Pwn

"PWN" redirects here. For other uses, see PWN (disambiguation).

The slang term pwn (past tense pwned and other possible variants, such as pwnt) as used by the Internet gaming culture, means to dominate an opponent (pwned can mean “to be made a fool of”). While the term probably originated as a typographical error of the word own^[1], 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.

Origin

The word “pwn” is an Internet variation on the word “own.” There are several accepted possible origins for the word, all of which rely on a pre-existing emphasis by computer users of the word “own.”

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 ^{[citation needed]}. 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 most likely possibility is that the term is simply derived from a common misspelling, with no significant event proliferating its use ^[1][2]. 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 the QWERTY keyboard, and the tendency of gamers and net users to create and expand Internet memes. ^{[citation needed]}

• 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. ^{[citation needed]}

• Yet another possible origin, and definite use, is the circumvention of language filters. Some game servers began to ban the word “own” and its variants to combat its overuse by some players when they achieved victory. Sometimes the message would be blocked; other times the user would simply be banned from the server. Some of these players may have used “pwn” as a substitute word in order to bypass the filters. ^{[citation needed]}

Pronunciation

Given the recent development of the word, and its primary use in written form only, there is no single accepted pronounciation of the word “pwn.” There are many different ideas on how “pwn” is properly pronounced. Some of the common variations include “own,” “puh-own,” “pun,” or, most commonly, “poan,” as rhymed with the original “own.” It can also be pronounced phonetically, as “pwən.”

Another pronunciation, “pawn,” is used by many other players, although the majority of online gamers believe it to be a false pronunciation. The main argument against that is that since “pwn” is just in fact a purposeful misspelling of its derivative “own,” that it should still be pronounced as “own” or “poan.”

See also

• Internet slang
• Leet
• Newb

References

• ^{^} Spohn, Dave (2006-01-01). "pwn - own". Internet Gaming Glossary.
• ^{^} "A parent’s primer to computer slang". Microsoft Security At Home: Child Safety. 2006-01-01.

External Links

• "Pure Pwnage". Canadian mockumentary about computer gaming culture. 2006-01-04.