President Trump tweeted a garbled late-night message that baffled everyone on Twitter. (Monica Akhtar/The Washington Post)

At 12:06 a.m. Eastern time Wednesday, President Trump tweeted a strange sentence fragment.

“Despite the constant negative press covfefe,” the tweet read. That was it. It ended abruptly, as if someone stopped him, or he stopped himself, or perhaps he never meant to send it.

No, “covfefe” isn’t a typo, at least, not on the part of The Washington Post.

Within six hours, it had been retweeted more than 127,000 times and “liked” more than 162,000 times — making it one of his most popular tweets in months. By then it had become a massive Internet joke.

By 5:48 a.m. EDT, the tweet had been deleted. (The Washington Post saved an image of it earlier in the night.)

Twenty minutes later, a new tweet replaced it:

Who can figure out the true meaning of "covfefe" ??? Enjoy! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 31, 2017

But by then the “word” covfefe had been trending all night. One company even appeared to have made a shirt with that odd combination of letters written across the front in bold, block letters.

“Don’t talk to me until I’ve had my #covfefe,” wrote one user.

“What’s even the point of CNN if they’re not going commercial-free with #covfefe coverage?” inquired another.

[Trump tweets ‘covfefe,’ inspiring a semi-comedic act of Congress]

“The next time I go to Starbucks I’m gonna order a grande #covfefe,” wrote one thirsty user.

The word “covfefe” does not appear in the Merriam-Webster dictionary. When searching for it on the company’s website, the dictionary suggests “coffee,” “coven,” “cover,” “covet,” “covey” and “cuvee.”

Clearly, it isn’t an English word. Some tweets employing “covfefe” offer the option to translate it from Norwegian, though that appears to be a glitch of some sort. “Covfefe” does not appear to be a Norwegian word, either.

Desperate for a definition, some Twitter users came up with a few, such as coffee or a synonym to “The Lion King’s” “Hakuna Matata.” (“It means no worries, for the rest of your days.” Some would say it’s a “problem-free philosophy.”)

The best part of waking up is #covfefe in your cup. — Randy Rainbow (@RandyRainbow) May 31, 2017

#Covfefe: What a wonderful phrase

Covfefe! Aint no passing craze

It means no worries for the rest of ur days

Its our problem-free philosophy pic.twitter.com/wvdsj24kWh — Elnathan John (@elnathan_john) May 31, 2017

Others suggested it might make a great band, or perhaps human, name.

Nine months from now there will be a flood of babies named #Covfefe. — Zanti Misfit (@ZantiMisft) May 31, 2017

Fusion even launched a poll asking others to weigh in on the strange word’s pronunciation.

What is the correct pronunciation of #covfefe? — Fusion (@Fusion) May 31, 2017

the best and worst thing about #covfefe will be everyone trying to pronounce it in real life tomorrow — Cespedes Family BBQ (@CespedesBBQ) May 31, 2017

Some, meanwhile, defended Trump, pointing out that accidentally sending a half-typed tweet is a human error.

Liberals are so perfect, they've never been in the middle of typing a tweet, and then been interrupted, and accidentally sent it #covfefe — Mark Dice (@MarkDice) May 31, 2017

So many Twitter users weighed in on the apparent typo, it created two trending topics on Twitter and a Twitter moment.

The first trending topic was simply #covfefe. The other was “Rosebud,” which refers to the famous dying words of Charles Kane in the film “Citizen Kane.” Its meaning remains a mystery until the end of the movie.

I think "covfefe" might be Donald J. Trump's "rosebud." — haunted covfefe (@zandywithaz) May 31, 2017

Orson Welles called. The answer to Rosebud is… #Covfefe — Roof Beam Reader (@RoofBeamReader) May 31, 2017

“Citizen Kane” wasn’t the only film invoked.

"Leave the gun, take the #covfefe." — Daniel Dae Kim (@danieldaekim) May 31, 2017

Some people just want to see the world #Covfefe pic.twitter.com/icn1plpHfE — Tony Moore (@TonyPixels) May 31, 2017

Finally figured out what Bill Murray whispered in Scarlett Johansson's ear at the end of "Lost in Translation" #covfefe pic.twitter.com/fDFJUYlEz8 — Jordan VanDina (@Shrimptooth) May 31, 2017

Some reimagined famous brand slogans, replacing brand names with it.

The best part of waking up, is #Covfefe in your cup. — Bryan Partridge (@Astrojack83) May 31, 2017

Maybe she's born with it, maybe it's #Covfefe. — Katie Krause (@Katie_Krause) May 31, 2017

Switching to @GEICO could save you 15% or more on car covfefe. #covfefe — gastt (@gasttfromtumblr) May 31, 2017

Other users, meanwhile, raced to tweet the best “covfefe” joke. Here are but a few.

what makes me saddest is that I know I'll never write anything funnier than #covfefe — Jimmy Kimmel (@jimmykimmel) May 31, 2017

Ask not what covfefe can do for you, but what you can do for #covfefe pic.twitter.com/pXD950PtXj — Mike Gorman (@MikeGormanHFX) May 31, 2017

If your covfefe lasts longer than four hours, call your doctor. #Covfefe pic.twitter.com/vZNr2C0Hvp — Robot Joe Miller (@JoeMiller17) May 31, 2017

I overcooked the confefe! Oh nooooo! We should have a contest to give it meaning! — Jeff Lord (@realJeffreyLord) May 31, 2017

Spicer: Look the president has been very clear on #covfefe. I think the tweet speaks for itself. I'm not going to rehash every letter today. — Claire Wisely (@Claire_Wisely) May 31, 2017

I'm completely serious. From now on we should ONLY refer to him as "President Covfefe." #Covfefe — Mike Birbiglia (@birbigs) May 31, 2017

You say "covfefe" I say "covfoffee" let's call the whole thing off!! . no… really..#Covfefe — Anna Camp (@TheRealAnnaCamp) May 31, 2017

I mean I'm interested, but can they just use like real words in titles for these @SquareEnix games for once? pic.twitter.com/P0yTMaE6k9 — Robert Allen Peeler (@popcicle) May 31, 2017

Gillian Brockell contributed to this story.

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