Cripple: A Word to Handle With Care
Cripple once meant a person unable to walk properly. As a noun it is now widely considered offensive, though the verb survives for damaging something badly.
Cripple is a word whose noun and verb have parted company. Applied to a person it is now regarded as offensive in almost every context and is avoided in careful writing. The verb, meaning to damage something so it cannot function, remains ordinary English.
- To damage severely (verb). *Sanctions crippled the economy.*
- To disable physically (verb, dated). *He was crippled by the fall.*
- A disabled person (noun, offensive and archaic). *Avoid this use entirely.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Verb | cripple | Cripple the network. |
| Adjective | crippling | Crippling debt. |
| Adverb | cripplingly | Cripplingly expensive. |
| Preferred term | disabled person | Disabled people were consulted. |
| Preferred term | person with a disability | A person with a mobility impairment. |
How it is used in a sentence
- The strike crippled the rail network.The standard modern use — damage to a system.
- Crippling interest rates forced the sale.The adjective, entirely unremarkable.
- Say disabled person, not the older noun.Current guidance in every major style guide.
What to write instead
- Disabled person — the term preferred by most disability organisations in Britain
- Person with a disability — preferred by many organisations in the United States
- Wheelchair user — accurate and neutral where relevant, rather than *confined to a wheelchair*
- Has a mobility impairment — specific, and avoids generalising
- Some disabled writers have reclaimed the old word for their own use; that is their choice to make, not an invitation
From Old English *crypel*, related to *creep*. It was a neutral descriptive term for centuries and appears throughout older literature and Bible translations, which is why it turns up in texts that are not intended to insult anyone.
Is the verb offensive too?
Not when applied to systems, economies or machines. Applied to a person's body it is dated and best avoided.
Why does it appear in old books?
It was standard descriptive English until the twentieth century. Attitudes changed, and the word carried the change with it.