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| The ] term '''''pwn''''' (past tense ''pwned'', ''pwn3d'', ''pwnd'' or ''pwnt'', various pronunciations) as used by the ] ] ], means to dominate an opponent. In this context, to be ''pwned'' can be defined as "to be defeated," with the strong connotation of also having been "made a fool of." It is generally used for "friendly taunting" of a player's in-game enemies, and gently "rubbing in" any victories, no matter how fleeting. It is now used intentionally by many members of the culture. The term has become so ubiquitous in Internet circles that it is often used outside of gaming contexts. For example "We <i>pwned</i> them hardcore in that basketball game." Its noun form is, "pwnage" (or "pwnge"). An example: "Did you see that ]? <i>PWNGE!</i>" | The ] term '''''pwn''''' (past tense ''pwned'', ''pwn3d'', ''pwnd'' or ''pwnt'', various pronunciations) as used by the ] ] ], means to dominate an opponent or viciously beat them or grind their parents into chili. In this context, to be ''pwned'' can be defined as "to be defeated," with the strong connotation of also having been "made a fool of." It is generally used for "friendly taunting" of a player's in-game enemies, and gently "rubbing in" any victories, no matter how fleeting. It is now used intentionally by many members of the culture. The term has become so ubiquitous in Internet circles that it is often used outside of gaming contexts. For example "We <i>pwned</i> them hardcore in that basketball game." Its noun form is, "pwnage" (or "pwnge"). An example: "Did you see that ]? <i>PWNGE!</i>" | ||
Revision as of 15:57, 24 May 2006
"PWN" redirects here. For other uses, see PWN (disambiguation). | It has been suggested that this article be merged with owned. (Discuss) |
The slang term pwn (past tense pwned, pwn3d, pwnd or pwnt, various pronunciations) as used by the Internet gaming culture, means to dominate an opponent or viciously beat them or grind their parents into chili. In this context, to be pwned can be defined as "to be defeated," with the strong connotation of also having been "made a fool of." It is generally used for "friendly taunting" of a player's in-game enemies, and gently "rubbing in" any victories, no matter how fleeting. It is now used intentionally by many members of the culture. The term has become so ubiquitous in Internet circles that it is often used outside of gaming contexts. For example "We pwned them hardcore in that basketball game." Its noun form is, "pwnage" (or "pwnge"). An example: "Did you see that flame war? PWNGE!"
Myths of The Word's Beginnings
The likely beginning of the meme is from the hacker scene on EFNet IRC circa 1994. Owned or Own3d referred to getting administrative privileges on someone's computer by exploiting a security vulnerability. The use of the word own in terms of victory over another predates its use in the gaming subculture. This accounts for the pre-existing proliferation of the word, which may then have been morphed into pwn through any of the following possible means.
- The term could have simply been derived from a common misspelling, with no significant event proliferating its use . Instead, 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 most modern keyboard layouts, and the tendency of gamers and net users to create and expand internet memes.
- Another way of deriving pwn from own is by jokingly stating that P is the next letter after O, alphabetically, and in that way poses as some sort of higher level — so pwn is a kind of superlative own. This is the origin of other web slang expressions, such as "raising" the slang spelling gr8 (for great) to gr9, because 9 is the next step up from 8. Compare this with Victor Borge's inflationary language.
- Another possibility is that pwn is derived from pawn. Some first person shooter games had the phrase "Gamer1 pawned Gamer2's head" whenever Gamer 1 defeated Gamer2. Therefore it is possible that pawn was shortened to pwn by the players, and seeing the similarities to own, it stuck.
- Yet another possible explanation for the proliferation and common use of pwn is the circumvention of language filters. Some game and chat servers began to ban the word own and its variants, as it was frequently being used in a verbally abusive manner when players achieved victory. Sometimes the message would be blocked; other times the user would simply be banned from the server. Some of these players have used pwn as a substitute word in order to bypass the filters.
Pronunciation
Given the recent development of the word, and its primary use in written form only, there is no single accepted pronunciation of pwn. Therefore, pronunciation is mainly based on personal preference. Some of the common variations include (IPA pronunciation) , , , , , , or, most commonly, , as rhymed with the original own; (). It can also be pronounced phonetically, as (pwən).
Another pronunciation, , is used by many other players, although many online gamers believe it to be a false pronunciation. The main argument against that is that since pwn is probably just a purposeful misspelling of its parent, own, that it should still be pronounced as or .
See also
References
- Spohn, Dave. "pwn - own". Internet Gaming Glossary. Retrieved 2006-01-01.
- "A parent’s primer to computer slang". Microsoft Security At Home: Child Safety. Retrieved 2006-01-01.
Note: Microsoft has a very rudimentary understanding of l33t sp34k. This Page is not the best resource avaliable but a good starter.
- "Pure Pwnage". Canadian mockumentary about computer gaming culture. Retrieved 2006-01-04.
- Counter-Strike Game Match #4583943 Text Reference