RPG

English

Etymology

Initialism. When applied to a "rocket-propelled grenade" it derives from Russian РПГ (RPG), initialism of ручно́й противота́нковый гранатомёт (ručnój protivotánkovyj granatomjót, “hand-held anti-tank grenade launcher”), of which "rocket-propelled grenade" is a backronym (though an accurate description of the weapon system).

Proper noun

RPG

1. (computing) Initialism of Report Program Generator.

Noun

RPG (plural RPGs)

1. (games) Initialism of roleplaying game.
   • 1993 April, “Dragon Ball Z”, in GameFan, page 89:

     This is an RPG experience DBZ fans must have, but even if you've never seen DBZ, it's still an interesting game due to the unique fighting scenes and the ability to fly around the map.

   • 2009, The Official Xbox Magazine - Issues 92-95, page 335:

     I love shooters, RPGs, and pretty much anything with free-roam or gore.

   • 2021 January 4, Cian Maher, “Runescape^[sic] Is 20 Years Old Today - Here's How I Started A Pyramid Scheme When I Was Nine”, in TheGamer‎, archived from the original on 19 June 2022:

     I reckon Runescape^[sic] is the game that introduced my young, ignorant, and stubborn self to modern RPGs. In a way, I owe at least part of how my career has shaped up to trimmed rune and obby capes.

   • 2023 August 28, Brad Norton, “Sea of Stars – Wheels minigame guide: How to play, best Heroes, more”, in Dexerto‎:

     Through many of the most iconic RPGs of our time, we’ve seen a range of popular minigames come into focus.

   • 2025 June 2, Michael Gwilliam, “89-year-old Skyrim Grandma switches to another RPG after 9 years”, in Dexerto‎:

     Viral YouTuber and grandmother Shirley Curry, better known as ‘Skyrim Grandma’ is finally playing another Bethesda RPG after nine years.

2. (weaponry) Initialism of rocket-propelled grenade.
3. (basketball) Initialism of rebound per game.
   • 2023 April 5, Thomas Schlacher, “Joel Embiid vs. Nikola Jokić vs. Giannis Antetokounmpo: What’s the latest in the race to become the NBA MVP?”, in CNN‎:

     The Nuggets star is averaging 24.9 PPG, 11.9 RPG (rebounds per game) and an agonizing 9.9 APG (assists per game) – demonstrating Jokić’s incredible all-around ability.

4. (education) Initialism of research postgraduate.

Derived terms

• (games): RPGer, ARPG, CRPG, JRPG, MMORPG, SRPG, tactical RPG, tactics RPG, TRPG, TTRPG, WRPG

Translations

role-playing game

Chinese: Mandarin: 角色扮演游戏 (zh) (juésè bànyǎn yóuxì), 角色扮演游戲 / 角色扮演游戏 Finnish: rope (fi), roolipeli (fi) French: JdR (fr) m German: Rollenspiel (de) n Italian: GDR m, RPG m Japanese: RPG (RPG) Polish: gra fabularna f, RPG (pl) m, (slang) gra wyobraźni f, (slang) erpeg m, (slang) rolplej m Spanish: JDR

rocket-propelled grenade

Albanian: please add this translation if you can Armenian: please add this translation if you can Belarusian: РПГ (RPH) Chinese: Mandarin: please add this translation if you can Esperanto: please add this translation if you can Estonian: please add this translation if you can Georgian: please add this translation if you can Hungarian: please add this translation if you can Latvian: please add this translation if you can Lithuanian: please add this translation if you can Polish: granatnik przeciwpancerny m, (slang, gaming) RPG (pl) n Portuguese: lança-granadas m Romanian: please add this translation if you can Russian: РПГ (ru) m (RPG) Slovak: please add this translation if you can Turkish: please add this translation if you can Ukrainian: please add this translation if you can

basketball: rebounds per game

Polish: zbiórki na mecz f pl

report program generator

See also

• (gaming): LARP

Verb

RPG (third-person singular simple present RPGs, present participle RPGing or RPG-ing or RPG'ing, simple past and past participle RPGed or RPG'ed or RPG'd)

1. (intransitive, gaming) To play a roleplaying game.
   • 2016, David Liss, chapter 2, in Randoms, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, page 9:

     When I got to my new school, it didn’t take me too long to find a group to hang out with. We RPGed, talked books, movies, and comics. We played video games, both in person and in co-op.

   • 2016, Teri Litorco, The Civilized Guide to Tabletop Gaming: Rules Every Gamer Must Live By, Adams Media, page 145:

     When you start RPGing, you describe an action your character is taking. Sometimes your DM will interject, asking you to make a test for success (typically a dice roll).

   • 2020 February, Mercedes Lackey, Cody Martin, Breaking Silence‎, Baen Books:

     None of them really wanted to game without Beth. For one, it didn’t seem fair, and for another, the facts that she had a great imagination and really no concept of how RPGing was “supposed” to work meant she sprang stuff on the group that had livened up the games no end.

2. (transitive, weaponry) To attack with a rocket-propelled grenade.
   • 1981 November, B.P., “U.S. Embassy”, in Soldier of Fortune, volume 6, number 11, page 53:

     However, one group of Americans at the Embassy doesn’t creep around quivering in anxiety about being RPGed or machinegunned.

   • 2006 September, Robert D. Kaplan, Imperial Grunts:  […], Vintage Books, page 317:

     It was like the movie Black Hawk Down without the rioters. I was RPGed so often I gradually stopped ducking.

   • 2009, Ed Macy, Hellfire, HarperPress, page 343:

     The Taliban had buried a triple mine in the road a week ago and remotely detonated it under a Spartan. Then they RPGed the Scimitar trapped ahead of it.

Anagrams

• GPR, GRP, Grp., PRG, grp

Italian

Etymology

From English.

Noun

RPG m (invariable)

1. (gaming) RPG; role-playing game

Japanese

Etymology

From English RPG.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [a̠ːɾɯ̟pʲiːʑiː]

Noun

R(アール)P(ピー)G(ジー) • (ārupījī) 

1. abbreviation of ロールプレイングゲーム (rōru-pureingu gēmu, “role-playing game”)

Polish

Polish Wikipedia has an article on:

RPG

Wikipedia ^pl

Etymology

Orthographic borrowing from English RPG.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɛr.pɛˈɡjɛ/, /ar.piˈd͡ʐi/
• Rhymes: -ɛ, -i
• Syllabification: R‧P‧G

Noun

RPG n (indeclinable)

1. roleplaying game, RPG (type of game where one or more players assume the roles of characters (usually one each) to interact with a fictional world either defined by themselves or through the moderation of a neutral judge (usually referred to as the game master))

   Synonyms: erpeg, gra fabularna

2. roleplaying game, RPG (type of computer game where the player takes the role of a character or party, normally lacking tests of physical skill and including more story-telling and narrative aspects than traditional action games)

   Synonyms: erpeg, gra fabularna

Derived terms

nouns

• RPG-owiec

Further reading

• RPG in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Portuguese

Noun

RPG m (plural RPGs)

1. (games) roleplaying game (type of game in which the players assume the role of a character)