Disabled
/dɪsˈeɪbld/noun
Unable to use part of the body or mind normally, or prevented from functioning in the usual way.
Did you know?The core root behind *disabled* is the same ancient idea that gave English words like *able*, *capable*, and *table* their “fit/apt” sense, because all trace back to a Latin word for “fit for” or “suitable.”
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*h₂ep-
“to grasp, take, or hold”
Latin
Latin
habēre
“to have, hold, possess”
Latin
Latin
habilis
“easily handled; fit, suitable”
Late Latin
LL
dis- + habilis
“unfit, unable, incapable”
Old French
OF
desabler / disable
“to make unfit or powerless”
Middle English
ME
disable
“to deprive of ability or capacity”
Modern English
English
disabled
“unable to function normally or lacking a particular ability”