Etymology

From able body +‎ -edCategory:English terms suffixed with -ed#ABLEBODIED.

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈeɪ.bl̩ˌbɑ.did/Category:English 4-syllable words#ABLEBODIEDCategory:English terms with IPA pronunciation#ABLEBODIED

• Audio (US):

  (file)

  Category:English terms with audio pronunciation#ABLEBODIED
• Hyphenation: a‧ble-bod‧ied

Adjective

able-bodied (comparative more able-bodied, superlative most able-bodied)Category:English lemmas#ABLEBODIEDCategory:English adjectives#ABLEBODIEDCategory:English multiword terms#ABLEBODIEDCategory:English entries with incorrect language header#ABLEBODIEDCategory:Pages with entries#ABLE-BODIEDCategory:Pages with 1 entry#ABLE-BODIED

1. (possessionalCategory:English possessional adjectives#ABLEBODIED) Having a sound, strong body; physically competent; robust; fit for service.
   • 1893, James Anthony Froude, History of England from the Fall of Wolsey to the Defeat of the Spanish Armada:

     A servant determinately idle, leaving his work, or an able-bodied vagrant, roaming the country without means of honest self-support and without seeking employment, was to be brought before the two nearest magistrates.

     Category:English terms with quotations#ABLEBODIED

   • 2005, Annabelle du Fouet, “The murky world from whence it all came” (chapter 2), in Weather Balloons Make Rotten Sex Toys, Ellora's Cave, →ISBN, page 48:

     It’s little wonder that Spanish invaders, led by Hernán Cortés, so easily conquered the Aztecs. By the time they arrived, most of the able-bodied men were dead either from having their hearts yanked out or falling off the pyramid.

     Category:English terms with quotations#ABLEBODIED

2. Not disabled; having no physical disability.

   Synonyms: abled, (less common) enabled

   Antonym: disabled

   Unfair discrimination between the able-bodied and the disabled is illegal in many places.Category:English terms with usage examples#ABLEBODIED

3. (nauticalCategory:en:Nautical#ABLEBODIED) Capable of performing all requisite duties as a seaman, specifically in the Royal Navy, a rating between leading and ordinary.