Meaning Of The Word Retard

Retard
“Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me”; one of the most inaccurate saying of all times. Words can have a huge emotional impact on people and often negatively affect their self-esteem. Since the word retard is becoming more and more common in our society’s everyday language, many people do not realize how offensive the word actually is. Throughout the years retard has had multiple definition changes. The word retard came about from the medical term mental retardation, defined by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, as a “sub average intellectual ability...manifested especially by delayed or abnormal development, by learning difficulties, and by problems in social adjustment”.Nine times out of ten, this term
The word traces back to Latin roots retardationem, and retardare, meaning “to make slow, delay, keep back, or hinder.” It is the same root as “tardy,” meaning late. Not only has the definition of the word changed, but the nature of the word has been altered over time as well. It has become more popular in our society to use retard as a noun rather than a verb. If we look at the various definitions of the word, we can see the unfairness. Retard can be used as a verb, when it means “to make slow; delay the development or progress of (an action, process, etc.).” It can also be used as an adjective, when it means “characterized by retardation,” which similarity means “slowness or limitation in intellectual understanding and awareness, emotional development, or academic progress”. Finally, it can be used as a noun, when it means “a mentally retarded person.” The word is dehumanizing and problematic primarily when used as an adjective or noun. Similarly,“fire-retardant pajamas” root word is retard, where as flame retardants is defined as “slows down the spread of fire”,which corresponds to the word retard, classifying people with an intellectual disability as slow. Society should be significantly concerned with people who use the term as a noun or adjective meant to dehumanize and insult a person, idea, or