'amputee' originates from the French word 'amputé', which is derived from the Latin 'amputare', where 'am-' meant 'off' and 'putare' meant 'to prune or cut'.

'amputare' transformed into the French word 'amputé', and eventually became the modern English word 'amputee'.

Initially, it meant 'one who has been cut off', but over time it evolved into its current meaning of 'a person who has had a limb amputated'.