NAME

wc − word count

SYNOPSIS

wc [ −lwc ] [ name ... ]

DESCRIPTION

Wc counts lines, words and characters in the named files, or in the standard input if no name appears.  A word is a maximal string of characters delimited by spaces, tabs or newlines. 

If the optional argument is present, just the specified counts (lines, words or characters) are selected by the letters l, w, or c. 

7th Edition