apropos(1)
NAME
apropos − locate commands by keyword lookup
SYNTAX
apropos word...
DESCRIPTION
The apropos command shows which manual sections contain instances of any of the given words in their title. Each word is considered separately, and the case of word is ignored. Words which are part of other words are considered, thus looking for “compile” will display all instances of “compiler” also. Try
apropos password
apropos editor
If the line starts “name(section)...” you can do “man section name” to get the documentation for it. Try “apropos format” and then “man 3s printf” to get the manual on the subroutine printf.
The apropos command is actually just the −k option to the man command.
FILES
/usr/lib/whatisdata base