The able-bodied poor was a classification of the poor widely used during the 1600s in Britain. It describes a person who is unemployed not because of any physical disability - these were the impotent poor. The able bodied poor were simply unemployed people capable of working. Look up Poor in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... November 5, 1605 â€” The Gunpowder Plot to blow up the British Parliament. ... The term disability, as it is applied to humans, refers to any condition that impedes the completion of daily tasks using traditional methods. ... Impotent poor was a classificiation of poverty used in Britain during the 1600s. ...