3 ms·
It literally means delayed in time, we use it in physics a lot, in the context of people and development it applies to those whose education (or cognitive abili
by codezero 13y ago
It literally means delayed in time, we use it in physics a lot, in the context of people and development it applies to those whose education (or cognitive ability) is delayed in time.
- gnerd 13y agoThis is the way I use the word too.
- Crito 13y agoI think the word is typically pronounced slightly differently (more correctly?) when used that way. This clip from The Hangover uses the slight differences in pronounciation for comedic effect: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PoendYt_ZJ0 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PoendYt_ZJ0 (skip to 0:45, video contains mildly offensive humor). Obviously the obsolete medical usage, now offensive usage, is just the regular word meaning delayed, but I think that somehow that specialized usage strayed from the generic usage over time.
- codezero 13y agoNope, never pronounced it different but clearly context is important :)
- thaumasiotes 13y agoWell, no, a mentally "retarded" person is not expected to develop further. They're behind, but nobody thinks they'll catch up. "Stunted" would be a more accurate term than "retarded"; the latter is just a euphemism.
- 3pt14159 13y agoWhich is why my comments said "Retard in its noun form" obviously retard has a verb form that means to slow. I used it in engineering a lot.