We will all have to start pronouncing the hard “t” at the end of the word “report” again and notice "truthiness" on our own. Colbert told his audience Thursday night that Comedy Central's popular political satire show "The Colbert Report" will air its last show Dec. 18. The beloved host -- part performance artist, part political pundit -- will then take David Letterman’s spot on CBS’ 'Late Show.'

It's easy to forget that "The Colbert Report" is a spin-off of "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart," so fully formed was Colbert's shtick as a conservative political pundit, described as a "well-intentioned, poorly informed, high-status idiot." One of the figures Colbert's character is allegedly modeled after, Fox News' Bill O'Reilly, has been a contentious but game guest on the show more than once.

"The Colbert Report" has been nominated seven times for Primetime Emmy Awards, and in 2013 and 2014, it won two Emmys for Outstanding Variety Series and Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series. Colbert was even responsible for coining a word Merriam-Webster named their 2006 Word of the Year: "truthiness," which was defined as "the quality of seeming or being felt to be true, even if not necessarily true." It was an American phenomenon Colbert blamed on the declining quality of broadcast news. He defined it on "The Colbert Report's" first show:

"And that brings us to tonight's word: truthiness. Now I'm sure some of the word-police, the wordanistas over at Websters, are gonna say, 'Hey, that's not a word!' Well, anybody who knows me knows that I am no fan of dictionaries or reference books. They're elitist. Constantly telling us what is or isn't true, what did or didn't happen...

I don't trust books. They're all fact, no heart. And that's exactly what's pulling our country apart today. Because face it, folks, we are a divided nation. Not between Democrats or Republicans, or conservatives and liberals, or tops and bottoms. No, we are divided by those who think with their head, and those who know with their heart ... The 'truthiness' is, anyone can read the news to you. I promise to feel the news ... at you."

In his role as the fictional conservative pundit, Colbert also delivered a blistering roast of President George Bush at the White House Correspondents dinner in 2006.

Colbert is also the author of several books, including 2007's "I Am America (And So Can You!)" and 2012's "America Again: Re-becoming the Greatness We Never Weren't."