handicap

handicap
{{11}}handicap (n.) 1650s, from hand in cap, a game whereby two bettors would engage a neutral umpire to determine the odds in an unequal contest. The bettors would put their hands holding forfeit money into a hat or cap. The umpire would announce the odds and the bettors would withdraw their hands -- hands full meaning that they accepted the odds and the bet was on, hands empty meaning they did not accept the bet and were willing to forfeit the money. If one forfeited, then the money went to the other. If both agreed either on forfeiting or going ahead with the wager, then the umpire kept the money as payment. The custom, though not the name, is attested from 14c. ("Piers Plowman").
Reference to horse racing is 1754 (Handy-Cap Match), where the umpire decrees the superior horse should carry extra weight as a "handicap;" this led to sense of "encumbrance, disability" first recorded 1890. The main modern sense, "disability," is the last to develop, early 20c.
{{12}}handicap (v.) "equalize chances of competitors," 1852, but implied in the horse-race sense from mid-18c., from HANDICAP (Cf. handicap) (n.). Meaning "put at a disadvantage" is from 1864. Earliest verbal sense, now obsolete, was "to gain as in a wagering game" (1640s). Related: HANDICAPPED (Cf. Handicapped); handicapping.

Etymology dictionary. 2014.

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  • 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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