What is a Dotard? North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un Labels Donald Trump a 'Dotard'
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un sparked everyone's interest with his choice of words when he used a centuries-old insult to describe U.S. President Donald Trump.
The North Korean leader made the insult in a response to Trump's threats to the country, which the U.S. President made in front of the recent United Nations General Assembly. Kim called Trump a "dotard," a term which is said to have been used in the 14th century. According to the Oxford Dictionary, it refers to someone who is old, senile, and weak.
"Action is the best option in treating the dotard who, hard of hearing, is uttering only what he wants to say," Kim said in statement published Thursday by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency
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He continued, "I will surely and definitely tame the mentally deranged U.S. dotard with fire."
Kim did not utter the said word, as he was speaking in Korean when he made the statement. The archaic word, "dotard," was the English translation provided for by the state news agency. Kim used the term "neulg-dali-michigwang-i" in his native language, which translates to "old lunatic."
When "dotard" was first used in the 14th century, it was synonymous to imbecile. Notable writers such as Geoffrey Chaucer and William Shakespeare have used the word in their famous literature pieces. The term appears in Chaucer's "The Canterbury Tales" and it also appears numerous times in Shakespeare's "The Taming of the Shrew" and "King Lear."
To note, this is not the first time the U.S. President was called a dotard. In May, Charles P. Pierce in an article for Esquire called Trump "a blundering dotard."
Pierce took to Twitter to agree with Kim's statement. He said, "I would like to thank Kim for bringing "dotard" back.
