#LLAP is something you’re probably seeing a lot of today if you’ve logged on to Twitter in the last few hours.
While the people who are sharing this now-trending hashtag know what’s up, you may be racking your brain trying to figure out what it could mean.
Well, other than being, on this day, one of the saddest hashtag trends ever, it stands for “Live Long and Prosper,” and it’s how the now late Leonard Nimoy used to sign off on every one of his tweets.
Nimoy died on Friday at the age of 83 . Reports like this one from the New York Times indicate that the cause of death was COPD, or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
The disease is characterized by poor airflow and typically gets worse over time. According to Nimoy’s Twitter feed, he quit smoking 30 years ago, but it was “too late.”
(Tobacco smoking is the primary cause of COPD, according to the COPD website .)
As for #LLAP, pretty much anyone who’d ever watched and fallen in love with Star Trek: The Original Series , were using it to express their grief at the passing of Nimoy.
At the forefront of these expressions of grief is Dani, Leonard’s grandchild, who posted the following to Nimoy’s Twitter feed.
“Hi all, as you all know, my Grandpa passed away this morning at 8:40 from end-stage chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. He was an extraordinary man, husband, grandfather, brother, actor, author-the list goes on- and friend. Thank you for the warm condolences. May you all LLAP. – Dani
P.s. I will be putting special shirts up on our site, SHOPLLAP.com, where all of the proceeds will go to the COPD Foundation. I hope to hear from you all.”
Others followed suit.
@TheRealNimoy I’m very sorry for your loss, Dani! I felt honoured to be one of his honorary grandchildren. He’ll always be remembered! LLAP
— Ghost 7 (@Ghost_7) February 27, 2015
@TheRealNimoy you shall be not forgotten #RIP #LLAP
— Christian Bartusch (@x3opyo) February 27, 2015
@TheRealNimoy A true legend died today, He will always be in our hearts, my condolences to you and the rest of your family :'( #LLAP
— Niall Hope (@fester112) February 27, 2015
So that’s the story on what #LLAP is, for those of you who hit the search engines looking. On behalf of the Inquisitr , Live Long And Prosper, Mr. Nimoy, you are already missed.
What was your favorite Leonard Nimoy moment? Share your thoughts in the comments section.
[Image via Twitter]
