utility

Pronunciation

• IPA: /juːˈtɪlɪti/, /jʊ-/ (UK); /juˈtɪləti/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is Middle English utilite, borrowed from Old French utilité (“usefulness”),^[2][3][4] from Latin ūtilitas (“usefulness, profit”), from ūtilis (“usable”), from ūtī (“to use”) (see use).^[2][3][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Usefulness: 1391, in Chaucer's Treatise on the Astrolabe;^[2] about 1391 in the OED.^[6]

Semantic evolution

A useful thing or feature is from the 15th century.^[5][6] In philosophy, the power of a thing to promote happiness, the basis of utilitarianism, is from 1751,^[6] and in economics the satisfaction a good gives is from 1848.^[6] As a short form of public utility, a company supplying gas, water or electricity, it is from 1930.^[3] The adjective use, as in utility player or utility room, is from 1851 in MWU.^[4] In computing, a utility is a program for routine tasks.^[7]

Timeline

• c. 1391 – usefulness.^[2][6]
• 1483 – a useful thing.^[6]
• 1751 – in philosophy.^[6]
• 1848 – in economics.^[6]
• 1930 – a public utility.^[3]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. Usefulness.
2. A company that provides a public service such as electricity, gas or water, or the service itself.
3. (economics) The satisfaction gained from consuming a good or service.
4. (computing) A program that performs a routine task.

Adjective

1. Designed for practical use rather than beauty; functional.
2. Able to fill several roles: a utility player.

Word family

• nonutility
• utilidor
• utilitarian
• law of diminishing marginal utility
• marginal utility
• public utility
• utility knife
• utility man

Related words

• use
• utilize
• usual
• utensil

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c d e f g h Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins