# Origin of "pwn" **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 12, 2008, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-pwn/441099 "2008-03-12T13:31:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ChiefScott](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/58f4c7/32.png) [@ChiefScott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChiefScott)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2008, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-pwn/441099/1 "2008-03-12T13:31:46Z")
Did a title search on this 'un, to no avail. Can someone try to etymologically explain this word to me? I get it’s usage – “I totally pwned (pwn’d?) you!” he declared after crushing his father at Super Smash Bros. I believe it comes from the slang usage of “own” as in “I beat you so bad I now own you!” Where’d the “p” come from? Is it pronounced “Pone” or “Own”? Has “pwn” been defined? Was this word coined by the on-line/gamer/texting community? Is it right for a 14-year-old kid to say he “pwned” his old man? ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2008, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-pwn/441099/2 "2008-03-12T13:33:31Z")
Typo enshrined in culture. O and P are adjacent on the keyboard. ---
**Author:** ![Uncommon\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Uncommon\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncommon_Sense)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2008, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-pwn/441099/3 "2008-03-12T13:36:45Z")
[QUOTE=Mangetout] Typo enshrined in culture. O and P are adjacent on the keyboard. [/QUOTE] Like teh for the, I’m guessing? ---
**Author:** ![Death\_of\_Rats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a6a055/32.png) [@Death\_of\_Rats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Death_of_Rats)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2008, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-pwn/441099/4 "2008-03-12T13:38:10Z")
pwn and teh are common mispellings in game chats that sort of took on a life of their own. It is a (now deliberate) misspelling of ‘own’ as you thought. (See you are kewlr than you thought) As for how you pronounce it i believe originally you still said ‘own’. The 'pwn" is sort of a ret-conned l33t usage that is meant to be typed. Now of course everyone tries to pronounce it someway and every way is different. ---
**Author:** ![ChiefScott](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/58f4c7/32.png) [@ChiefScott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChiefScott)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2008, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-pwn/441099/5 "2008-03-12T13:42:46Z")
[QUOTE=Death of Rats] The 'pwn" is sort of a ret-conned l33t usage that is meant to be typed. [/QUOTE] I believe I’m of above-average intelligence and relatively well-educated. But the above statement might as well be written in Aramaic. I don’t know what it means. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2008, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-pwn/441099/6 "2008-03-12T13:44:41Z")
[QUOTE=Uncommon Sense] Like teh for the, I’m guessing? [/QUOTE] Yes!!!11!!one ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2008, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-pwn/441099/7 "2008-03-12T13:44:48Z")
I have a vague memory of poker player Phil Hellmuth claiming he invented “pwn” while playing online, but a cursory Google doesn’t turn up the claim. I can’t check specific poker sites from work, though. ---
**Author:** ![DeadlyAccurate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ac91a4/32.png) [@DeadlyAccurate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeadlyAccurate)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2008, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-pwn/441099/8 "2008-03-12T14:17:44Z")
[QUOTE=ChiefScott] I believe I’m of above-average intelligence and relatively well-educated. But the above statement might as well be written in Aramaic. I don’t know what it means. [/QUOTE] From Wikipedia: Retroactive continuity (or informally retcon) is the deliberate changing of previously established facts in a work of serial fiction. The change itself is informally referred to as a “retcon”, and the act of writing and publishing a retcon is called “retconning”. Leet (written 31337, 1337, L337, 1337r0z, 13370rz, and l33t), or Leetspeak, is a written argot used primarily on the Internet, which uses various combinations of ASCII characters to replace Latinate letters. The term is derived from the word “elite”, and the usage it describes is a specialized form of symbolic writing. Different dialects of leet are found on different online forums. ---
**Author:** ![EmAnJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d2c977/32.png) [@EmAnJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmAnJ)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2008, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-pwn/441099/9 "2008-03-12T14:20:42Z")
I pronounce it ‘pone’, but feel like an idiot saying it, so usually don’t verbalize it. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2008, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-pwn/441099/10 "2008-03-12T14:22:10Z")
