According to Oxford Advanced Learners’ Dictionary, being handicapped (of
a person) is having a condition that markedly restricts their ability to
function physically, mentally, or socially.
a person) is having a condition that markedly restricts their ability to
function physically, mentally, or socially.
The word handicapped is first recorded in the late 19th
century in the sense referring
century in the sense referring
to a person’s mental or physical disabilities.
In British English it was the standard term until the 1980s, but it has been
superseded by disabled, or, in reference to mental
disability, expressions such as having
learning difficulties or learning-disabled.