A physical or mental impairment which substantially limits one or more of a person's major life activities is the definition of which term?

• A. Disability
• B. Impairment
• C. Handicap
• D. Limitation

Answer: (C)

The main idea here is the legal term used in fair housing to describe how an impairment affects a person in daily life. The defining phrase given—“a physical or mental impairment which substantially limits one or more of a person’s major life activities”—is the exact statutory description of a handicap under the Fair Housing Act. That makes handicap the best match because it focuses on the impact of the impairment on major life activities, not just the presence of the impairment itself.

To understand the nuance, think of impairment as the condition or loss itself, while a handicap is the resulting limitation in major life activities such as walking, seeing, hearing, speaking, learning, or working. Limitation is a general term for restriction and is not the legal label used here. Disability is a broader term used in many contexts, but in this specific fair housing definition, the term used is handicap.