Pwn

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards.
Please discuss this issue on the talk page or replace this tag with a more specific message. This article has been tagged since December 2006.

The slang term pwn (see pronunciation note below), a term used primarily in the Internet gaming culture, means to soundly defeat an opponent. It is sometimes used for taunting of an in-game enemy, and rubbing in victories. The etymology of the term pwn is believed to be rooted in a typographical error arising from the close proximity of the 'p' key to the 'o' key on a standard english keyboard. Initially — that is, before the term's adoption into the 1337 lexicon — "pwn" was generally perceived as an honest error and pronounced "own." Eventually, as the word took on a life of its own and began to convey a meaning stronger and more specialized than that of "own", its pronunciation began to vary as detailed below. The term has become ubiquitous in Internet circles and is often used outside of gaming contexts. Another possibility as to the root of the word is the combination of the words "power" and "own", creating a compound word. Following the same ideology, another possibility comes in the combination of the words "patent" and "own". Both of these signify a degree of "ownage" beyond the usual, a type of extra "owning" that can only be related through the use of "pwn". Its progressive form is "pwning." Its noun form is "pwnage." Its most common use is in the past tense, "pwned" (sometimes spelled "pwnt"). An example: "Did you see Dave Farrant get pwned?" Appending "zorz" creates a humorous variation of the word, e.g. pwnzorz. A less common use of the word uses intentionally incorrect grammar, a convention less popularly used in leet-speak, and makes the infinitive ("pwn") into a noun, e.g. "I am the King of Pwn."

To be "owned" in the gaming world is to be miserably defeated by an opponent or an opposing team, often without any harm done to the owning party. However, the term "pwned" is usually used when the loser is humiliated in a fair competition. ^{[citation needed]}

1 Etymology
2 See also
3 External links
4 References

[edit] Etymology

The likely beginning of the internet meme is from the hacker scene on EFnet IRC circa 1994 ^{[citation needed]}. The use of the word "own" in terms of victory over another predates its use in the gaming subculture ^{[citation needed]}. This accounts for the pre-existing proliferation of the word ^{[citation needed]}.

The specific term "pwn" is most likely derived from a common misspelling of the word "own," with no significant event proliferating its use ^[1]^[2]. It is assumed that it simply began to spread as a result of fast typing, due to the proximity of the P and O keys on QWERTY & AZERTY keyboard layouts, and the tendency of gamers and internet users to create and expand internet memes.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

[edit] References

^{^} Spohn, Dave. pwn - own. Internet Gaming Glossary. Retrieved on 2006-01-01.
^{^} A parent’s primer to computer slang. Microsoft Security At Home: Child Safety. Retrieved on 2006-01-01.
^{^} urban dictionary definition of PWN. urbandictionary.com. Retrieved on 2006-04-13.
Pure Pwnage. Canadian comedy about computer gaming culture. Retrieved on 2006-01-04.
Counter-Strike Game Match #4583943 Text Reference