Etymograph

English

useless

Useless comes from Old French us ‘tradition or custom’, from Latin ūtor ‘to use, make use of, employ’, and ultimately from Proto-Italic *oitōr.

  1. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*oitōr‘to use, employ’reconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEūtor‘to use, make use of, employ’
  3. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEūsus
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400us‘tradition or custom’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500use
  6. English1500–presentsame form
  7. Englishearliest quotation 2021useless

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Earlier history uncertain.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*oitōr‘to use, employ’reconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEūtor‘to use, make use of, employ’
  3. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEūsus
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400us‘tradition or custom’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500use
  6. English1500–presentsame form
  7. Englishearliest quotation 2021useless

Earliest quotation: 2021, Philip Haigh, Regional trains squeezed as ECML congestion heads north: “I'm all for opening new stations (Transport Scotland is…”

A compound of use + -less

Proto-Italic *oitōr ‘to use’

Latin ūtor

Latin ūsus ‘use’

Old French us ‘tradition or custom’

Middle English use

English use

Linked words

through Latin ūtor ‘to use, make use of, employ’

utilization, usable, utilisation, 7 more

through Latin ūsus

usual, usury, 1 more

through Middle English use

use

Today it means

adj Without use or the possibility to be used.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Proto-Italic *oitōr / useless

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