喜樂美語
  1. 1不利條件、障礙;(高爾夫)差點

    A handicap is something that makes a task harder for you than for other people - a disadvantage. In golf, your 'handicap' is actually a number showing your skill level, used so players of different ability can compete fairly - a bit confusing, since a higher golf handicap means you are a weaker player, not a stronger one. Older English also used 'handicap' and 'handicapped' to describe a person with a physical or mental disability, but this use has - today most people prefer the word 'disabled' or 'a person with a disability', because 'handicapped' can sound outdated or even a little disrespectful now.

From the word’s history

From hand-in-cap, referring to holding the game stakes in a cap.

來自 hand-in-cap，指把賭注放在帽子裡的遊戲。

Wiktionary

組成Many word-history books say 'handicap' comes from an old trading game called 'hand in cap', where players put money in a cap to make a trade fair - though honestly, nobody living today watched that game being played, so treat it as the most likely story rather than a certain fact.

原始詞典資料9 筆記錄

以下是外部詞典記錄的用法，摘錄並精簡格式，我們還沒有寫成教學內容。上面的說明才是我們自己寫的；有些用法可能上面已經講過了。

handicapnoun/ˈhændikæp/

  • 1

    Something that prevents, hampers, or hinders.

    • Age is often a handicap.
    • Captain Edward Carlisle[…]felt a curious sensation of helplessness seize upon him as he met her steady gaze,[…]; he could not tell what this prisoner might do. He cursed the fate which had assigned such a duty, cursed especially that fate which forced a gallant soldier to meet so superb a woman as this under handicap so hard.
  • 2

    hobbieslifestylesportsAn allowance of a certain amount of time or distance in starting, granted in a race (or other contest of skill) to the competitor possessing disadvantages; or an additional weight or other hindrance imposed upon the one possessing advantages, in order to equalize, as much as possible, the chances of success.

    • The older boy won, even though his opponent had been granted a handicap of five meters.
    • A handicap in chess often involves removal of the queen's rook.
  • 3

    An individual's physical or mental disadvantage or disability.

  • 4

    A race or similar contest in which there is an allowance of time, distance, weight, or other advantage, to equalize the chances of the competitors.

  • 5

    obsoletecard-gamesgamesAn old card game, similar to lanterloo.

    • Here some of us fell to handicap, a sport that I never knew before, which was very good.
  • 6

    obsoleteSynonym of hand-in-cap (“old English trading game”).

handicapverb/ˈhændikæp/

  • 1

    To encumber with a handicap in any contest.

  • 2

    To place at disadvantage.

    • The candidate was handicapped by her lack of experience.
  • 3

    To estimate betting odds.

    • Grandpa Andy would buy the racing form the day ahead of time so he could handicap the race before he even arrived at the track.

摘錄自 英文維基詞典 English Wiktionary，已精簡格式；依 CC BY-SA 4.0 授權使用，改動後的內容同樣以此授權提供。