| Revision as of 19:49, 11 January 2006 editDude, Where's Your Boat? (talk | contribs)0 editsNo edit summary← Previous edit | Revision as of 21:18, 11 January 2006 edit undoMkns (talk | contribs)251 edits revert: vandalismNext edit → | ||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
| {{lowercase|title=w00t}} | |||
| jumbo wheeels | |||
| :''"Woot" redirects here. For other uses, see ].'' | |||
| ]]] | |||
| The term "'''w00t'''" is a ] ] used to express happiness or excitement, usually over the ]. The expression is most popular on ] posts , multiplayer computer games (especially ]s), ] chats, and ], though use on the ] in the form of ] or in ] is by no means uncommon. | |||
| == Origins == | |||
| "w00t!" originated via ] and ]. In ], two songs with similar titles both rose to the top 10 of ]'s hot tracks for the year. "Whoomp, there it is," and "Whoot, there it is" by rap groups ] and ], respectively, were both describing their pleasure at sighting the posterior of a voluptuous woman. These songs borrowed the topic of the previous summer's #3 smash hit "Baby Got Back" by ]. Similar phrases quickly showed up on the Internet in discussion of the songs and in similar discussion in the newsgroups alt.rap and rec.music. | |||
| A range of post-hoc explanations or ] of the origin of w00t exist, which have possibly influenced its use among certain groups: | |||
| * In the world of online shopping w00t is commonly used to abreviate the phrase "want one of those" when describing the desire for a particularly attractive item, usually a technical gadget. | |||
| * In the role-playing game, ], w00t has been variously interpreted as combinations of the phrases "weapons and loot," "wonderous loot," or "Wow, loot!", that were supposedly contracted to "w00t". | |||
| * Several of The ]'s more than sixteen definitions for w00t define it as the acronym of the phrase "We Owned Other Team" from ] games (fps), first appearing as a motto for a ] clan, which then was used later by gamers in other games such as ]. Nowadays gamers have replaced W00t with the word "ownage" (a similar and more commonly used word is ] (past tense: pwned, pwnd, pwn'd, pwnt)). | |||
| * It has also been suggested that "w00t" derives from the German "Wut", meaning "rage" which would then be used by computer gamers to express their excitement. | |||
| * Another interpretation sees the term coming from "]", analogously to ]'s pronunciation of ]. The logic behind this would be that ] originated from ], and that root privileges (which allow a user full control over a computer) are the object of a cracker's activities. | |||
| * The exclamation "Woot Woot" was part of a "raising the roof" gesture that was popular in the late 1990s/early 2000s, and it has been suggested that this was translated into typing as "w00t". | |||
| Further, Woot appears in ]' ] (his trilogy in 4 (now 5) parts), though that is not suggested as the origin of the term. | |||
| It is also important to note the popular movement among Internet chat room, messaging service and cellphone text message users to spell common words deliberately incorrectly, with alterations such as "deez" (for "these"), or creating new words by changing spellings, such as "]" and spawned from a rapidly growing graffiti culture in urban America. | |||
| ==Usages== | |||
| The term "w00t" can be used in almost any context, usually as a term of excitement or acknowledgement. The most common usage of "w00t" means "hooray!", "woohoo!", and "YEEEESSSSS!!!!". Other variations include the ] form mentioned above and the ] form. Less intense meanings include "cool" and "okay." Example: "Are you ready to own the other team?" "w00t." It is also found as w00txxor or w00tzor in ] which mean the same thing. | |||
| Although "w00t" is most commonly used in text-based communications, it can be said aloud (pronounced to rhyme with "root") in accordance with the above usages. | |||
| ==See also== | |||
| * - alternate definitions of w00t. | |||
| * ] | |||
| * ] - ecommerce web site taking its name from this phrase | |||
Revision as of 21:18, 11 January 2006
- "Woot" redirects here. For other uses, see WOOT (disambiguation).
The term "w00t" is a slang interjection used to express happiness or excitement, usually over the Internet. The expression is most popular on USENET posts , multiplayer computer games (especially first-person shooters), IRC chats, and instant messages, though use on the World Wide Web in the form of weblogs or in forums is by no means uncommon.
Origins
"w00t!" originated via music and culture. In 1993, two songs with similar titles both rose to the top 10 of Billboard's hot tracks for the year. "Whoomp, there it is," and "Whoot, there it is" by rap groups Tag Team and 95 South, respectively, were both describing their pleasure at sighting the posterior of a voluptuous woman. These songs borrowed the topic of the previous summer's #3 smash hit "Baby Got Back" by Sir Mix-A-Lot. Similar phrases quickly showed up on the Internet in discussion of the songs and in similar discussion in the newsgroups alt.rap and rec.music.
A range of post-hoc explanations or folk etymologies of the origin of w00t exist, which have possibly influenced its use among certain groups:
- In the world of online shopping w00t is commonly used to abreviate the phrase "want one of those" when describing the desire for a particularly attractive item, usually a technical gadget.
- In the role-playing game, Dungeons & Dragons, w00t has been variously interpreted as combinations of the phrases "weapons and loot," "wonderous loot," or "Wow, loot!", that were supposedly contracted to "w00t".
- Several of The Urban Dictionary's more than sixteen definitions for w00t define it as the acronym of the phrase "We Owned Other Team" from first-person shooter games (fps), first appearing as a motto for a Quake clan, which then was used later by gamers in other games such as Counter-Strike. Nowadays gamers have replaced W00t with the word "ownage" (a similar and more commonly used word is pwn (past tense: pwned, pwnd, pwn'd, pwnt)).
- It has also been suggested that "w00t" derives from the German "Wut", meaning "rage" which would then be used by computer gamers to express their excitement.
- Another interpretation sees the term coming from "root", analogously to Elmer Fudd's pronunciation of wabbit. The logic behind this would be that leetspeak originated from crackers, and that root privileges (which allow a user full control over a computer) are the object of a cracker's activities.
- The exclamation "Woot Woot" was part of a "raising the roof" gesture that was popular in the late 1990s/early 2000s, and it has been suggested that this was translated into typing as "w00t".
Further, Woot appears in Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (his trilogy in 4 (now 5) parts), though that is not suggested as the origin of the term.
It is also important to note the popular movement among Internet chat room, messaging service and cellphone text message users to spell common words deliberately incorrectly, with alterations such as "deez" (for "these"), or creating new words by changing spellings, such as "phat" and spawned from a rapidly growing graffiti culture in urban America.
Usages
The term "w00t" can be used in almost any context, usually as a term of excitement or acknowledgement. The most common usage of "w00t" means "hooray!", "woohoo!", and "YEEEESSSSS!!!!". Other variations include the Dungeons & Dragons form mentioned above and the First Person Shooter form. Less intense meanings include "cool" and "okay." Example: "Are you ready to own the other team?" "w00t." It is also found as w00txxor or w00tzor in leet which mean the same thing.
Although "w00t" is most commonly used in text-based communications, it can be said aloud (pronounced to rhyme with "root") in accordance with the above usages.
See also
- The Urban Dictionary- alternate definitions of w00t.
- leet
- Woot.com - ecommerce web site taking its name from this phrase