# What does the term "pwn" mean? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 24, 2011, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-term-pwn-mean/590130 "2011-07-24T02:04:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2011, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-term-pwn-mean/590130/21 "2011-07-24T16:33:07Z")
Not a gamer, and the only place I’ve ever seen this term is on this MB. And I pronounce it, in my head, “pawned”. That pronunciation got started before I knew the etymology. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2011, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-term-pwn-mean/590130/22 "2011-07-24T18:45:50Z")
To clarify the distinction between “pwn” and “burn”, [a webcomic which contains both](http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0409.html). Belkar (the halfling) and Hinjo (the blue-haired guy) both burn Miko (the black-haired woman; a recently-fallen paladin) in the first few panels. Roy (the bald black guy) pwns her, towards the bottom of the page. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2011, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-term-pwn-mean/590130/23 "2011-07-24T19:10:47Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > No, but if someone quoted Wilde, someone might reply, “Ha ha, burn!” > > * * * > > BigT–Taking jokes literally for comedy for 16 years. Touché. ---
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2011, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-term-pwn-mean/590130/24 "2011-07-24T20:07:03Z")
> [@naita](#): > > I’m thirty six as well and think it should be pronounced owned. Fortunately Norwegian kids have translated it into Norwegian so it’s not a problem in my daily life. > > Anyone saying ‘lol’ should be flogged in the village square though. So how does one say pwned in Norwegian?? ---
**Author:** ![Lightlystarched](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Lightlystarched](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightlystarched)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2011, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-term-pwn-mean/590130/25 "2011-07-24T21:53:34Z")
\*\*pwned \*\* A corruption of the word “Owned.” This originated in an online game called Warcraft, where a map designer misspelled “owned.” When the computer beat a player, it was supposed to say, so-and-so “has been owned.” Instead, it said, so-and-so “has been pwned.” It basically means “to own” or to be dominated by an opponent or situation, especially by some god-like or computer-like force. “Man, I rock at my job, but I still got a bad evaluation. I was pwned.” > **[Urban Dictionary: pwned](https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=pwned)** > > A corruption of the word "Owned." This originated in an online game called Warcraft, where a map designer misspelled "owned." When the computer beat a player, it was supposed to say, so-and-so "has been owned." Instead, it said, so-and-so "has been... ---
**Author:** ![GameHat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ed655f/32.png) [@GameHat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GameHat)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2011, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-term-pwn-mean/590130/26 "2011-07-25T03:13:42Z")
> [@Lightlystarched](#): > > \*\*pwned \*\* > A corruption of the word “Owned.” This originated in an online game called Warcraft, where a map designer misspelled “owned.” When the computer beat a player, it was supposed to say, so-and-so “has been owned.” > > [Urban Dictionary: pwned](http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=pwned) An “online” “game” called “warcraft”? Never heard of it. :rolleyes: Seriously, though, unless it’s referencing WC2 and not WOW as I suspect, that’s way late. “pwn” has been around for over a decade. I remember “pwn” being tossed around in CS 1.6, ca 2000 or so. ---
**Author:** ![Punoqllads](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/d2c977/32.png) [@Punoqllads](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Punoqllads)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2011, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-term-pwn-mean/590130/27 "2011-07-25T04:58:31Z")
The phrases “map designer” and “When the computer beats a player” means that it’s probably talking about Warcraft II. I wouldn’t call it an online game, though you could play with friends on a LAN. ---
**Author:** ![PetW](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/d2c977/32.png) [@PetW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PetW)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2011, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-term-pwn-mean/590130/28 "2011-07-25T11:48:36Z")
> [@Punoqllads](#): > > The phrases “map designer” and “When the computer beats a player” means that it’s probably talking about Warcraft II. I wouldn’t call it an online game, though you could play with friends on a LAN. You were able to play online against people who weren’t on a LAN, on [Battle.net](http://Battle.net). This was a couple of years after it’s release. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2011, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-term-pwn-mean/590130/29 "2011-07-25T12:50:40Z")
I’m pretty sure that the practice of pronouncing it “poned” instead of “owned” arose when people wished to: 1. make fun of leet-speakers (or themselves, ironically) 2. over voice-chat or verbally. If you SAY “owned” it sounds just like you’re saying “owned.” The only way to convey the ironic use of the “p” misspelling is to verbally pronounce the “p,” hence “poned.” . ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2011, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-term-pwn-mean/590130/30 "2011-07-25T15:16:23Z")
> [@dangermom](#): > > So how does one say pwned in Norwegian?? Eid - pronounced … well you can use google translate for the pronounciation. For some reason it works better for “eide” (past tense) than for “eid” (perfect past) ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2011, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-term-pwn-mean/590130/31 "2011-07-25T16:32:18Z")
> [@GameHat](#): > > As an old man at thirty years old, I am appalled by this pronunciation. > > My God, back in my day - when you got “pwned” in Q3A, you were “owned”, not “poned” or “pweened” or whatever these ridiculous kids say these days. Have some God-damned respect! Decorum, people. > > 😃 > [@pulykamell](#): > > I’m 36 and the only pronunciation I’ve ever been familiar with is “poned.” I’m 42. I’ve never pronounced it and I never will. But in my mind it’s “pooned.” I imagine it as a Welsh word. ---