In other words, it was a mistake that people who couldn’t type claimed was correct, and eventually became accepted as such. I say ‘pone’. Well, I don’t say it, but I mentally pronounce it. I have geekier friends who will say it out loud, and pronounce it ‘poon’, and I giggle. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2008, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-pwn/441099/11 "2008-03-12T14:35:16Z")
Huh. I thought it was L337 for punk. Who knew? ---
**Author:** ![counsel\_wolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/65b543/32.png) [@counsel\_wolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/counsel_wolf)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2008, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-pwn/441099/12 "2008-03-12T14:53:46Z")
[QUOTE=Otto] I have a vague memory of poker player Phil Hellmuth claiming he invented “pwn” while playing online, but a cursory Google doesn’t turn up the claim. I can’t check specific poker sites from work, though. [/QUOTE] Phil Hellmuth making grandiose claims for himself? Will wonders never cease… ---
**Author:** ![ChiefScott](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/58f4c7/32.png) [@ChiefScott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChiefScott)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2008, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-pwn/441099/13 "2008-03-12T14:54:21Z")
[QUOTE=DeadlyAccurate] From Wikipedia: Retroactive continuity (or informally retcon) is the deliberate changing of previously established facts in a work of serial fiction. The change itself is informally referred to as a “retcon”, and the act of writing and publishing a retcon is called “retconning”. Leet (written 31337, 1337, L337, 1337r0z, 13370rz, and l33t), or Leetspeak, is a written argot used primarily on the Internet, which uses various combinations of ASCII characters to replace Latinate letters. The term is derived from the word “elite”, and the usage it describes is a specialized form of symbolic writing. Different dialects of leet are found on different online forums. [/QUOTE] Wow. I just realized how frickin’ out of touch I am. Thanks, **DeadlyAccurate** , for the cite. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2008, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-pwn/441099/14 "2008-03-12T14:54:35Z")
[retcon]Me, I say “pawned”; a pawn is the most pathetic and weak chess piece, thus if you “pawned” someone they automatically are considered to be the lowest ranking and wimpiest peon in the game in question.[/retcon] ---
**Author:** ![HazelNutCoffee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac91a4/32.png) [@HazelNutCoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HazelNutCoffee)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2008, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-pwn/441099/15 "2008-03-12T14:59:37Z")
I’ve always heard it as “pone” so it rhymes with “own.” My cousins use it all the time. ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2008, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-pwn/441099/16 "2008-03-12T15:02:21Z")
[QUOTE=John DiFool] [retcon]Me, I say “pawned”; a pawn is the most pathetic and weak chess piece, thus if you “pawned” someone they automatically are considered to be the lowest ranking and wimpiest peon in the game in question.[/retcon] [/QUOTE] The other meaning of “pawn” that might be in the background of the meaning of “pwn” is to pledge an item as security for a loan, i.e., deposit an item of value at a pawnbroker in exchange for a loan. If you don’t repay the loan with interest, the pawnbroker gets to own the item. ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2008, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-pwn/441099/17 "2008-03-12T15:58:10Z")
I use the Welsh pronunciation for the “w”, thereby rendering it as “poon”. Of course, I only say it to mock leet-speakers, so the sillier pronunciation is better. This works best if the term is surrounded by posh pseudo-British verbiage. “I say, old chap, I do believe that I have pwned you, as it were.” ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2008, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-pwn/441099/18 "2008-03-12T18:20:34Z")
Wait wait wait. I’ve heard it claimed for years that “pwn” originated as a typo in the first Warcraft, and that it took off from there. Cn anyone confirm or deny? ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2008, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-pwn/441099/19 "2008-03-12T18:46:34Z")
[QUOTE=HazelNutCoffee] I’ve always heard it as “pone” so it rhymes with “own.” My cousins use it all the time. [/QUOTE] The Geeklings (my kids) pronounce it the same way you do. I thought it was older than warcraft, coming maybe from Quake or Doom. ---
**Author:** ![ChiefScott](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/58f4c7/32.png) [@ChiefScott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChiefScott)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2008, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-pwn/441099/20 "2008-03-12T18:54:03Z")
So I’m assuming on these games there’s some type of shat feature. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-pwn/441099.md?page=2)