Dictionary

Paralympian en · ADJ

Pronunciation

• /ˌpæ.ɹəˈlɪm.pɪ.ən/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• /ˌpɛ-/ (General-American)
• (General-American) audio
• /ˌpæ.ɹəˈlɪm.pi.ən/ (General-American)

Etymology

From Paralympic + -ian (suffix with the sense ‘having a certain profession’ forming nouns, or with the sense ‘from, like, or related to’ forming adjectives). Paralympic is a blend of paraplegic + Olympic; the Paralympic Games were originally organized for persons with paraplegia from spinal injuries, but are now participated in by sportspersons with all kinds of disabilities.

Meanings

1. Of or pertaining to a Paralympian (“one who competes in the Paralympic Games”).
   • Should we be inspired by Paralympian achievement? Commentator Frances Ryan recently counselled Guardian readers to be careful to think through their reactions to disabled "superhuman" athletes and academic poster boys like Professor Stephen Hawking. Treat people with disabilities just like everyone else, is the argument. 2016 September 15, Tom Shakespeare, “Disabled People Don’t Want to Be Your Inspiration, but If They Are It’s No Surprise”, in The Conversation, Parkville, Melbourne, Vic.: The Conversation Media Group, archived from the original on 03 Nov 2020:
   • As girls and women of all stripes of ability around the world are encouraged to become involved in sport, and as nearly all nations submit Paralympian females, it is hoped that support for fellow athletes—emotionally as well as economically, is part of that process. 2014, Linda K. Fuller, “Gendered Implications of Olympic and the Paralympic Events”, in Female Olympian and Paralympian Events: Analyses, Backgrounds, and Timelines, Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan, Springer International Publishing, published 2018, →DOI, →ISBN, page 15:
   • There was a real fear that not all Paralympians would be able to attend the games because the Paralympian athletes' travel grants were paid 3 weeks' late. 2019, Clare O’Donoghue, “Discourses/4. Brazil: Accessing the Rights of Children with Disabilities: Attitudes towards and Challenges for SEND in Brazil”, in Federico Farini, Angela Scollan, editors, Children’s Self-determination in the Context of Early Childhood Education and Services: Discourses, Policies and Practices (International Perspectives on Early Childhood Education and Development; 25), Cham, Switzerland: Springer Nature, →DOI, →ISBN, →ISSN, part II (Discourses), page 193:
2. Of or pertaining to the Paralympic Games; Paralympic.
   • Funds sought for ‘Paralympian’ trip [article title] […] At present, however, the Long Beach resident has more than records on his mind, mainly getting a representative U.S. team to the 1964 "paralympics" to be held in Tokyo Nov. 8–12. [Frank] Vecera is on a fund-raising drive for the six California athletes selected to perform on this year's team. The tab for transporting the six to Tokyo is $3,900. 1964 August 20, “Funds sought for ‘Paralympian’ trip”, in Nick B[oddie] Williams, editor, Los Angeles Times, volume LXXXIII, number 250, Los Angeles, Calif.: Times Mirror Company, →OCLC, part III (Sports), page 8, columns 2–3:
   • Just as with the Olympic Games, Paralympian ones continue to change. 2018, Linda K. Fuller, “Gendered Implications of Olympic and the Paralympic Events”, in Female Olympian and Paralympian Events: Analyses, Backgrounds, and Timelines, Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan, Springer International Publishing, →DOI, →ISBN, page 15:
   • So they disqualified [Jody] Cundy on the spot. And it must be said, [Alfonso] Cabello's coaches covered themselves in little glory by registering their own protest that Cundy should not be allowed a restart. True Paralympian spirit, eh, senors? 2012 August 31, Mike Walters, “Why the commissionaires’ handling of Jody Cundy has been a disgrace to the Paralympics”, in Daily Mirror, London: Reach plc, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 08 May 2017:
   • Offering paralympian dreams to young amputees [article title] 2017 October 18, “Offering paralympian dreams to young amputees”, in Khmer Times, Phnom Penh, Cambodia: Virtus Media, →OCLC:

