spastic

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English

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin spasticus, from Ancient Greek σπαστικός (spastikós, drawing in). By surface analysis, spasm +‎ -tic. Compare French spastique and see also spasm.

Pronunciation

Adjective

spastic (comparative more spastic, superlative most spastic)

  1. (pathology) Of, relating to, or affected by spasm.
  2. (pathology) Of or relating to spastic paralysis.
  3. (slang, derogatory, offensive in the UK and Ireland) Incompetent or physically uncoordinated.
  4. (slang, derogatory, offensive in the UK and Ireland) Hyperactive or behaving erratically.

Usage notes

See the usage notes about the noun, below.

Derived terms

Translations

Noun

spastic (plural spastics)

  1. (now offensive, especially in UK and Ireland) A person affected by spastic paralysis or spastic cerebral palsy.
  2. (slang, derogatory, offensive especially in UK and Ireland) A stupid, clumsy person.
    • 1995, Nick Hornby, High Fidelity, London: Victor Gollancz, →ISBN, page 17:
      ‘Oi, Fleming, you spastic. Guess who I knobbed last night?’
    • 1997 December 1, Peter Baynham, Steve Coogan, Armando Iannucci, “To Kill a Mocking Alan”, in I'm Alan Partridge:
      Jed Maxwell: See you next week then. We'll have that pint.
      Alan Partridge: Yep.
      Jed Maxwell: ...go and see my brother.
      Alan Partridge: No way, you big spastic! You're a mentalist!

Usage notes

English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia

The offensiveness of spastic and spaz differs considerably between the US and the UK. In the United States, the terms are usually inoffensive outside of the disability community; in the UK and Ireland, they are broadly offensive and typically taken as denigrating references to those with cerebral palsy. Consequently, University of Sussex linguist Lynne Murphy has described spastic as "one of the most taboo insults to a British ear",[1] and in a 2003 survey by the BBC it was voted the second-most offensive word relating to disability (after retard).[2][3]

Derived terms

Translations

References

  1. ^ Murphy, M Lynne (2007 February 28) “spastic, learning disability”, in Separated by a Common Language, retrieved 2007-08-17
  2. ^ “BBC worst word vote”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name), 2007 March 20 (last accessed), archived from the original on 20 March 2007
  3. ^ The s-word, by Damon Rose, BBC News, 12 April 2006

Anagrams

Interlingua

Adjective

spastic (not comparable)

  1. spastic

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French spastique.

Adjective

spastic m or n (feminine singular spastică, masculine plural spastici, feminine and neuter plural spastice)

  1. spastic

Declension