:fork bomb: [UNIX] n. A particular species of {wabbit} that can
be written in one line of C (`main() {for(;;)fork();}') or shell
(`$0 & $0 &') on any UNIX system, or occasionally created by an
egregious coding bug. A fork bomb process `explodes' by
recursively spawning copies of itself (using the UNIX system call
`fork(2)'). Eventually it eats all the process table entries
and effectively wedges the system. Fortunately, fork bombs are
relatively easy to spot and kill, so creating one deliberately
seldom accomplishes more than to bring the just wrath of the gods
down upon the perpetrator. See also {logic bomb}.
-- The AI Hackers Dictionary
eplicator: n. Any construct that acts to produce copies of
itself his could be a living organism, an idea (see {meme}), a
program (see {quine}, {worm}, {wabbit}, {fork bomb},
and {virus}), a pattern in a cellular automaton (see {life},
sense 1), or (speculatively) a robot or {nanobot}....