invalid

- 10 dictionary results

in⋅va⋅lid

1 [in-vuh-lid; Brit. in-vuh-leed]

–noun

1.	an infirm or sickly person.

2.	a person who is too sick or weak to care for himself or herself: My father was an invalid the last ten years of his life.

3.	Archaic. a member of the armed forces disabled for active service.

–adjective

4.	unable to care for oneself due to infirmity or disability: his invalid sister.

5.	of or for invalids: invalid diets.

6.	(of things) in poor or weakened condition: the invalid state of his rocking chair.

–verb (used with object)

7.	to affect with disease; make an invalid: He was invalided for life.

8.	to remove from or classify as not able to perform active service, as an invalid.

9.	British. to remove or evacuate (military personnel) from an active theater of operations because of injury or illness.

–verb (used without object) Archaic.

10.	to become an invalid.

Origin:
1635–45; < F invalide < L invalidus weak. See in- ³ , valid

in⋅val⋅id

2 [in-val-id]

–adjective

1.	not valid; without force or foundation; indefensible.

2.	deficient in substance or cogency; weak.

3.	void or without legal force, as a contract.

Origin:
1625–35; < ML invalidus, L: weak; see invalid ¹

Related forms:

in⋅val⋅id⋅ly, adverb

in⋅val⋅id⋅ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Link To invalid

in·va·lid¹ (ĭn'və-lĭd)

n. One who is incapacitated by a chronic illness or disability.
adj.

Incapacitated by illness or injury.
Of, relating to, or intended for invalids.

tr.v. in·va·lid·ed, in·va·lid·ing, in·va·lids

To incapacitate physically.
Chiefly British To release or exempt from duty because of ill health: "I was not quite sick enough to be invalided out, even though I was of no more use" (Mary Lee Settle).

[From invalid² (influenced by French invalide, sickly, infirm).]

in·val·id² (ĭn-vāl'ĭd)

adj.

Not legally or factually valid; null: an invalid license.
Falsely based or reasoned; faulty: an invalid argument.

[Latin invalidus, weak : in-, not; see in-¹ + validus, strong (from valēre, to be strong; see wal- in Indo-European roots).]
in'va·lid'i·ty (-və-lĭd'ĭ-tē) n., in·val'id·ly adv.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source

Word Origin & History

invalid (adj.)

1635, "not strong, infirm," also "of no legal force," from L. invalidus "not strong, infirm, weak, feeble," from in- "not" + validus "strong." Meaning "infirm from sickness, disease, or injury" is from 1642. The noun is first recorded 1704, originally of disabled military men. Invalidate is from 1649. Invalides is short for Fr. Hôtel des Invalides, home for old and disabled soldiers in Paris.

Legal Dictionary

Main Entry: in·val·id
Pronunciation: in-'va-l&d
Function: adjective
: being without force or effect under the law invalid> —in·val·id·ly adverb

Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: ¹in·va·lid
Pronunciation: 'in-v&-l&d, Brit usu -"lEd
Function: adjective
1 : suffering fromdisease or disability : SICKLY
2 : of, relating to, or suited to one that is sick invalid chair>

Main Entry: ²invalid
Function: noun
: one that is sickly or disabled

Main Entry: ³in·va·lid
Pronunciation: 'in-v&-l&d, -"lid, Brit usu -"lEd or"in-v&-'lEd
Function: transitive verb
1 : to remove from active duty by reason of sickness or disability invalided out of the army>
2 : to make sickly or disabled invalided by valvular disease>

Medical Dictionary

invalid in·va·lid¹ (ĭn'və-lĭd)
n.
One who is incapacitated by a chronic illness or disability. adj.
Incapacitated by illness or injury.

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