Etymologically
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cripple

Etymology and origin of the English word cripple

History

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈkɹɪp(ə)l/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English crupel, later cripel,[2][3] inherited from Old English crypel,[4][2][5][3][6] from Proto-Germanic *krupilaz,[2][5] related to Old English cryppan “to crook, bend”[2][5] and to creep.[5][3][6][7] Cognates include Old Frisian kreppel, Middle Dutch cropel, German Krüppel and Old Norse kryppill.[2][5] A parallel Old English form crēopel corresponds to Middle Low German and Middle Dutch krēpel.[6] The original meaning may have been “one who can only creep”.[7][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

A person who is disabled in the use of the limbs, or lame (c. 950).[8][2][5]

Semantic evolution

Old English crypel named one who creeps, halts or limps.[5] The verb arose in the mid-13th century, first intransitive, “to move lamely, hobble” (c. 1220),[5][8][2] and from the early 14th century transitive, “to lame, disable”.[5][8][2] From the late 17th century it was applied figuratively to disabling machines (1694) and to impairing resources, trade or efforts (1702).[8] In Middle English place names cripple meant a low opening or burrow, and in American use a dense, swampy thicket (1670s).[5][8]

Timeline

  • c. 950 – Old English crypel, a lame person.[8][2]
  • c. 1220 – verb, to move lamely, hobble.[8]
  • before 1300 – verb, to lame, disable.[8][2]
  • 1694 – to disable a machine or vessel.[8]
  • 1702 – to impair resources or efforts.[8]
  • 1785 – slang, a sixpence.[8]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. (often offensive) A person or animal that is partly or wholly unable to use one or more limbs.
  2. (often offensive) A person who is disabled or deficient in some particular way, as a social cripple.
  3. Something damaged, flawed or defective.
  4. (carpentry) A stud shorter than usual, as above or below a window.

Verb

  1. To deprive of the use of a limb, especially a leg; to lame.
  2. To disable or seriously impair the strength or functioning of, as an economy crippled by inflation.

Word family

  • crippler
  • cripplingly
  • becripple
  • creep
  • crooked
  • lame

Usage notes

Merriam-Webster and Random House label the noun sometimes offensive when applied to people.[3][9]

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
  3. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  6. ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  9. ^ Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Cripple.” Etymologically, 10 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/cripple. Accessed 10 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on .