Invalids

Part of speech: noun, adjective

Definitions

1. Individuals who are often unable to perform daily activities due to physical or mental limitations; also, people excluded from certain duties or privileges due to perceived inadequacy; as well as those rejected due to invalid status in legal or social circumstances
2. Referring to persons whose health conditions impair their mobility or functionality; it can characterize individuals who lack the capability to fulfill specific obligations or be recognized in approved capacities; also includes those considered illegitimate or not valid in a certain evaluation or status
3. Persons whose physical or mental conditions render them incapable of performing typical duties or activities; encompassing individuals who are barred from certain responsibilities due to perceived inadequacies; additionally referring to those deemed not valid within social or legal frameworks

Etymology: The word "invalid" is an old Latin compound that once meant simply "weak." Latin "invalidus" was built from "in-", meaning "not," and "validus," meaning "strong," so it described someone without strength. That root also gave English "valid," "value," and "valiant," which share the sense of strength or worth. The Latin word passed into Middle French as "invalide," and English borrowed it from there. In English the word has long carried a double sense. As an adjective it could mean "not valid" or "having no legal force," which is the usual sense of a document or argument that fails. Its medical sense, a person who is weak or disabled, grew from the original Latin meaning of physical weakness, and that sense is the one that supplies the plural "invalids" here. The plural "invalids" is the form of that noun, referring to people who are chronically ill or disabled. Its origin is the Latin root described above.

Synonyms: patients, disabled, convalescents, cripples, sick

Antonyms: healthy, fit, strong, able-bodied, robust