handicap

handicap
noun
1》 a condition that markedly restricts a person's ability to function physically, mentally, or socially.
2》 a disadvantage imposed on a superior competitor in sports such as golf and horse racing in order to make the chances more equal.
    ↘the extra weight given as a handicap to a racehorse or other competitor.
    ↘the number of strokes by which a golfer normally exceeds par for a course.
verb (handicaps, handicapping, handicapped) act as a handicap to; place at a disadvantage.
Phrases
out of the handicap Horse Racing having a handicap rating that would merit carrying a weight below the minimum specified for a race.
Derivatives
handicapper noun
Word History
Handicap entered the language in the 17th century, deriving from the phrase hand in cap. This was the name given to an old pastime in which one person claimed an article belonging to another and offered something in exchange, any difference in value being decided by an umpire. All three deposited forfeit money in a cap; the two opponents showed their agreement or disagreement with the valuation by bringing out their hands either full or empty. If both were the same, the umpire took the forfeit money; if not it went to the person who accepted the valuation. The term handicap race was applied in the late 18th century to a horse race in which an umpire decided the weight to be carried by each horse, the owners showing acceptance or dissent in a similar way: hence in the late 19th century handicap came to mean the extra weight given to the superior horse.

English new terms dictionary. 2014.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • handicap — [ ɑ̃dikap; ɑ̃dikap ] n. m. • 1827; mot angl., probablt de hand in cap « main dans le chapeau », t. de jeu 1 ♦ Turf Course ouverte à des chevaux dont les chances de vaincre, naturellement inégales, sont égalisées par l obligation faite aux… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Handicap.fr — est un site d actualité et d information destiné à toutes les personnes concernées par le handicap. Ce média indépendant et gratuit, crée en 2002, offre de l information sur toutes les thématiques du handicap. Il informe aussi sur des services et …   Wikipédia en Français

  • handicap — HANDICÁP, handicapuri, s.n. 1. (Sport) Punctaj acordat unui concurent mai slab. ♦ Totalitatea punctelor cu care o echipă a fost pusă în inferioritate de echipa adversă. 2. fig. Greutate, piedică intervenită în munca cuiva. 3. Deficienţă… …   Dicționar Român

  • *handicap — ● handicap nom masculin (anglais handicap, de hand in cap, main dans le chapeau) Épreuve, course ou concours, dans lesquels les concurrents reçoivent ou rendent une avance de temps, de distance, de poids ou de points, de manière qu ils aient tous …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Handicap — auch Handikap (engl. hændikæp ‚Benachteiligung, Vorbelastung, Erschwerung‘) bezeichnet: eine soziale (und/oder körperliche) Benachteiligung aufgrund einer Behinderung im Sport einen Faktor zur Nivellierung unterschiedlicher Leistungsstärken,… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • handicap — hand i*cap (h[a^]n d[i^]*k[a^]p), n. [From hand in cap; perh. in reference to an old mode of settling a bargain by taking pieces of money from a cap.] 1. An allowance of a certain amount of time or distance in starting, granted in a race to the… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • hándicap — 1. Voz tomada del inglés handicap (‘desventaja’), que se emplea, en hípica y en algunos otros deportes, con el sentido de ‘prueba en que se imponen desventajas a los mejores participantes, para igualar las posibilidades de todos’: «El resto del… …   Diccionario panhispánico de dudas

  • handicap — / hændikæp/, it. / ɛndikap/ s. ingl. [in origine, gioco d azzardo con monete che si estraevano a sorte da un cappello, alteraz. di hand in cap mano nel cappello ], usato in ital. al masch. 1. a. (sport.) [gara nella quale i diversi valori dei… …   Enciclopedia Italiana

  • handicap — [n1] disadvantage affliction, baggage*, barrier, block, burden, detriment, disability, drawback, encumbrance, hangup*, hindrance, impairment, impediment, injury, limitation, load, millstone, obstacle, psychological baggage*, restriction,… …   New thesaurus

  • handicap — {{/stl 13}}{{stl 7}}[wym. handikap, akcent na pierwszej sylabie] {{/stl 7}}{{stl 8}}rz. mnż I, D. u, Mc. handicappie {{/stl 8}}{{stl 20}} {{/stl 20}}{{stl 12}}1. {{/stl 12}}{{stl 7}} czynnik mobilizujący, ułatwiający zrobienie czegoś;… …   Langenscheidt Polski wyjaśnień

  • handicap — ► NOUN 1) a condition that markedly restricts a person s ability to function physically, mentally, or socially. 2) a disadvantage imposed on a superior competitor in sports such as golf and horse racing in order to make the chances more equal. 3) …   English terms dictionary

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