Handicap
Etymology
From "hand in cap," a 17th-century English betting and bartering game in which forfeit money went into a cap and a neutral umpire set the terms of an uneven trade. Horse racing adopted it for assigning extra weight to faster horses, and from there it spread to golf scores and, later and more controversially, to disability. The honest root is about equalizing an exchange, not about deficiency.
noun · /HAN-dee-kap/
A disadvantage imposed on the stronger competitor, or an allowance given the weaker, to even the odds.
What it names
Deliberate equalizing — the design choice to burden the leader so a contest stays interesting.
Example
The fund gave later applicants a handicap so early insiders couldn’t sweep every slot.
Related idea
A handicap is imposed to equalize, while a level playing field removes built-in advantages so no handicap is needed.