In carpentry, the term “cripple” refers to a special-purpose wall stud or roof rafter. A cripple stud is located above a door or window or below a window.
Both cripple studs and cripple rafters are made from the same stock as other studs and rafters—they're just cut shorter.
crip·pled
adjective
1.
severely damaged or malfunctioning.
"the pilot displayed skill and nerve in landing the crippled plane"
cripple
noun [ C ]
an extremely offensive word for a person whose legs or arms do not work in the usual way
emotional cripple informal
someone who finds it difficult to have or express feelings
cripple
verb [ T ]
to injure someone so that they are unable to walk or move in a normal way
to cause serious damage to someone or something, making him, her, or it weak and not effective:
a country crippled by war