Acronym for "GNU Compiler Collection", a collection of compilers for C, C++, Fortran etc. The compilers aim to be first and foremost standards-compliant and correct. This differs from other compilers many of which are developed by commercial companies and specialised to show off their hardware or software. Java support (GCJ) is a new and not yet robust.
The Compiler that the Linux kernel is normally built with and the one that ships as standard on most GNU/Linux systems.
See also: 
http://gcc.gnu.org/ (not http://www.gcc.org)
28 pages link to GCC:
