leetspeak

[leet-speek]

noun

Digital Technology.

1. a coded spelling system and language used in very informal communications on the internet, featuring letters combined with numbers or special characters in place of letters that they may resemble, and including inventive misspellings, jargon, and slang.

2. the spelling conventions and jargon of this system and language.

leetspeak

/ ˈliːtˌspiːk /

noun

1. Also called: 1337. a jargon used by some internet groups, in which standard English is translated into a mixture of letters, numerals, and symbols found on a computer keyboard

Word History and Origins

Origin of leetspeak¹

First recorded in 1980–85; leet (shortening and alteration of elite ) + -speak

Word History and Origins

Origin of leetspeak¹

C20: from _elite + _-speak

Example Sentences

Early Internet users used alternate spelling or “leetspeak” to bypass word filters in chat rooms, image boards, online games and forums.

Read more on Washington Post

If pidgin languages create a simplified slang to foster cross-cultural communication, leetspeak deliberately complicates the root language, replacing letters with numbers and symbols and swapping characters.

Read more on New York Times

The lay public is suggesting lots of Urban Dictionary entries and leetspeak, like dingledorf, emotypo, and pwn.

Read more on Slate

Aside from the company’s name and that of its headquarters, Google has also long offered $3,1337 to hackers who reported especially impressive bugs in its software, a spelling of “elite” in hackers’ number-for-letters “leetspeak” jargon.

Read more on Forbes