Two Definitions of Invalid
This punny graphic highlights the two definitions of invalid.
1. InvalidThe roots of words can explain their intended meanings and uses. As previously mentioned, in the case of invalid there are two major definitions, each of which has different roots. The first definition is an adjective describing something as having “no power, or strength” and being “of no force, efficacy, or cogency; void.” This adjective comes from the Latin word invalidus, which means “not strong, infirm, or weak” (Oxford English Dictionary). While this definition does not apply directly to the disabled, it is important to examine the implications this definition carries when the word is used for a disabled person. All of the words used in this definition appear with the word “no” in front of them, such as “no strength” and “no efficacy” showing that invalidity is prescriptive of what is normal, and describes what something does not have. The prefix in-, meaning the ‘opposite of’ or ‘not’, affirms this notion and suggests how even the roots imply inability and highlight the negative.
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2. InvalidThe second subdivision of invalid produces two definitions: as a noun and as an adjective. The two sub-definitions (as a noun and adjective) are grouped together because they are interrelated as the definitions that are most often applied to disabled people. As an adjective, the word can describe someone who is “infirm from sickness or disease” or “enfeebled or disabled by illness or injury” (Oxford English Dictionary). Because the definition actually contains the word disabled in it, it may seem easy to apply it to all cases of a disability. This would mean, however, that an “invalid person” is by definition, “infirm” which also connotes instability and weakness. Meanwhile, the noun invalid was adapted from the French word invalide, and became commonly seen in military language. It was used as an everyday term for an injured soldier, but was also used in its noun form for something “damaged, or worse for wear” (Oxford English Dictionary). 'Damaged' implies something that needs to be fixed or is no longer functional. This would imply that a disabled person has been ‘used up’ and is unable to meet up to standards of functionality for an ‘undamaged’ or ‘normal’ person. The explicit meanings of these words are clearly degrading, implying that something has already been used or is even expired.
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