onelegged

Onelegged is an adjective used to describe something that has only one leg or single support. In modern usage, the preferred form is one-legged, a hyphenated compound; the unhyphenated form onelegged is rare and often considered nonstandard. The term can describe people, animals, or objects that rely on a single leg or leg-like support.

For people, it is more precise and respectful to say “a person with one leg” or “a person who has had a leg amputation” rather than using the shorthand. In medical or anatomical contexts, the more technical term monopedal is used; monopod can refer to a single-legged device or organism in some contexts.

In everyday use, the concept appears in descriptions of furniture or machinery, such as a one-legged stool, stand, or support. In art or design, a one-legged figure can be a deliberate stylistic choice, or a feature arising from sculpture or performance contexts. The idea also informs discussions of locomotion in animals, where monopedal or monopedalism denotes movement on a single leg.

Related terms include monopedal and monopod, which cover more formal or technical usage. The concatenated form onelegged is rarely preferred in modern writing, and hyphenated one-legged remains the standard form in general and technical writing.