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prettygoodwordcripple (KRIP-uhl) - v., to make lame; to destroy the strength, efficiency, or wholeness of (something), disable, impair.
And the usual noun forms, though note that the noun cripple as applied to a person, in the sense of someone who is disabled and requires mobility assistance, is offensive. That last sense, however, is very old -- dating to at least 950. Although we don't have direct evidence, it looks like this word was formed in Proto-Germanic, or at least before Old English, as the frequentive of kreupaną, to creep -- in other words, describing the movement of someone who's lame, which means the meaning of being disabled predates the meaning of disabling.
And that's another week of frequentives -- back to the regular mix on Monday.
---L.
And the usual noun forms, though note that the noun cripple as applied to a person, in the sense of someone who is disabled and requires mobility assistance, is offensive. That last sense, however, is very old -- dating to at least 950. Although we don't have direct evidence, it looks like this word was formed in Proto-Germanic, or at least before Old English, as the frequentive of kreupaną, to creep -- in other words, describing the movement of someone who's lame, which means the meaning of being disabled predates the meaning of disabling.
And that's another week of frequentives -- back to the regular mix on Monday.
---L.
