handicap

Definitions

Not a Latin root at all — a frozen English phrase. The word comes from 'hand in cap' (hand-i-cap), an old 17th-century betting game: two traders put forfeit money into a cap and a neutral umpire decided how much extra the owner of the better item had to pay to make the swap fair. That balancing payment — an artificial disadvantage to even the odds — became the sporting 'handicap,' and then any disadvantage at all.

Why It Means This

Handicap is a great example of how a word's spelling hides a forgotten story. The 'cap' here is not the Latin cap- (seize) but a literal cap — the hat you put your bet money into during the old 'hand in cap' game. The umpire's job was to add a disadvantage to the stronger side so the contest was fair. That sense of a deliberately imposed disadvantage is why we still talk about a golf handicap and, more broadly, any handicap to success.

Usage Guide

Example Sentences

• 1.

  A lack of funding was the project's biggest handicap.

• 2.

  He plays golf off a handicap of twelve.

• 3.

  Poor transport links handicap the region's economy.