útil

Forms

útil m or f (plural úteis)^[1] The first record, of 1441, has the Latin-looking utile;^[2][3] util without the final vowel is dated from 1721, and was written without the accent before the spelling reforms.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin ūtilis (“useful, advantageous”), a learned word first recorded in 1441.^[2][3][1] Nascentes notes that it came in by the learned route, unlike a popular word.^[4]

The Latin adjective is formed from ūtor (“to use”) with the suffix -ilis.^[1] De Vaan reconstructs the verb as Proto-Italic *oit- (“to use”), and Wiktionary suggests it may come from Proto-Indo-European *h₃eyt- (“to take along, fetch”).^[5][1] The same Latin word gave Spanish útil, Galician útil, Catalan útil, French utile, Italian utile and Romanian util.^[1][6]

Semantic evolution

Morais (1813) adds legal uses: domínio útil, the right of the person who uses and enjoys a property without being its direct owner, and dias úteis, the days on which a case can be heard, as opposed to holidays.^[7] Dia útil became the ordinary term for a working day.^[2][8] In Rio Grande do Sul the noun also means a tool or object used in the house or on the ranch.^[9]

Timeline

• 1441 – first record, spelt utile.^[2]
• 1542 – util in a private letter.^[10]
• 1721 – Houaiss's first date for the spelling util.^[2]
• 1813 – Morais records domínio útil and dias úteis.^[7]
• 1871–1874 – Vieira defines it as what serves for something and is profitable.^[11]

Meanings

Adjective

1. useful; that serves a purpose: uma ferramenta útil.^[2][12][1]
2. advantageous, profitable; that gives the result hoped for: um conselho útil.^[2][12][1]
3. Set aside for productive work: tempo útil.^[2][12]
4. Of a day: that is not a holiday; on which people work: dia útil.^[2][8]
5. (law) Of a period: fixed by law or by a court.^[2][12]

Noun

1. What is useful.^[2][1]

Word family

• inútil
• inutilidade
• inutilizar
• utilidade
• utilitário
• utilização
• utilizar
• utilizável

Related words

• uso
• usar
• Latin ūtilis
• Spanish útil

Usage notes

The set phrase juntar o útil ao agradável means to combine what is useful with what is pleasant.^[13][14]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Houaiss, Antônio; Villar, Mauro de Salles (2001), Dicionário Houaiss da língua portuguesa, Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, p. s.v. útil
3. ^ a b c Cunha, Antônio Geraldo da (2010), Dicionário etimológico da língua portuguesa, 4th ed., Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon, p. s.v. útil
4. ^ Nascentes, Antenor (1966), Dicionário etimológico resumido, Rio de Janeiro: Instituto Nacional do Livro, p. s.v. útil
5. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
6. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert, p. s.v. utile
7. ^ a b Silva, António de Morais (1813), Diccionario da lingua portugueza, 2nd ed., 2 vols., Lisboa: Typographia Lacerdina, p. 2, 822
8. ^ a b Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa, Lisboa: Priberam Informática, https://dicionario.priberam.org
9. ^ Schlee, Aldyr Garcia (2019), Dicionário da Cultura Pampeana Sul-Rio-Grandense, 2 vols., Pelotas: Fructos do Paiz, p. s.v. útil
10. ^ CLUL (ed.) (2014), P.S. Post Scriptum: Arquivo Digital de Escrita Quotidiana em Portugal e Espanha na Época Moderna, Lisboa: Centro de Linguística da Universidade de Lisboa, http://ps.clul.ul.pt, p. s.v. útil
11. ^ Vieira, Frei Domingos (1871–1874), Grande Diccionario Portuguez ou Thesouro da lingua portugueza, 5 vols., Porto: Ernesto Chardron e Bartholomeu H. de Moraes, p. 5, 866
12. ^ a b c d Ferreira, Aurélio Buarque de Holanda, Novo dicionário Aurélio da língua portuguesa, digital edition
13. ^ Porto Editora (2013), Grande Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa, Porto: Porto Editora, p. 9349
14. ^ Michaelis: Moderno Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa, São Paulo: Melhoramentos (online as Michaelis Dicionário Brasileiro da Língua Portuguesa, https://michaelis.uol.com.br)