There are various theories about the etymology of pwned. One of the more popular accounts is that it originated in the online computer game World of Warcraft, where a map designer misspelt owned (where own was intended to be used in the sense of ‘conquer’ or ‘dominate’). When the computer beat a player, a message along the lines of: X has been owned should have been displayed. Instead, it said: X has been pwned. A related, and perhaps more convincing theory, is that pwned derives from a simple keyboard error, p being next to o on a standard QWERTY keyboard. When players want to say owned, they regularly mistype it as pwned – so much so that the latter has become an accepted (and ‘cool’, so therefore even more popular) alternative in the gaming fraternity.

There are various theories about the etymology of pwned. One of the more popular accounts is that it originated in the online computer game World of Warcraft, where a map designer misspelt owned (where own was intended to be used in the sense of ‘conquer’ or ‘dominate’). When the computer beat a player, a message along the lines of: X has been owned should have been displayed. Instead, it said: X has been pwned. A related, and perhaps more convincing theory, is that pwned derives from a simple keyboard error, p being next to o on a standard QWERTY keyboard. When players want to say owned, they regularly mistype it as pwned – so much so that the latter has become an accepted (and ‘cool’, so therefore even more popular) alternative in the gaming fraternity.