Revised as of
1 July 2023
A friend and I were out driving to meet more friends for lunch, and we got to joking about the slowpoke driving ahead of us. I mean, the cheek, he was actually doing the speed limit. I said something about disabled drivers
Hmmm, in this politically correct time, I suppose I shouldn’t be “making fun” of disabled persons or persons with a disability, except my friend and I are disabled ourselves. And we’re constantly poking away at ourselves.
So, getting back to the real point of this post, disable vs handicap
Disable is usually a lifelong condition in which functioning is reduced or a particular body part or organ is missing and there is a lack of ability in carrying out an activity in the means viewed as “normal” by the community.
Handicap is defined as a disadvantage resulting from a disability and a difficulty that limits or prevents fulfillment.
I loved Ulrich‘s point about Stevie Wonder being disabled but NOT handicapped! She goes on with examples of people who need glasses have the disability of poor eyesight but it’s not a handicap as eyeglasses are readily available. Several friends have to use a wheelchair, so they are disabled, but they can still go to the grocery store and the bank
Nice distinctions
Word Confusions . . .
. . . started as my way of dealing with a professional frustration with properly spelled words that were out of context in manuscripts I was editing as well as books I was reviewing. It evolved into a sharing of information with y’all. I’m hoping you’ll share with us words that have been a bête noire for you from either end.
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| Disable | Handicap |
|---|---|
IED Deactivation by ResoluteSupportMedia is under the CC BY 2.0 license, via Flickr. — After assessing the difficulties to examine and disable the bomb, specialists have opted for a distant blast. |
Person Sitting in a Self-propelled Wheelchair is in the public domain, via PickPik. |
| Part of Grammar: | |
| Verb, intransitive & transitive
Third person present verb: disables |
Noun 1; Verb, transitive 1, 2
Plural for the noun: handicaps Third person present verb: handicaps |
| Verb: [Of a disease, injury, or accident] Limit (someone) in their movements, senses, or activities
|
Noun: A circumstance that makes progress or success difficult 1 [Dated or offensive] A condition that markedly restricts a person’s ability to function physically, mentally, or socially A disadvantage imposed on a superior competitor in sports such as golf, horse racing, and competitive sailing in order to make the chances more equal
The disadvantage or advantage itself
[Sometimes offensive] A physical or mental disability making participation in certain of the usual activities of daily living more difficult Verb, transitive:
To make unable or unfit
To impair or injure (a person or animal) physically or mentally To make legally incapable
[Digital Technology] To make (a device, system, or feature) unable to function
To place at a disadvantage
To subject to a disadvantageous handicap, as a competitor of recognized superiority To assign handicaps to (competitors) [Sports] To attempt to predict the winner of (a contest, especially a horse race), as by comparing past performances of the contestants 2 To assign odds for or against (any particular contestant) to win a contest or series of contests |
| Examples: | |
| Verb, intransitive: Anxiety can disrupt and disable anyone. Minors are legally disabled from entering into a contract. Some of the car’s advanced safety features can be disabled. Verb, transitive: The raiders tried to disable the alarm system. The detective successfully disabled the bomb. The accident disabled him for life. |
Noun: A criminal conviction is a handicap and a label that may stick forever. The main handicap of our business is lack of capital. “That could prove a severe handicap as the president-elect’s team prepares to take office amid a slew of threats from digital adversaries, including Russia, China, and Iran” (Sonmez). He was born with a significant visual handicap. I found that not having a car was quite a handicap while on vacation. There needs to be handicap access from the gardens. Battling against painful odds to remain in the game the little genius still plays off a scratch handicap hoping for a comeback to competitive golf. Oh, that’s the trophy for the $75,000 Ak-Sar-Ben Handicap. What’s Pretty Boy’s handicap? His game struggles along in the 20-handicap range. The girl had been receiving treatment on a ward for patients with serious mental or physical handicaps, according to the hospital. Verb, transitive: Without a good set of notes you will handicap yourself when it comes to exams. He was handicapped by his injured ankle. Education follows the French system, and is available to all, although the system is handicapped by insufficient funding. In the end the Japanese showed a preference for doing business with the Chinese, who seemed less handicapped by bureaucratic constraints. “The six-year-old was given a 12lb rise for winning a handicap hurdle on Monday up to a mark of 120, and also received 13lb for a Flat handicap success on Sunday, up to a mark of 78” (Poet). He handicapped the Yankees at 2-to-1 to take the series from the Cardinals. |
| Derivatives: | |
| Adjective: disabled Noun: disabling, disabilities, disability, disablement, disabler |
Adjective: handicapped Noun: nonhandicap, prehandicap, handicapper Verb, transitive: overhandicap, overhandicapped, overhandicapping, prehandicap, prehandicapped, prehandicapping |
| History of the Word: | |
| It was first recorded in 1475–85; dis- (lady, woman) + able. |
|
C’mon, get it out of your system, bitch, whine, moan . . . which words are your pet peeves? Also, please note that I try to be as accurate as I can, but mistakes happen or I miss something. Email me if you find errors, so I can fix them . . . and we’ll all benefit!
Satisfy your curiosity about other Word Confusions on its homepage or more generally explore the index of self-editing posts. You may also want to more generally explore the index of self-editing posts. You may also want to explore Formatting Tips, Grammar Explanations, Linguistics, Publishing Tips, the Properly Punctuated, Writing Ideas and Resources, and Working Your Website.
Resources for Disable versus Handicap
Apple Dictionary
Dictionary.com: disable, handicap
Lexico.com: handicap
“Poet Raised a Cool 25lb After Sprouting Wings for Hat-trick.” Ratings Risers. The Racing Post. 9 Aug 2019. Web. 22 May 2021. <https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Poet+raised+a+cool+25lb+after+sprouting+wings+for+hat-trick%3b+RATINGS…-a0595844088>.
Sonmez, Felicia, Colby Itkowitz, John Wagner, and Derek Hawkins. “Georgia Announces Hand Audit.” Washington Post. 12 Nov 2020. Web. 22 May 2021. <https://www.washingtonpost.com/elections/2020/11/11/joe-biden-trump-election-live-updates/>.
Ulrich, Marye. “Do the Words Disability and Handicapped Mean the Same Thing?” Disability Resource Community.org. n.d. Web. 22 May 2021. <http://www.disabilityresource.org/23-do-the-words-disability-and-handicapped-mean-the-same-thing>.
Pinterest Photo Credits:
MTR Ktt Staff Help Disable[d] Passenger Alighting is LN9267‘s own work and is under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license, via Wikimedia Commons.
