Tucked into the widely-used translation of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s latest tirade against the U.S. was the use of the word “dotard” to diss President Trump.
“I will surely and definitely tame the mentally deranged U.S. dotard with fire,” Kim said in response to Trump’s speech to the United Nations General Assembly in which he threatened to annihilate North Korea if provoked and taunted Kim by calling him “Rocket Man.”
Kim’s use of the word “dotard” caused the word to trend on social media, with many people sharing the meaning of the word after looking it up. A quick Google search shows that a definition of the word means, “an old person, especially one who has become weak or senile.”
Merriam-Webster’s Twitter account reported that, “[s]earches for ‘dotard’ are high as a kite.” A second tweet added, “The word meant “imbecile” when it was first used in the 14th century.”
? Kim Jong Un calls Trump a mentally deranged U.S. dotard. Searches for ‘dotard’ are high as a kite. https://t.co/HztPoLSjXi
— Merriam-Webster (@MerriamWebster) September 21, 2017
Some people found humor in the word after they discovered its meaning.
Looks up definition of “dotard.” pic.twitter.com/kyf5j6J1DB
— Cameron Ridle (@CameronRidle) September 21, 2017
However, as South Korean freelance journalist Jihye Lee points out, the exact translation of what Kim said might actually not be “dotard” but rather “old beast lunatic.”
The Korean original statement said “늙다리 미치광이,” which means old beast lunatic — which was translated into “dotard.” https://t.co/2uQ0Xsxe2X
— Jihye Lee 이지혜 (@TheJihyeLee) September 21, 2017