Forms

Translations (2)

es paralímpico (of or pertaining to a Paralympian) · pl paraolimpijski (of or pertaining to a Paralympian)

Paralympian en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˌpæ.ɹəˈlɪm.pɪ.ən/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• /ˌpɛ-/ (General-American)
• (General-American) audio
• /ˌpæ.ɹəˈlɪm.pi.ən/ (General-American)

Etymology

From Paralympic + -ian (suffix with the sense ‘having a certain profession’ forming nouns, or with the sense ‘from, like, or related to’ forming adjectives). Paralympic is a blend of paraplegic + Olympic; the Paralympic Games were originally organized for persons with paraplegia from spinal injuries, but are now participated in by sportspersons with all kinds of disabilities.

Meanings

1. One who competes in the Paralympic Games.
   • James Mastro is a seven-time paralympian who has earned ten medals in four different sports and is a professor in the department of professional and physical education at Bemidji State University in Bemidji, Minnesota. 2014, James Mastro, Christopher Ahrens, Nathan Statton, “Paralympians are Inspirations for All”, in Thomas Riggs & Company, editor, Are Athletes Good Role Models? (At Issue), Farmington Hills, Minn.: Greenhaven Press, Gale, Cengage Learning, →ISBN, page 55:
   • The lighting ceremonies mark the start of the biggest Paralympics in history, which will see 4,200 Paralympians from 165 nations compete in London in sports including wheelchair racing, athletics, blind football and wheelchair rugby, and pit their wills against the finest talents in the world. 2012 August 21, Alexandra Topping, “Paralympic flames light up countdown to biggest Games in history”, in The Guardian:
   • Through all the challenges Paralympians face, the number of athletes at each Games continue to grow in both winter and summer sports due, in part, to additional media coverage in many countries and more programs developing throughout the world. Even with mountains in their way, Paralympians still find a way to succeed. 2019, Josh Pauls, “From Humble Beginnings”, in Lessons Learned: My Journey to the Podium, Victoria, B.C.: FriesenPress, →ISBN, page 103:
   • In the summer of 1996, our nation cheered the performance and achievements of the U.S. women Olympians and Paralympians. The images of strong, active women were inspiring, a long way from the days when females were relegated to "lady-like" sports and young girls were left on the sidelines while their brothers played. 1997 spring, Sandra Perlmutter, “Message from the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports”, in Linda K. Bunker, editor, Physical Activity & Sport in the Lives of Girls: Physical & Mental Health Dimensions from an Interdisciplinary Approach: Executive Summary: The President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports: Report […], Washington, D.C.: President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, →OCLC, page 5:
   • […] [Tatiane] Hilgemberg [Figueiredo] shows how the media began to use more sports-related terms in describing paralympians but notes also the continued persistence of the medical model and supercrip stereotypes within the coverage. 2019, Mike Kent, Rachel Robertson, Katie Ellis, Rosemarie Garland-Thomson, “Looking to the Future for Critical Disability Studies”, in Katie Ellis, Rosemarie Garland-Thomson, Mike Kent, Rachel Robertson, editors, Interdisciplinary Approaches to Disability: Looking towards the Future (Interdisciplinary Disability Studies), volume 2, Abingdon, Oxfordshire; New York, N.Y.: Routledge, →ISBN:
   • These are the "Paralympians," the wheelchair athletes of the world, whose own Olympics will be held in Tokyo immediately after the regular Olympiad. […] I spoke to two young Paralympians from the Long Beach area the other day, Frank Vecera and Bill Johnson. "I am only half here," Frank Vecera confided. He smiled when he said it. 1964 September 30, Jim Murray, “Better half”, in Nick B[oddie] Williams, editor, Los Angeles Times, volume LXXXIII, number 291, Los Angeles, Calif.: Times Mirror Company, →OCLC, part III (Sports), page 1, columns 1–2:
   • Many authors caution us against overusing terms like “amazing” relative to Paralympians’ achievements, and all scholars encourage us to treat them respectfully in linguistic terms that get rid of labels ranging from “supercrips” to “exotics.” […] Many such Paralympians simply want to be known as sportspeople, their various activities known as sport, if adaptive. 2018, Linda K. Fuller, “Gendered Implications of Olympic and the Paralympic Events”, in Female Olympian and Paralympian Events: Analyses, Backgrounds, and Timelines, Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan, Springer International Publishing, →DOI, →ISBN, page 15:
   • Marla [Runyan] has been legally blind for more than 20 years. Marla ran the 1500-meter race at the Sydney Summer Olympics in 2000 to finish eighth, while becoming the first Paralympian to compete in the Olympics. 2003 December, Susan Greenwald, “Victories by and for the Disabled”, in Michael J. Bandler, editor, U.S. Society & Values: Electronic Journal of the U.S. Department of State: Sports in America, volume 8, number 2, Washington, D.C.: Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State, →OCLC, page 20, column 2:
   • DICK MADURO … Paralympian 1960 September 19, Amaldo Cortesi, “Paralympic Games open at Rome Olympics site”, in St. Petersburg Times, volume 77, number 57, St. Petersburg, Fla.: The Times Publishing Co., →OCLC, section C (Sports), image caption, page 4-C, column 3:
   • Our athletes, Olympians and Paralympians, joined together in April to represent the 1994 U.S. Olympic Team in a visit to President [Bill] Clinton at the White House. 1994 August 11, LeRoy T. Walker, “Prepared Statement of Dr. LeRoy T. Walker”, in Oversight of Activities of the Olympic Committee: Hearing before the Subcommittee on Consumer of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, United States Senate, One Hundred Third Congress, Second Session […] (S. Hrg. 103-724), Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, →ISBN, page 17:

