Pwn

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

The slang term pwn (past tense pwned, pwn3d, pwnd or pwnt, various pronunciations) as used by the Internet gaming culture, means to defeat an opponent in a video-game. 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. Most gamers hold the view that to "own" someone is to defeat them well, but to "pwn" them is to hand them a decisive defeat where you clearly dominated, and thus, the word "pwn" is seen as the next step above "own". 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 progressive form is "pwning." An example: "I was pwning like crazy!" Its noun form is, "pwnage" (or "pwnge"). An example: "Did you see that flame war? PWNGE!" "zors" may also be added to create a humorous portmanteau of the word, e.g. pwnzors (also spelled xors or x0rz). Another variation that stems from pwn, is pwnai or pwnai'd, just like pwnage or pwnzors; pwnai is just a variation used to accentuate the base word of pwn, "that kid just got pwnai'd".

Theories about the word's etymology

The likely beginning of the meme is from the hacker scene on EFNet IRC circa 1994. 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 ^[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 most modern keyboard layouts, and the tendency of gamers and net users to create and expand internet memes.

• Many believe that since this term is the next step above "own", and that it originated from the term "power own" which turned into "pwn".^[7]

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) [oʊn], [pəʔˈoʊn], [piˈoʊn], [pən], [pwin], [pun], or, most commonly, [pawn], [poʊn], as rhymed with the original own; ([oʊn]). It can also be pronounced phonetically, as [pwəʔˈn̩] (pwən).

Another pronunciation, [pɔn], 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 [oʊn] or [poʊn].

See also

• Internet slang
• Noob
• Owned
• Leet
• newbie
• newblet
• pooned
• pure ownage

References

• "Why Won't it Pwn?". Computer Science Song of Code that should Pwn.
• ^{^} 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.
• ^{^} "urban dictionary definition of PWN". urbandictionary.com. Retrieved 2006-04-13.
• "Pure Pwnage". Canadian mockumentary about computer gaming culture. Retrieved 2006-01-04.
• Counter-Strike Game Match #4583943 Text Reference
• "Urban Dictionary: pwn". Urban Dictionary reference to the word "pwn". Retrieved 2006-06-22.