English
user
User comes from Middle English usere.
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500usere
- Englishearliest quotation 2013user
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500usere
- Englishearliest quotation 2013user
Earliest quotation: 2013, Out of the gloom: “[Rural solar plant] schemes are of little help to…”
Formed from use + -er
Proto-Italic *oitōr ‘to use’
Latin ūtor
Latin ūsus ‘use’
Old French us ‘tradition or custom’
Middle English use
English use
Every English word from Middle English usere
Today it means
noun One who uses or makes use of something, a consumer or client or an express or implied licensee (free user) or a trespasser.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Middle English usere / user