Forms

Coordinates

Deaflympian · Olympian · Special Olympian

Hypernyms

para-athlete

Relateds

Paralympiad · Paralympic Games · Paralympics

Translations (26)

ro paralimpică (one who competes in the Paralympic Games) · cy paralympiad (one who competes in the Paralympic Games) · ar بَارَالَمْبِيّ (one who competes in the Paralympic Games) · pl paraolimpijka (one who competes in the Paralympic Games) · es paralímpica (one who competes in the Paralympic Games) · sv paralympier (one who competes in the Paralympic Games) · ar بَارَالَمْبِيّة (one who competes in the Paralympic Games) · pt paraolímpico (one who competes in the Paralympic Games) · de paralympische Athletin (one who competes in the Paralympic Games) · ga parailimpiach (one who competes in the Paralympic Games) · et paraolümpiamängudest osavõtja (one who competes in the Paralympic Games) · fi paralympiaurheilija (one who competes in the Paralympic Games) · cmn 殘奧會運動員 /残奥会运动员 (one who competes in the Paralympic Games) · nl paralympiër (one who competes in the Paralympic Games) · it paralimpico (one who competes in the Paralympic Games) · ja パラリンピアン (one who competes in the Paralympic Games) · pt paralímpico (one who competes in the Paralympic Games) · fr paralympien (one who competes in the Paralympic Games) · de paralympischer Athlet (one who competes in the Paralympic Games) · fr paralympienne (one who competes in the Paralympic Games) · ro paralimpic (one who competes in the Paralympic Games) · yue 殘奧會運動員 /残奥会运动员 (one who competes in the Paralympic Games) · fi paralympialaisurheilija (one who competes in the Paralympic Games) · es paralímpico (one who competes in the Paralympic Games) · it paralimpica (one who competes in the Paralympic Games) · pl paraolimpijczyk (one who competes in the Paralympic Games)