entry
pog
/pɒɡ/A game, emote, or expression of excitement
From English passion (passion fruit) + O.French, ultimately through Arabic, Persian, and Sanskrit orange (orange fruit) + English ingredient name guava (guava fruit).
Word Ancestry
A small plastic-free game piece began its career as a drink label. In Hawaii, around 1971, POG was the abbreviation for Passion Orange Guava, and the drink's cardboard milk-cap liners became the ammunition for a game that swept through the United States in the mid-1990s. Then, in 2011, streamer Ryan Gutierrez posted a video called “Pogs Championship,” and his triumphant face became the Twitch emote PogChamp. The word was clipped again to pog, an enthusiastic little burst fired into chat whenever something impressive happened—at least until repetition turned it into a joke about reacting excitedly to absolutely anything. Even orange has a miniature travel adventure hidden inside the acronym: its name wandered from Sanskrit through Persian and Arabic into Europe, losing its initial n along the way, apparently because speakers mistook it for the article “an.”
The Story
A small plastic-free game piece began its career as a drink label. In Hawaii, around 1971, POG was the abbreviation for Passion Orange Guava, and the drink's cardboard milk-cap liners became the ammunition for a game that swept through the United States in the mid-1990s. Then, in 2011, streamer Ryan Gutierrez posted a video called “Pogs Championship,” and his triumphant face became the Twitch emote PogChamp. The word was clipped again to pog, an enthusiastic little burst fired into chat whenever something impressive happened—at least until repetition turned it into a joke about reacting excitedly to absolutely anything. Even orange has a miniature travel adventure hidden inside the acronym: its name wandered from Sanskrit through Persian and Arabic into Europe, losing its initial n along the way, apparently because speakers mistook it for the article “an.”
Modern Usage
An internet expression or emote signaling excitement, approval, or amazement, often used ironically.
Popularized by: Twitch streamer Ryan Gutierrez and the PogChamp emote
Notable References
- Ryan Gutierrez's 2011 “Pogs Championship” video
- PogChamp emote
Kin & Kindred
From 'passion'·passion fruit, the drink's first ingredient
Derived Terms
English words from this root
From 'orange'·orange fruit
Derived Terms
English words from this root
From 'guava'·guava fruit, the drink's third ingredient
Derived Terms
English words from this root
Sources
Urban Dictionary
Wiktionary