leetspeak or leetspeek or 1337
noun

- 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

Collins Dictionary

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WORD ORIGIN

“Leetspeak” originated within bulletin board systems (BBS) in the 1980s, where having "elite" status on a BBS allowed a user access to file folders, games, and special chat rooms.

One theory is that Leetspeak was developed to defeat text filters created by BBS or Internet Relay Chat system operators for message boards to discourage the discussion of forbidden topics — like cracking and hacking — and the use of bad language.

Once reserved for hackers and crackers, leet has now entered the mainstream on websites and in gaming communities.

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HOW TO SPEAK LEET

Leetspeak makes use of similarities between letters, numbers, and symbols to obscure the words to outsiders while still being decipherable to those familiar with leetspeak. Common examples of leetspeak conversions include: A = 4, E = 3, O = 0, I = 1, S = 5

“Speak" in leetspeak is "5p34k”, Hello = H3ll0, Dude = D00d3, Happy = H4ppy

TRANSLATION HINT: If you squint (half-close) your eyes, leetspeak is easier to read:

7R4N5L471ON H1N7: 1f j0u 5qu1n7 (h4lf-cl053) j0ur 3y3s, l337sp34k 15 34s13r 70 r34d

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SMUGGLE OWAD into an English conversation, say something like:

“I received an email with an ending in LEETSPEAK — can you understand this: H4v3 4 n1c3 d4y! "

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