**Author:** ![Blakeyrat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecd19e/32.png) [@Blakeyrat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blakeyrat)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2011, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-term-pwn-mean/590130/32 "2011-07-25T22:56:48Z")
> [@PetW](#): > > You were able to play online against people who weren’t on a LAN, on [Battle.net](http://Battle.net). This was a couple of years after it’s release. The Mac version had TCP/IP support when released in 1996. The PC version didn’t get TCP/IP support until the “Silver Edition” which came out a few years later. I used to play constant Warcraft 2 on my AOL modem connection, using the Mac’s text-to-speech feature to “speak out” other player’s chat. We had a league and everything, all on AOL. Hah. Anyway, Warcraft II had custom maps, and it had custom maps that could be scripted, and it had custom maps that could be used in multi-player, so the Warcraft II typo theory sounds perfectly fine to me. I didn’t hear the term myself until Unreal Tournament, some years later. ---
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-term-pwn-mean/590130/33 "2011-07-26T00:38:34Z")
> [@naita](#): > > Eid - pronounced … well you can use google translate for the pronounciation. For some reason it works better for “eide” (past tense) than for “eid” (perfect past) I speak Danish, so I can guess. 🙂 Are Danish teens wandering around saying ‘ejet’? I wasn’t sure if it was a direct translation or not… ---
**Author:** ![Apollyon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/apollyon/32/4238_2.png) [@Apollyon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apollyon)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-term-pwn-mean/590130/34 "2011-07-26T01:46:35Z")
> [@naita](#): > > Anyone saying ‘lol’ should be flogged in the village square though. Just to clarify… does it make any difference if they say “lol” (as in the first syllable of lolly) vs. saying “el - oh - el”? 🙂 How about “rofl”? (rhymes with “ruffle”) or “rolfmao”? 😃 (Little music vid: [Oxhorn’s Shorts ROFLMAO](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iEWgs6YQR9A) – hope link is right, cannot actually view from this machine). ---
**Author:** ![GameHat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ed655f/32.png) [@GameHat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GameHat)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-term-pwn-mean/590130/35 "2011-07-26T01:55:35Z")
> [@Apollyon](#): > > Just to clarify… does it make any difference if they say “lol” (as in the first syllable of lolly) vs. saying “el - oh - el”? 🙂 > > How about “rofl”? (rhymes with “ruffle”) or “rolfmao”? 😃 I say “lol” a bit more in normal speech than I should. I pronounce it like “loll” but with a shorter o vowel. Rhymes with Moll, like “molly” without the vowel end. I also speak ROFL as “roffle”, not “ruffle”. ROFLMAO is unpronounceable. Unless maybe it would be “roffle-mao” (Mao as in the Chairman) ---
**Author:** ![Sierra\_Indigo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f0a364/32.png) [@Sierra\_Indigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sierra_Indigo)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-term-pwn-mean/590130/36 "2011-07-26T02:06:19Z")
> [@GameHat](#): > > I say “lol” a bit more in normal speech than I should. I pronounce it like “loll” but with a shorter o vowel. Rhymes with Moll, like “molly” without the vowel end. > > I also speak ROFL as “roffle”, not “ruffle”. > > ROFLMAO is unpronounceable. Unless maybe it would be “roffle-mao” (Mao as in the Chairman) What he said. If something is so terribly unfunny it hurts, a deadpanned “LOL” is very useful for letting the guilty party know they done wrong. However, if something is actually funny I may tell a friend “I loled” to help express how amusing the jape was that I literally did laugh out loud. However I never say lol in lieu of actually laughing. It’s either sarcasm (in the vein of saying “Oh that’s SO FUNNY”) or a description of an event that happened in the past (that film clip was so funny I loled at work). Extreme sarcasm merits the use of “ROFLcopter” or “LOLlerskates”. ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 8:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-term-pwn-mean/590130/37 "2011-07-26T08:19:19Z")
> [@Apollyon](#): > > Just to clarify… does it make any difference if they say “lol” (as in the first syllable of lolly) vs. saying “el - oh - el”? 🙂 > > How about “rofl”? (rhymes with “ruffle”) or “rolfmao”? 😃 > > (Little music vid: [Oxhorn’s Shorts ROFLMAO](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iEWgs6YQR9A) – hope link is right, cannot actually view from this machine). The origin of either is to tell others electronically you’ve laughed. In real life I can observe you laughing. If you’re just saying lol or ell oh ell you’re not laughing. I know it’s used sarcastically, but it’s still a flogging offence. :mad: 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 10:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-term-pwn-mean/590130/38 "2011-07-26T10:10:12Z")
Get ready for some really elite pawnage joker. Psych!! ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-term-pwn-mean/590130/39 "2011-07-26T12:09:59Z")
> [@Sierra\_Indigo](#): > > What he said. > > If something is so terribly unfunny it hurts, a deadpanned “LOL” is very useful for letting the guilty party know they done wrong. > > However, if something is actually funny I may tell a friend “I loled” to help express how amusing the jape was that I literally did laugh out loud. > > However I never say lol in lieu of actually laughing. It’s either sarcasm (in the vein of saying “Oh that’s SO FUNNY”) or a description of an event that happened in the past (that film clip was so funny I loled at work). > > Extreme sarcasm merits the use of “ROFLcopter” or “LOLlerskates”. I’ve mostly used “lawl” as a sort of modifying prefix before, “lolno” is a lot stronger than just “no” it means more " no chance in hell, that’s just a laughable idea." ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-term-pwn-mean/590130/40 "2011-07-26T13:29:26Z")
I’m pretty sure it was never actually pronounced “owned.” That was just what the pronunciation technically was supposed to be. It makes no sense to say it the same way if you recognize the two words as having different meanings. And if they don’t have different meanings, when you say /oʊnd/, why should I assume the less common spelling when said spelling has no meaning of its own? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-term-pwn-mean/590130.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-term-pwn-mean/590130.md?page=3)