ABSTRACT
At the end of the 19th century, soldiers mutilated during military conflicts are referred to as invalids (invalides in French, invalidos in Spanish), likewise the individuals injured during their professional activity. That occurs in Spain, where one can find a Cuerpo de Invalidos de Guerra and a Instituto Nacional de Reeducación Profesional de Inválidos del Trabajo. However, very often, there is a wide variety of names people give to the ‘civil’ physically disabled persons. These identifications have generally pejorative connotations. In Spain, terms like inutiles, cojos, tullidos, and impedidos are very frequently used. The persistence of these various names is partly explained by the fact that these individuals had never been subject to categorization of administrations or of powerful private institutions.
