injury-riddled

the compound adjective 'injury-riddled' is a modern formation that follows a productive english pattern for describing a state of being permeated by something negative. the first element, 'injury', traces back to latin 'iniuria', combining 'in-' (not) and 'ius' (law, right), literally meaning 'a wrong'. the second element, 'riddled', originates from the old english word for a sieve. its verb form evolved to mean 'to pierce with many holes', and its participial adjective form metaphorically extended to mean 'pervaded or filled with something undesirable', akin to something being shot through with holes. thus, 'injury-riddled' logically constructs the meaning of being thoroughly afflicted with injuries, much as an object is perforated by many holes.

Structure: injury (harm) + riddled (filled with) injury (from latin iniuria, meaning 'injustice, harm, wrong', functioning as the noun base). riddled (from old english rīdels 'sieve', via middle english 'riddlen' meaning 'to sift', functioning as an adjective-forming suffix meaning 'full of holes or marks like a sieve', thus 'permeated with').