Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “utile” come from?

Utile comes from Old French utile, from Latin utilis meaning "useful," derived from the root ut meaning "to use," ultimately from Proto-Indo-European h₃eyt-.

utile (English): Useful; A theoretical unit of measure of utility,...

Definitions

  1. Useful; A theoretical unit of measure of utility,...

Ancestry of “utile”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Frenchutileuseful
2Old Frenchutele—
3Latinūtilis—
4Latinūtor—
5Proto-Slavic*ǫtorъ—
6Proto-Slavictorъ—
7Proto-Slavictertito rub, to scrape; to polish
8Proto-Indo-Europeanterh₁-to rub, turn; to drill, pierce

Words derived from “utile”

  • utility
  • utilitarian
  • utilitarianism
  • disutility
  • inutility
  • util
  • nonutilitarian
  • nonutility
  • multiutility
  • antiutilitarian
  • utilitarianist
  • utilitarianly
  • utilityman
  • antiutilitarianism
  • nonutilitarianism
  • utilitarianize
  • utilitylike
  • utilitarianise
Every word from Proto-Indo-European terh₁- →