To find the general perception of the word ill, I searched up the word on one of my favorite search engines, Urban Dictionary.  Urban Dictionary is a wikipedia in form of a dictionary, meaning that users can define any words in any way that they feel is correct.  Basically, the word ‘ill’ was used to describe either sick or unbelievably awesome.  There seems to be no strong oppositions to the word, and rather strong positive connotations seem more frequent.  Even in Public Images Network, the word ill was described to be a better choice of a word than retarded when describing the mentally handicapped person.  Unlike the word retarded, the word ill seems to give a more thorough and fit definition to the situation the patients.   A comment in Ask.com even stated that the mentally ill seems to be curable and treatable (or at least ameliorate the situation).  However, the word retarded seems to be a innate and permanent disorder that is much worse in severity.  I just believe that people tend to choose the word ill, since the word isn’t used frequently enough to develop a harsh connotation.

http://www.publicimagesnetwork.org/diff.htm
http://www.ask.com/answers/219774881/what-is-the-difference-between-mentally-ill-and-retarded
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=ill

As I have stated before in my reflection, the usage of the word 'ill' is quite minimal today (at least compared to the past).  The Google Ngram Viewer shows that the largest usage of the word was actually around the year 1700.  The fluctuation is quite evident from the year 1560 to the 1700s, but it is also as clear that since the year 1700, the usage of the word has significantly decreased.  I believe that there are now plenty of different vocabularies in the book that can be used in replacement of ill, such as sick, diseased, evil, and et cetera.  In fact, the history and origin of this word is quite different than what is commonly known.  Ill was originally a word created to describe “morally ill” or “evil”.  Although many believe that ill was originally a medical term for one that is unhealthy, the history shows otherwise.  

http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=ill
http://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=ill&year_&year_end=2010&corpus=15&smoothing=3&share=

The Oxford English Dictionary states that the definition of ill is "not good.”  Some words that were inscribed include "defective, poor, imperfect, unsatisfactory . . . erroneous, inefficient".  These words are all adjectives, meaning that the word ill (with this definition) is used to describe a certain subject.  However, ill also had another definition.  Ill was also described as "morally evil, wicked, vicious, blameworthy, savage, hostile, dangerous", and similarly, as a noun form, was described as "evil; the opposite of good".  The two definitions are largely different in the sense that they might be negative to others or to the subject itself.  In other words, although the malicious form may harm others, the defected is already harmed.  Unlike the definition, the etymology of the word is simple. The last thing to note is that Ill is significantly used as an adverb more than an adjective. Many people may not use this word in everyday life, they still use it to decorate their verbs in order to precisely communicate their thoughts.

The Oxford Dictionary defines the world ‘ill’ simply as “not in full health” or “poor in quality.” However, that is just the common denotation of Ill. Surprisingly, my connotative definition of ‘ill’ is quite positive. Ill is not a common word that people (or maybe only I) use in everyday life.  Instead, I use ‘sick’ or ‘not feeling well’ or just ‘poor’. The times that I use ‘ill’, though, is when I listen to or follow hip hop. As many people are already aware, for rappers, being called ‘ill’ or ‘sick’ is a compliment. It can either mean greatly skilled or just plain cool. Although the word ‘ill’ was originally created to describe a defect, it is quite interesting to see that it is used in a whole other way in the world of rappers. This word, in fact, is a fine example of what Gloria Naylor was trying to describe in her piece, The Meanings of a Word. The same word can mean several completely different things depending on the setting. So, when I am ill, is it necessarily a bad thing?