[GavinWheeler]

Originally posted by editr1:
Good points. But "nerf" as a verb? Not sure I've seen this usage...explain?

This is one of those interesting questions that makes you realise you don't actually know where you picked up the word/fact/whatever in question.

I think I picked it up in discussions about games such as Baldur's gate. It was used to refer to something being reduced in power considerably, probably when it had been overpowered originally. Such as someone saying "the new patch has nerfed the Robe of Mirroring, so it is no longer ridiculously powerful." Presumably derives from the foam toys, but all I found from a Google search is other people speculating on the derivation.