Pwn

Pwn is a leetspeak slang term derived from the verb own, as meaning to appropriate or to conquer to gain ownership. The term implies domination or humiliation of a rival, used primarily in the Internet-based video game culture to taunt an opponent who has just been soundly defeated (e.g., "You just got pwned!").

In script kiddie jargon, pwn means to compromise or control, specifically another computer (server or PC), web site, gateway device, or application. It is synonymous with one of the definitions of hacking or cracking, including iOS jailbreaking. The Pwnie Awards are awarded by a group of security researchers.

Popularity of the term among teenagers rose in the mid-2000s, with the spread from the Internet written form to use in spoken language.

Pronunciations

Because pwn is primarily used in written form, it has no single generally accepted pronunciation: renditions include /ˈoʊn/ OHN, /ˈpwoʊn/ PWOHN, /ˈpoʊn/ POHN, /pəʔˈoʊn/ pə'-OHN, /ˈpɔːn/ PAWN, /piːˈoʊn/ pee-OHN, and /ˈpwiːn/ PWEEN. Originally, pwn and its variants were pronounced /ˈoʊn/ in the same way as the verb own, the tail of the p being "silent". A notable usage of this pronunciation can be seen in the Internet distributed series Pure Pwnage (pronounced "pure ownage" /ˈpjʊər ˈoʊnᵻdʒ/).

PowNed

PowNed is a Dutch broadcaster, which broadcasts radio and television programmes on the Netherlands Public Broadcasting system. Each weekday evening it airs a satirical news show called PowNews on Nederland 3, in which politicians and other public and non-public figures are confronted with provocative questions, and often ridiculed.

The broadcaster is affiliated with and was started up with the help of the popular GeenStijl shock blog.

The director of PowNed is Dominique Weesie (who also presents PowNews) and their star reporter is Rutger Castricum. Other reporters include(d) Jojanneke van den Berge, Jan Roos (also presenter of the radio programme Echte Jannen with Jan Dijkgraaf) and Daan Nieber. Several other people involved with PowNed programmes (radio and television) are DJ's Rob Stenders and Bert van Lent, sports presenters Henk Spaan and Hugo Borst (of the TV football programme Heilig Gras), Bas Paternotte (political commentator for Echte Jannen) and Brenno de Winter (ITC commentator for PowNews).