Dictionary.net

A Unix application programconfiguration file. On Unix, files named with a leading dotare not normally shown in directory listings. Many programsdefine one or more dot files in which startup or configurationinformation may be optionally recorded; a user can customisethe program's behaviour by creating the appropriate file inthe current or home directory.Dot files tend to proliferate - with every nontrivialapplication program defining at least one, a user's homedirectory can be filled with scores of dot files, without theuser really being aware of it. Common examples are .profile,.cshrc, .login, .emacs, .mailrc, .forward, .newsrc, .plan,.rhosts, .sig, .xsession.See also profile, rc file.