Etymologically
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inutile

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 18 October 2026 at 09:41. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /i.ny.til/[1]

Forms

inutile (plural inutiles)[1] Old French inutele (12th century); inutile in Bersuire (before 1380).[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin inūtilis (“useless, of no help; harmful”), from in- (“not”) and ūtilis (“useful”), from ūtor (“to use”).[2][3][5][4][1][6]

Compare Old Occitan inutil, Spanish inútil and Italian inutile.[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Psautier d'Oxford (first half of the 12th century) translates Psalm 53: inuteles fait sunt “they have become worthless”.[2][7]

Semantic evolution

Bersuire's translation of Livy (before 1380) has the modern form.[2][3] Clément Marot (about 1530) applies it to people, and il est inutile de… is in Bossuet (1669).[5] As a noun, un inutile, a useless person, is in Regnard (1700), and the military bouches inutiles (1743) were the people in a besieged town who could not fight.[2] Ronsard and Desportes still wrote inutil in the masculine.[7]

Timeline

  • first half of the 12th century – Inuteles, Psautier d'Oxford.[2]
  • before 1380 – Inutiles, Bersuire.[2]
  • 1669 – Il est inutile de, Bossuet.[5]
  • 1700 – A useless person, Regnard.[2]
  • 1743 – Les bouches inutiles.[2]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. useless, serving no purpose: des bagages inutiles, une démarche inutile.[8][1]
  2. Unnecessary, pointless: il est inutile d'insister, inutile de vous dire que….[8][1]
  3. Of no use to others (of a person): se sentir inutile.[5][2]

Noun

  1. A useless person, bouches inutiles, people who cannot fight in a siege.[2]

Word family

  • inutilement
  • inutilité
  • inutilisable
  • utile
  • Latin inūtilis

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
  3. ^ a b c Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  5. ^ a b c d Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 4, 785b
  7. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  8. ^ a b Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert