Etymology Explorer › French

Where does “utile” come from?

utile (French) comes from Middle French utile, from Old French utele, from Latin ūtilis, from Latin ūtor, from Proto-Slavic *ǫtorъ, from Proto-Slavic torъ, from Proto-Slavic terti, from Proto-Indo-European terh₁- — to rub, turn; to drill, pierce.

utile (French): useful

Definitions

  1. useful

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”

  • utile
  • util
  • itil
Every word from Proto-Indo-European terh₁- →