Etymologically
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utility

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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

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