crippleware

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noun

A program whose functionality is severely limited beyond that of shareware, often in the interest of its author having the crippleware user make a purchase of the uncrippled program.

OriginEnglish softwarebf. ← Middle English ware ← Old English waru →
UncommonScrabble 20
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Meanings

nouncrippleware (uncountable)
  1. derogatoryuncountablecomputingA program whose functionality is severely limited beyond that of shareware, often in the interest of its author having the crippleware user make a purchase of the uncrippled program.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*grewbʰ-
  2. Proto-Germanic*kreupaną
  3. Proto-Germanic*krupilaz
  4. Proto-West Germanic*krupil
  5. Old Englishcrypel
  6. Middle Englishcrepel
  7. Englishcripple
  8. Proto-Indo-European*sem-
  9. Proto-Germanic*samþuz /*samftuz
  10. Proto-West Germanic*samft(ī)
  11. Old Englishsōfte
  12. Middle Englishsofte
  13. Englishsoft
  14. Proto-Germanic*warō
  15. Proto-West Germanic*waru
  16. Old Englishwaru
  17. Middle Englishware
  18. Englishsoftwarebf.
  19. Englishcrippleware

From cripple + -ware.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

crippleware. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/crippleware

MLA

“crippleware.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/crippleware. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “crippleware,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/crippleware.

Source: crippleware on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.