What's a dotard? Twitter goes wild after Kim Jong Un's vocab Trump burn

Merriam-Webster found itself at a loss for words when President Trump famously tweeted "covfefe" earlier this year. But on Thursday, the online dictionary was up to task and redeemed itself when social media needed it the most.

In response to Trump's combative U.N. General Assembly speech against North Korea and his decision to ramp up economic pressure on the reclusive nation, Kim Jong Un called Trump a "mentally deranged dotard" who is “unfit to hold the prerogative of supreme command of a country."

Shortly after Kim's statement, Twitter tossed the question to Merriam-Webster, asking for dotard's definition:

And the online dictionary quickly knocked it out of the park:

"The word as used today commonly means 'a person in his or her dotage,'" Merriam-Webster said shortly after the word went viral, adding that dotage: "is a state or period of senile decay marked by decline of mental poise and alertness."

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Dotard, Merriam-Webster said, comes from "the Middle English word doten (meaning 'to dote'), initially had the meaning of 'imbecile' when it began being used in the 14th century."  

People were quick to thank Merriam-Webster, some with emotion:

North Korea: Trump's U.N. speech sounded like 'dog barking'

More: North Korean leader calls Trump 'mentally deranged'

Related:Trump says he will sign new executive order to pressure N. Korea