noun
cripple; lame person
Dated and now considered a sensitive, derogatory term for a person with a physical disability affecting walking. Modern Japanese prefers neutral terms such as 身体障害者 or 足の不自由な人.
古い文献では「跛者」という表現が見られるが、現在では差別的とされる。
The term 跛者 appears in old documents, but it is now considered discriminatory.
Compound of 跛 (ha, 'lame') and 者 (sha, 'person'). The exact historical derivation is uncertain; the spelling is conventionally associated with the meaning.