the origins of woot

so lately i've been saying woot! a lot. woot! this and woot! that. it's infectious! that ubiquitous four letter word has invaded my thoughts, emails, and yes, sometimes even my conversations (although i usually stop it in my head before verbalizing it). nothing screams aspiring phd student like a few woots in the mix.

i found myself wondering where the hell that term even came from. internet slang is "linguistically bleeding" (b. wells, 2006, personal conversation) into our everyday vernacular. ever found yourself thinking LOL when someone says something funny? or roffle (for ROFL)?

i turned to my trusty everything-slang resource www.urbandictionary.com and here's what i learned...

1.	woot	1343 up, 216 down
	Woot originated as a hacker term for root (or administrative) access to a computer. However, with the term as coincides with the gamer term, "w00t". "w00t" was originally an trunicated expression common among players of Dungeons and Dragons tabletop role-playing game for "Wow, loot!" Thus the term passed into the net-culture where it thrived in video game communities and lost its original meaning and is used simply as a term of excitement. "I defeated the dark sorcerer! Woot!" "woot! i r teh flagmastar!" (Think Tribes) "Woot, I pwnzed this dude's boxen!'

but if you are looking for a good deal, or some "wow-loot!" check out http://www.woot.com

currently reading: brownsville brooklyn by wendell pritchett
currently listening: maria taylor "leap year"
currently feeling: full
woot.