utility English · revision 6765

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1391|origins=la utor}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /juːˈtɪlɪti/, /jʊ-/ ''(UK)''; /juˈtɪləti/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is Middle English utilite, [[bor|fro|utilité|t=usefulness]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) from [[la|ūtilitas|t=usefulness, profit]], from [[m|la|ūtilis|t=usable]], from [[m|la|ūtor|alt=ūtī|t=to use]] (see [[use]]).^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Usefulness: 1391, in Chaucer's ''Treatise on the Astrolabe'';^(Barnhart 1988) about 1391 in the OED.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ A useful thing or feature is from the 15th century.^(Hoad 1986)^(OED 1989) In philosophy, the power of a thing to promote happiness, the basis of [[utilitarianism]], is from 1751,^(OED 1989) and in economics the satisfaction a good gives is from 1848.^(OED 1989) As a short form of ''public utility'', a company supplying gas, water or electricity, it is from 1930.^(Etymonline) The adjective use, as in ''utility player'' or ''utility room'', is from 1851 in MWU.^(MWU 2024) In computing, a utility is a program for routine tasks.^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1391 – usefulness.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1483 – a useful thing.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1751 – in philosophy.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1848 – in economics.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1930 – a public utility.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # Usefulness.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A company that provides a public service such as [[electricity]], gas or water, or the service itself.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(economics)'' The [[satisfaction]] gained from consuming a good or service.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(computing)'' A program that performs a routine task.^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Designed for practical use rather than beauty; [[functional]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Able to fill several roles: ''a utility player''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==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==

+ {{reflist}}