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Originally Posted by xepherys
Try quoting your source.
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Dictionary.com.
First listed definition:
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re‧tard‧ed /rɪˈtɑrdɪd/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[ri-tahr-did] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
–adjective
1. characterized by retardation: a retarded child.
–noun
2. (used with a plural verb) mentally retarded persons collectively (usually prec. by the): new schools for the retarded.
[Origin: 1800–10; retard + -ed2]
—Synonyms backward, disabled, handicapped.
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.0.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source
re·tard·ed (r-tärdd) Pronunciation Key Audio pronunciation of "retarded" [P]
adj.
1. Often Offensive. Affected with mental retardation.
2. Occurring or developing later than desired or expected; delayed.
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Fourth
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Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary - Cite This Source
Main Entry: re·tard·ed
Pronunciation: ri-'tärd-&d
Function: adjective
: slow or limited in intellectual or emotional development : characterized by mental retardation
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Fifth
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WordNet - Cite This Source
retarded
adj : relatively slow in mental or emotional or physical development; "providing a secure and sometimes happy life for the retarded" [ant: precocious]
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And from your own source:
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retarded
Main Entry: re·tard·ed
Pronunciation: ri-'tär-d&d
Function: adjective
sometimes offensive : slow or limited in intellectual or emotional development or academic progress
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A standard English dictionary will prefer the first option here. The word retarded, as to mean someone of low intelligence is considered colloquial and was only found to be in use in that manner in the early 20th century.
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No. See my first cite above--it dates back to the early 1800's and is the only meaning cited for five of the six dictionaries listed. The American Heritage does list a derived meaning that is different.
"Retard" when used as a verb means to slow or stop. "Retarded" used as an adjective has the specific meaning of "mental handicap", has had this meaning for a couple of centuries, has been used that way in psychology and eduction for decades, and by misapplication gained the slang meaning "stupid," and more recently "not cool."
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The word retarded has uses in multiple scientific, medical and psychological situations, and being "genetically retarded" reads much more logically using the first meaning than saying your genes are stupid.
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That's not how I read it. I read it as meaning "being retarded as a result of genetic defect."
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*boggle* Fine, be offended, but as I've pointed out to you in previous threads, you always seem to be offended by the words people choose to use in relation to homosexuality.
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Not always. Only when offensive words are chosen, those that imply moral or character judgment. It's a very common tactic to use weasel words when discussing this subject, words that have multiple possible meanings, such as abnormal, deviant, perverted, and now retarded. These words do have literal meanings that in the right context may be conotatively neutral, but are almost never used in this way. It's a clever and often effective tactic, using a word that's almost always used pejoratively in general usage while having a denotative meaning that is literally true. It allows for a defense of the usage on a literal basis if challenged, while also leaving the negative connotations.
It's very similar to saying that calling someone a man who once fathered a child is a "motherfucker" or a gay man a "cocksucker." Even if those things are literally true, the pejorative connotations that come with them carry as much weight as the literal meaning.
In the context of that post, given the obvious feelings towards homosexuality shown there, I doubt that the specific scientific meaning that you cite is the only one intended.
Yes, I'm sensitive about the language used to describe my orientation, especially those words routinely used as pejoratives. I don't like being called offensive names. I'm funny that way.