Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by luch 2682 days ago
Interesting, in French "retard" is a valid word (it means delay) which could be used as a project's name.

Honestly it's a lost battle to try to censor hurtful projects names. At best you can moderate US-centric ones.

2 comments

The same meaning exists in English as well, as a verb. Commonly found in aviation.

The alternative meaning of "mentally-disabled person" is derived from this meaning, as their brain is "slow" / "delayed". That repo was absolutely using it in this latter sense - "WebM for retards".

It has the same meaning in English as well, but is rarely used aside from a derogatory reference to mental development.
Funnily enough, it was introduced as a euphemism to "idiot" or "cretin", primarily in a medical context, because those other words were considered too unsavoury.

Now, I daresay "retard" is considered worse than "idiot".

One instance in which it's still used is for retarders, a form of brake often used on trucks and trains. Some forms, such as the jake brake, are very loud so you'll occasionally see towns put up signs that say "no jake brakes" or "no brake retarders" (because 'jake brake' is a generalized trademark.) As you might expect, these later signs can turn into a source of amusement...
I think the term "fire retardant" is also fairly common in some circumstances as well, though I'll admit to not being terribly familiar with brake retarders.