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Article: Self-determination and the empowerment of people with disabilities.
- Article from:
- American Rehabilitation
- Article date:
- September 22, 2004
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2004 U.S. Rehabilitation Services Administration. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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The usage note in the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (2000) states the following with regard to the word empower:
"Although it is a contemporary
buzzword, the word empower is not
new, having arisen in the mid-17th
century with the legalistic meaning 'to
invest with authority, authorize.'
Shortly thereafter it began to be used
with an infinitive in a more general
way meaning 'to enable or permit.'
Both of these uses survive today but
have been overpowered by the
word's use in politics and pop psychology.
Its modern use originated in the
civil rights movement, which sought
political empowerment ...