different between spastic vs spastin

English

Etymology

From Latin spasticus, from Ancient Greek ????????? (spastikós, “drawing in”). Confer French spastique and see also spasm.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /?spast?k/
• (US) IPA^(key): /?spæst?k/
• Rhymes: -æst?k

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) Clumsy.
4. (slang, derogatory, offensive in the UK) Hyperactive, excited, and acting in a random manner.

Usage notes

See the usage notes about the noun, below.

Translations

Noun

spastic (plural spastics)

1. (now offensive, especially in Britain) A person affected by spastic paralysis or spastic cerebral palsy.
2. (slang, offensive especially in Britain) A stupid, clumsy person.
   • I'm Alan Partridge (TV series), To Kill a Mocking Alan

     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

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, 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", and in a 2003 survey by the BBC it was voted the second-most offensive word relating to disability (after retard).

Derived terms

• spack
• spacker
• spaz, spazz

Translations

References

• spastic in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• Douglas Harper (2001–2021) , “spastic”, in Online Etymology Dictionary

Anagrams

• cat piss

Interlingua

Adjective

spastic (not comparable)

1. spastic

Related terms

• spasmo

Romanian

Etymology

From French spastique.

Adjective

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

1. spastic

Declension

English

Etymology

spastic +? -in

Noun

spastin (countable and uncountable, plural spastins)

1. (biochemistry) A protein, related to katanin, mutations of which lead to spastic paraplegia

Anagrams

• piss ant, piss-ant, pissant, ptisans