disability English · revision 6353

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=1545}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /dɪsəˈbɪlɪti/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is formed from [[dis-]] and [[ability]].^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(MWU 2024)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Want of power or ability: 1545 in MWU, the 1570s in Etymonline;^(MWU 2024)^(Etymonline) the OED has an instance of incapacity from 1580.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Lack of money was a 17th-century sense (1624).^(OED 1989) Incapacity in the eyes of the law, a legal restriction, is from 1641, the 1640s in Etymonline.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) The Century Dictionary, quoted by Etymonline, distinguished disability, a loss of power, from inability, an inherent want of power.^(Etymonline) A physical or mental condition that limits movement, the senses or activities is now the main sense.^(Collins 2023)^(AHD)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1545 – lack of ability.^(MWU 2024)

+ * 1624 – lack of means.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1641 – a legal incapacity.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A physical or mental condition that limits a person's movements, senses or activities.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A disadvantage or [[handicap]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(law)'' Legal incapacity to act.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[developmental disability]]

+ * [[learning disability]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[disable]]

+ * [[disabled]]

+ * [[ability]]

+ * [[inability]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}