Where does the name Twink come from?

[Hanlon Lavelle]

The original meaning of the word is an insult from england defined as a "young homosexual man", so why is this the term used for low-level invaders who've been given high-level gear?
(Note: People who earn high level gear at low levels aren't twinks, by definition)

Just curious as to why this is the term used, since there seems to be no correlation between young gay men and video games.

[Zangato]

Twink is blacksmiths brother, he was killed in Undead Settlement, when blacksmith found him he has titanite in his hand. So blacksmith name Twinkling Titanite after hes brother.

[Hanlon Lavelle]

Originally posted by ldksparda07:

Twink is blacksmiths brother, he was killed in Undead Settlement, when blacksmith found him he has titanite in his hand. So blacksmith name Twinkling Titanite after hes brother.

Did you even read the full thing?

[Hanlon Lavelle]

Originally posted by Hashem:

low levels are usually gay casuals so i think it's very fitting.

Less of the immaturity.

[folko1]

Twinking is gay cuz casuls hate it.
But twinking = hatemail so nobody ♥♥♥♥♥ a give.

[Scott Clam]

If someone went through the game and got all the items they want at a low enough level to invade at crucifixion woods or the highwall, good on em, they deserve to do what they like. But I feel a vast vast majority of them just have someone drop off all the gear they want, plus a few +3 rings for the sole purpose of poeple a ♥♥♥♥.

[Watermelons]

Because twinks are total ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥, and should be called that. Simple.

[annoying spawncamper]

Twink probably refers to the titanite which is usually associated with strong weapons, earning the nickname for themselves.

[Watermelons]

Originally posted by West Smith Smith West Heskaroid:

Twink probably refers to the titanite which is usually associated with strong weapons, earning the nickname for themselves.

that is entirely extremely unlikely.

[annoying spawncamper]

Originally posted by Viele Wassermelonen:

Originally posted by West Smith Smith West Heskaroid:

Twink probably refers to the titanite which is usually associated with strong weapons, earning the nickname for themselves.

that is entirely extremely unlikely.

How so?

[Hairy Pothead]

Wait so when i dont have the items given cuz im no puss but suffered to get them on lvl 20 upto ng+ im not twinking ?

[Hairy Pothead]

Originally posted by Viele Wassermelonen:

Originally posted by West Smith Smith West Heskaroid:

Twink probably refers to the titanite which is usually associated with strong weapons, earning the nickname for themselves.

that is entirely extremely unlikely.

maybe its coz twinkling titanites, they are used to upgrade most powerfull weapons and are kinda easy to get on low lvls

[Shard of Manus]

Originally posted by West Smith Smith West Heskaroid:

Originally posted by Viele Wassermelonen:

that is entirely extremely unlikely.

How so?

Twink is definitely adopted from the term used to refer to young homosexual males.

"Twinking" is the original term. A term which described the deliberate attempts of veteran players creating low level characters (or just low levels with end-game gear) to murder new players or low levels that have only recently started their playthrough and are using ... crap.

It was especially prevalent in DS1 where there were no restrictions on weapon or armour enhancement to make nigh invincible characters that could 1-shot 'Twinks' (i.e. young players).

The term has since been misused to describe Twinkers, which has been abbreviated to Twinks despite being the incorrect usage of the word. Twinks are the newbs, Twinkers are the meanies giving all the Twinks a rough time up the pooper.

I think that's an apt explanation.

[Hairy Pothead]

There are several possible etymologies for the word. It may not have been derived from a single source, instead evolving from multiple convergent usages. Its exact origin is unclear.

The gay-slang usage of "twink" has been suggested as a likely origin.[1] One of the connotations of this usage is "a young/inexperienced person who can outfit himself fashionably because of financial benefits from an older/experienced sugar daddy." This parallels MMORPGs, where in-game money is a strong limiting factor in the virtual economy and gear is usually in the form of clothing and jewelry.


The word "twink" appeared in the Ultima Online: Renaissance playguide in the glossary of terms.[year needed] It was asserted to have a meaning similar to its current one, but also included powerlevelling.

On the MUD Sojourn, which several creators of EverQuest played, "twink" was alternately used to refer to powerleveling and metagaming. As MUDs date to 1978, this use of the term may possibly predate later uses.

The term twink and twinking predated MMOs and was prevalent in many MUDs. The term came from flags on much of the high end gear that cause gear to be displayed as (twinkling) <gear name>. It was not an alternate name for powerleveling, but could be used as a method of powerleveling.

Its from wiki :)

[cooperman]

No one 'gave me' my gear i beat the game at sl1 over 20 times.

[Tao314zdin]

Originally posted by Shard of Manus:

The term has since been misused to describe Twinkers, which has been abbreviated to Twinks despite being the incorrect usage of the word. Twinks are the newbs, Twinkers are the meanies giving all the Twinks a rough time up the pooper.

^sounds reasonable actually. The cambridge definition matches that more or less accurately:

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/twink

Not every newby is sissy though, but those who do not summon do not get invaded.