Developed Eclipse Again ;) – Reimeus Feb 25 '14 at 21:06
  • I assume its a cross between `idea` for creativity and `IDE` https://www.jetbrains.com/company/history.jsp – Peter Lawrey Feb 25 '14 at 21:06
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    It's so that if anyone says "why are you using Eclipse?", you can say "I have NO IDEA". – Dawood ibn Kareem Feb 25 '14 at 21:11
  • @Reimeus. IntelliJ is actually based on an old NetBeans version. –  Feb 25 '14 at 21:13
  • One Quora user thinks it stands for "Awesome". http://www.quora.com/IntelliJ-IDEA/What-does-the-A-in-Intellij-IDEA-stand-for – Radiodef Feb 25 '14 at 23:25
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    There doesn't seem to be an official answer and this question doesn't suit stackoverflow, so instead of "answering" I'll leave this link in comments for your procrastination hunger delight ;) http://devnet.jetbrains.com/message/3442730?tstart=0 – JorgeArtware Jun 19 '14 at 23:28

4 Answers4

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Intelli ===> Intelligent

J ===> Java

Idea ===>IDE that is Advanced or Idea just means idea( I have a good idea ...like this ) ...

//The Idea has Double meaning

TheOne_su
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Maxim Shafirov (the CEO of JetBrains), made the following comment prior to 2005, in a now deleted official JetBrains news article, published online:

I have always thought that it's a play on words that (1) it's an IDE, and (2) "idea" is a nice sounding word which contains "IDE".

Reference:

https://intellij-support.jetbrains.com/hc/en-us/community/posts/206938805-IDEA-acronym-?page=1#community_comment_207115259

So, based on the only thing I've seen that looks like actual evidence, I think a good answer may be "it probably isn't intended to mean anything"

Chris Halcrow
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    https://blog.jetbrains.com/space/2020/12/16/space-ama-session/ gives more explanation about the names JetBrains, IntelliJ IDEA, and so on. – Pang Dec 18 '20 at 01:24
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It stands for application, but is mostly a play on words giving the IDE's name a creative appeal by just turning the widely-used 'IDE' (Integrated Development Environment) into IDEA (like "I have a brilliant idea!").

Dentych
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Michael Socha
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I think it refers to APache2 license that intellij ide released under that license so will be : Integrated Development Environment Apache

saeid
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