Verb, Adjective...

to destroy or devastate, to achieve victory in absolute terms...generally used as slang term among video-gamers and the population born in the late 1980s/early 1990s.

"Pwn" comes from its root word: "own". The word "own" evolved in early Middle English from Old English, from root "agan" meaning "to have, to own". It became obsolete after 1300 AD, but was revived in the early 17th century, in part as a back-formation of "owner" which continued to modern day. The meaning "to own up" or to "make full confession" began use in vernacular in 1852.

Over time, with the advent of the video-game industry, modern English has evolved to include use of many slang and condensed terms to adapt to the needs of the fast-paced virtual environment. For example, typing the term "I beat you" requires a significant time investment when you take into consideration the environment changes in game which can range from virtual bombs being dropped from war planes to enemy soldiers charging your virtual base gates. Therefore, the ageless practice of "smack-talk" needed to become swifter and easier to implement.

There are conflicting theories as to the evolution of the term "owned" as smack-talk. However, it is commonly held that the term came about to mean that one competitor is so immeasurably superior to one's adversary that they can do whatever in the game and still win. Akin to meaning the superior competitor "owns" the other player, making him do whatever he/she wants. The term is said to have come about when Blizzard, Inc. introduced its groundbreaking and award winning Starcraft RTS (real-time strategy) game in the mid-1990s.

The term "owned" rapidly became a popular term among video-gamers. However, with the release of Starcraft: Brood Wars it is said that there was one match where a player accidentally missed the "o" key and hit "p" instead - typing "pwned". Since then, constant ridicule of that legendary player's poor language skills has lead to an explosive increase in the use of the new term "pwned".

PWN (verb)

1. An act of dominating an opponent.

2. Great, ingenious; applied to methods and objects.

Originally dates back to the days of WarCraft, when a map designer mispelled "Own" as "Pwn". What was originally supose to be "player has been owned." was "player has been pwned".

Pwn eventually grew from there and is now used throughout the online world, especially in online games.

Perfect ownage. Flawless victory. Schooled. Lesson taught. Owned beyond conventional words, and so excited about it, it's mistyped. Usually proceeded by noob.

Pronunciation: (pôn) Originally a misspelling of the word own, as in to totally have a skillful advantage over someone or something pwn is to more than just own; to pwn.

The word Pwn was originally a typo from when the writer wanted to say Own. Pwn is commonly used in internet games, for example: Counter-Strike. Pwn is used to explain that the player was badly beaten.

A word, originating from a mispelled version of the word "own", used to describe a dominance of one person over another, usually in a video game.

pwn (vt. or vi.) 1. to defeat (someone)thoroughly or to a great extent 2. to outdo or outmatch (someone) past tense - pwnt or pwned ( ? < leet speak/gaming terminology p + (o)wn)

v. To dominate another, often in online gaming.

Originally a misspelling, 'pwn' has come to also be considered a contraction of the 'Perfect Own" of an opponent.

History: Pwn first surfaced in online play in 1992 - 1993 when MMORPGs were better known as MUDs. Pwn reached it's peak as a standard term amongst game players around the time of Bungie's Battle.Net (1997-).

Pwn has been absorbed into other common online-originating language mediums since then, such as Leet Speak and Singlish.

Other Uses:
Pwning, Pwnage, Pwned (past tense), Pwnt (past tense).