'Dotard' Trends on Twitter After Kim Insults Trump

Outdated word means weak, senile old person
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 22, 2017 2:08 AM CDT
Updated Sep 22, 2017 6:36 AM CDT
'Dotard' Trends on Twitter After Kim Insults Trump
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un delivers a statement in response to President Trump's speech to the United Nations, in Pyongyang,.   (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)

Kim Jong Un delivered several insults to President Trump in a rare statement issued in his own name early Friday—including one that a lot of people had to look up. "I will surely and definitely tame the mentally deranged US dotard with fire," Kim said, according to North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency. The word "dotard"—defined by Oxford Dictionaries as "an old person, especially one who has become weak or senile"—was soon trending on Twitter and online searches for its definition spiked, Mediaite reports. Kim also said: "Action is the best option in treating the dotard who, hard of hearing, is uttering only what he wants to say."

The word "dotard" dates back to the 14th century and appears in Shakespeare's works, though it is rarely used today. CNN notes that Kim's remarks, which were delivered in response to Trump's United Nations address, were made in Korean, and "dotard" was used in the KCNA's English translation. The Korean word Kim used can also be translated as "old lunatic." In his statement, which can be seen in full here, Kim also described Trump as a "rogue and a gangster fond of playing with fire." He said he would make Trump "pay dearly" for the UN speech, in which the president warned that the US would "totally destroy" North Korea if necessary. (More Kim Jong Un stories.)

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