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amputee

UK/ampjʊˈtiː/US/ampjʊˈtiː/
nounB2Very rare — outside the 30,000 commonest English words, so you will meet it in writing rather than in speechleans written

Other forms: amputees

An amputee is a person who has lost a limb. An arm, a leg, or part of one.

The word is plain and respectful, which is why hospitals and charities use it, and it comes straight from amputate, to remove a limb by surgery. It usually arrives with a qualifier saying which limb and how much: a double amputee, a below-knee amputee. Many people prefer to be described as a person with a limb difference rather than by the word alone, so it is worth listening for the term someone uses about themselves. Around it sit amputation for the operation and prosthesis for the limb that replaces it.

Definitions of amputee

  1. 1nounamputeeA person who has had an arm or a leg removed.B2

    “The charity fits prosthetic legs for amputees.”

Where it comes from

Amputee is a French past participle. Amputée means the one who has been amputated, from Latin amputāre, and English kept the French ending as a way of naming the person a thing was done to.

  1. Latin

    amputatus

  2. French

    amputée

  3. English, today

    amputee

Built from

  • amputer · French — to amputate
  • amputare · Latin — to amputate

From French amputée, (past participle of amputer (“to amputate”)), from Latin amputatus, perfect passive participle of amputare (“to amputate”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practised in A Man Called Ove

First appears in chapter 3 of A Man Called Ove.

Practise this word

amputee in the wild

  • The World Abilitysport Games are a parasports multi-sport event for athletes who use wheelchairs or are amputees.

    World Abilitysport Games

  • Acrotomophilia is a paraphilia in which an individual expresses strong sexual interest in amputees.

    Acrotomophilia

  • Aaron Chatman is an Australian right arm amputee Paralympic athlete competing in class T47 men's high jump, long jump and 100 m.

    Aaron Chatman

  • Amy Palmiero-Winters is a below-knee amputee, long-distance runner, and triathlete.

    Amy Palmiero-Winters

  • Several sports have sport specific governing bodies managing classification for amputee sportspeople.

    Disability sport classification

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From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.