handicapping
UK[ˈhændikæpɪŋ]US[ˈhændiˌkæpɪŋ]
verb (gerund or present participle)
The act of imposing a disadvantage or handicap on someone or something.
verb (gerund or present participle)
The act of assigning a handicap to a competitor in sports, especially horse racing or golf, to equalize chances of winning.
Morpheme Breakdown
hand
i
capping
hand
i
capping
Etymology
The term originates from the 17th-century game "hand in cap," a barter game involving forfeits drawn from a cap. This evolved into "handicap race" in the 18th century, where an umpire would decide advantages by placing the contestants' forfeit money in a cap. The core logic moved from a literal lottery ("hand in cap") to the abstract concept of imposing an equalizing disadvantage in competitions. The modern sense of "disadvantage" generalized from this sporting usage in the 20th century.
Analysis
Structure: hand + i + capping
- hand: Old English. The literal body part, used here in the idiomatic phrase "hand in cap," referring to a lottery-style game.
- i: English. A connective vowel or element from the phrase "hand in cap."
- capping: English (from Old English cæpp). The present participle of 'cap,' referring to the container (cap) used in the original game of chance.
Examples
The new regulations are aimed at handicapping the dominant team to make the league more competitive.
He spends his weekends handicapping horses at the local racetrack.
The committee is responsible for handicapping golfers based on their previous scores.