Etymologically
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utile

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 18 October 2026 at 15:34. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /y.til/[1]

Forms

utile (plural utiles)[1] Old French utele (about 1120), utle (late 12th century); utile from 1260.[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is a semi-learned borrowing, borrowed from Latin ūtilis (“useful, advantageous”), derived from ūtor (“to use”), the source of user.[2][3][5] Littré notes that utle, with the stress of the Latin on the first syllable, was the correct old form and that the modern form was remade on the Latin.[6] Cognate with Old Occitan util, Spanish útil and Italian utile.[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

In the Livre des Rois David is called utle e profitable à mun os; the form utile appears in a charter of 1260, of what is advantageous to someone.[6][7]

Semantic evolution

Rather rare in Old French, the word first described what serves a purpose or can be of advantage.[2][8] In law it qualified land of which one has the usufruct (1507) and, in seigneur utile (1508), the lord who drew its revenue; both are now obsolete.[2][7] The basic sense of practical advantage became common in classical French.[2]

From 1637 (Descartes) it was applied to people, as in se rendre utile; the noun l'utile is in d'Aubigné (1616).[2][7] In law jours utiles (1718) are the days during which a step can still be taken, whence en temps utile (1835).[2][7] The adverbial voter utile, to vote tactically, appears in the mid-20th century.[2] The verb utiliser dates from 1792.[8]

Timeline

  • c. 1120 – Utele in the Oxford Psalter.[3]
  • 1260 – Utile in a Liège charter.[7]
  • 1508 – Seigneur utile.[7]
  • 1616 – The noun l'utile in d'Aubigné.[7][2]
  • 1637 – Descartes: of a person.[7]
  • 1792 – The verb utiliser.[8]
  • 1835 – En temps utile.[7][2]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Useful, serving a need, advantageous: d'utiles conseils, il est utile de….[9][1]
  2. Of a person, helpful: se rendre utile.[9][2]
  3. En temps utile: in good time, within the time allowed.[9][2]
  4. (familiar, adverb) Voter utile: to vote tactically.[2]

Noun

  1. L'utile: what is useful: joindre l'utile à l'agréable.[9]

Word family

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  3. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  4. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  5. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 14, 89b
  6. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i 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
  8. ^ a b c Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  9. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert