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<h2 id="history">History</h2> <p>This game was played in <i><a href="/facts/Piers_Plowman/wgjP3aFx">Piers Plowman</a></i>, a poem from the 14th century.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4"><sup>4</sup></a> The concept of a neutral person evening up the odds was extended to <a href="/facts/Handicap_(horse_racing)/8wrAugb6">handicap racing</a> in the mid-18th century. In handicap racing, horses carry different weights based on the umpire's estimation of what would make them run equally. The use of the term to describe a person with a <a href="/facts/Disability/vr9BPUxo">disability</a>—by extension from handicap racing, a person carrying a heavier burden than normal—appeared in the early 20th century.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5"><sup>5</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>Amundson, Ron. "The Meaning of 'Handicap'". University of Hawaii. <a href="http://www.uhh.hawaii.edu/~ronald/HandicapDefinition.htm" target="_blank">http://www.uhh.hawaii.edu/~ronald/HandicapDefinition.htm</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>"Handicaprice". Snopes.com. <a href="http://www.snopes.com/language/offense/handicap.asp" target="_blank">http://www.snopes.com/language/offense/handicap.asp</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>"Definition of handicap in Oxford Dictionaries (British & World English)". Archived from the original on August 24, 2012. Retrieved 12 April 2013. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120824235135/http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/handicap" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20120824235135/http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/handicap</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>"Online Etymology Dictionary". Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved 12 April 2013. <a href="http://etymonline.com/?term=handicap" target="_blank">http://etymonline.com/?term=handicap</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>"Online Etymology Dictionary". Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved 12 April 2013. <a href="http://etymonline.com/?term=handicap" target="_blank">http://etymonline.com/?term=handicap</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>