pwn

English

Etymology

From own, possibly born out of a typographical error (o being adjacent to p on qwerty keyboards).

Pronunciation

Originally pronounced /əʊn/ (UK) / /oʊn/ (US), like own, and now often pronounced /pəʊn/[1][2] (UK) / /poʊn/[1][3][2] (US).[4][5] Other pronunciations include:

  • (UK) IPA(key): /pɔːn/[3][2] or /piˈəʊn/[3] or /piˈɔːn/[3]
  • (US) IPA(key): /pɔn/[3][2] or /piˈoʊn/[3] or /piˈɔn/[3]
  • Audio (US)(file)

Verb

pwn (third-person singular simple present pwns, present participle pwning, simple past and past participle pwned or pwnd or pwnt)

  1. (Internet slang, online gaming, originally leet, transitive, intransitive) To own, to defeat or dominate (someone or something, especially a game or someone playing a game).
    • 1999 August 5, Quaestor, “Re: [SP] So..the first victim of the Evil/Hero System”, in rec.games.computer.ultima.online, Usenet‎, retrieved 2016-09-23, message-ID <37AA8154.D77E6EB8@Skara.Brae>:
      2nd guard: "Yeah, shiiit! I PWNED YO @zz!"
    • 2001, Edward Glamkowski, alt.games.diablo2, Usenet‎:
      Otherwise I use fury as my normal attack. Fury completely pwns!
    • 2003, James Grahame, alt.games.everquest, Usenet‎:
      When you get to the Temple of Marr, look very closely at the vases at zone-in and see if you can find the picture where Mith Marr "pwns" someone.
    • 2004, Bronney Hui, alt.comp.periphs.videocards.nvidia, Usenet‎:
      My Trident pwns the Cirrus Logics!
    • 2005, “Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name):
      NOOBZ STILL R NOT PWNED. CONTINUE PWNERSHIP UNTIL ALL NOOBZ R PWNED.

Noun

pwn (uncountable)

  1. (Internet, slang, originally leetspeak) Triumph, defeat, victory. Often exclaimed after an opponent in a video game is defeated.

Derived terms

References
  1. “pwn” in the Cambridge English Dictionary, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  2. PC Magazine Encyclopedia: Pronounced "pone," "pwen," "pawn" or "pun,"...
  3. “pwn” in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.
  4. Connie Eble, in Julie Coleman (ed.), Global English Slang: Methodologies and Perspectives (2014, →ISBN: "own/pwn (pronounced either on or pon) 'to dominate an opponent, often in a video game'"
  5. Bonnie Nardi, My Life as a Night Elf Priest: An Anthropological Account →ISBN, page 16: "In PvP, players enjoy “pwning” opponents, that is, defeating them, in heated contests. The term pwn (pronounced “pone”) comes from own, slang for defeat, and is said to have originated when a player mistakenly typed a “p” instead of an “o,” ..."

Anagrams
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