Merriam-Webster's Collegiate® Dictionary, 11th Edition
HANDICAP
I. noun
Etymology: obsolete English handicap, a game in which forfeit money was held in a cap, from hand in cap
Date: 1754
1. a race or contest in which an artificial advantage is given or disadvantage imposed on a contestant to equalize chances of winning, an advantage given or disadvantage imposed usually in the form of points, strokes, weight to be carried, or distance from the target or goal,
2. a disadvantage that makes achievement unusually difficult, a physical disability,
II. transitive verb (-capped; -capping)
Date: 1852
1. to give a handicap to, to assess the relative winning chances of (contestants) or the likely winner of (a contest), to put at a disadvantage