Pwn (below: Various pronunciations) is a leetspeak slang term, derived from the verb "own",[1][2][3] as meaning to appropriate or to conquer to gain ownership. The term implies domination or humiliation of a rival,[4] used primarily in the Internet gaming culture to taunt an opponent who has just been soundly defeated (e.g. "You just got pwned!").[5] It was popular among Counter-Strike gamers before spreading through the more general Internet world.[6] The past tense may also be spelled: pwnd, pwn'd pwn3d, pwnt or powned.
In hacker jargon, pwn means to compromise or control, specifically another computer (server or PC), web site, gateway device, or application. It is synonymous with one of the definitions of hacking or cracking. An outside party who has pwned a system has obtained unauthorised administrative control of it.[citation needed] The Pwnie Awards are awarded by a group of security researchers.[4].
Popularity of the term among teenagers rose in the mid-2000s, with the spread from the Internet written form to use in spoken language.[7]
Etymology
The word pwn might have arisen and spread as a common typo of the word "own" because the p and o keys are adjacent on a standard English keyboard.[7][8] A graphical comparison considers "pwn" to be a graphical variant of "own," with a bleeding-o (the letter "o" made to appear as though it has blood dripping from its left side).[citation needed] However, as much hacker jargon does substitute the correct opening letter with the letter "p" (eg phishing, phreaking) as a homage to early hackers who tampered with phone equipment rather than computers, pwn may simply be following this trend.[citation needed]
Various pronunciations
Even though the word pwn appears as early as 1989, because it is primarily used in written form only, it has no single accepted pronunciation.[citation needed] Common pronunciations include "pone", "pawn", "puh-own", and "pwen".[9]
See also
Notes and references
- ^ "Pwned - 10 Tales of Appropriation in Video Games" (Martin Pichlmair)
- ^ "Computer Slang"
- ^ Ludlow, Peter; and Wallace, Mark (2007). The Second Life Herald. MIT Press. p. 53. ISBN 0262122944
- ^ a b Naone, Erica (November 2008). "The Flaw at the Heart of the Internet", Technology Review 111 (6): 62–67.
- ^ Peckham, Aaron (2007). Mo' urban dictionary: ridonkulous street slang defined. Andrews McMeel Publishing. p. 230. ISBN 0740768751
- ^ Beaudoin, Andy (April 26, 2007). "A brave new World", The Update. Retrieved on 2009-05-23.
- ^ a b Bennett, Dean (February 8, 2007). "Teen slang now following Internet shortcuts", Canadian Press. Convenience link.
- ^ About.com, pwn - own, accessed 2006-01-01.
- ^ Pwn, PC Magazine Experts Help Encyclopedia, accessed 2 March 2008.
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