请输入您要查询的英文单词：

　

单词 use
释义

usen.

Brit. /juːs/, U.S. /jus/
Forms:

α. Middle English hus, Middle English huse, Middle English uss, Middle English vs, Middle English vss, Middle English vsse, Middle English 1600s us, Middle English–1600s vse, Middle English– use, late Middle English euce, late Middle English evs, late Middle English ews, late Middle English ewse, late Middle English hesse, late Middle English owse, late Middle English uce, late Middle English usce, late Middle English vce, late Middle English vhs, late Middle English vsne (transmission error), late Middle English vsze, late Middle English vus, 1500s usse; English regional 1700s– uze (south-western), 1800s– ewse (Lincolnshire); Scottish pre-1700 hous, pre-1700 hus, pre-1700 os, pre-1700 ouse, pre-1700 ovs, pre-1700 ows, pre-1700 us, pre-1700 uss, pre-1700 vce, pre-1700 vs, pre-1700 vse, pre-1700 vss, pre-1700 vsse, pre-1700 wce, pre-1700 ws, pre-1700 wse, pre-1700 wsse, pre-1700 wuse, pre-1700 yous, pre-1700 1700s– use, 1800s eess (north-eastern), 1800s ese (north-eastern), 1800s– ees (north-eastern), 1800s– eese (north-eastern), 1900s– üs (Shetland), 1900s– yeese (north-eastern).

β. Middle English ise, Middle English vice, Middle English vys, Middle English wise; Scottish pre-1700 uis, pre-1700 vis, pre-1700 vise, pre-1700 vys, pre-1700 wis, pre-1700 wisse, pre-1700 wys, pre-1700 wyss, pre-1700 yues, pre-1700 yz, 1800s yise, 1900s– uice, 1900s– uise, 1900s– yis, 1900s– yiss, 1900s– yuice, 1900s– yuise; N.E.D. (1926) also records a form Scottish pre-1700 vyss.

γ. Chiefly northern Middle English oise, Middle English oys, Middle English oyse; Scottish pre-1700 oice, pre-1700 ois, pre-1700 oise, pre-1700 oiss, pre-1700 oyis, pre-1700 oyise, pre-1700 oys, pre-1700 oyse, pre-1700 oysse.

Origin: Of multiple origins. Partly a borrowing from French. Partly a borrowing from Latin. Etymons: French us; Latin ūsus.
Etymology: < (i) Anglo-Norman eos, heus, huis, oes (masculine), use (feminine), Anglo-Norman and Old French hus (masculine), Anglo-Norman and Old French, Middle French us (masculine; French us , plural (arch.)) exercise, practice (early 12th cent.), usage, custom (late 12th cent.), wear and tear, act of employing something, purpose (all 13th cent.), in Anglo-Norman also church service (c1200), (in law) use by an individual to his profit, advantage (early 14th cent.: see note), and its etymon (ii) classical Latin ūsus (u -stem) application (of something) to a purpose, employment, means of using, (in legal use) act or fact of using property, actual performance, practice, practical experience, frequent or general practice, usage, habitual dealings between people, utility, function, requirement, need, in post-classical Latin also customary law (9th cent.), customary duty (11th cent.), church rite (c1220, 1526 in British sources) < ūs- , past participial stem of ūtī use v. + -tus , suffix forming verbal nouns. Compare use v., usage n.Most of the major senses of this word are paralleled by verbal uses at use v. In legal use in sense 15a reflecting a sense of the Anglo-Norman word which may have been influenced by association with ues , oes , eus , etc., variants of oeps oeps n.
I. Senses relating to utilization, employment, or application.
1.
a. The act of putting something to work, or employing or applying a thing, for any (esp. a beneficial or productive) purpose; the fact, state, or condition of being put to work, employed, or applied in this way; utilization or appropriation, esp. in order to achieve an end or pursue one's purpose. Frequently with of.Recorded earliest in on use.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > advantage > usefulness > use (made of things) > [noun]
bihofthc1175
use?c1225
usinga1340
notingc1400
usage?c1400
occupationa1425
employment1437
employing1459
usancec1475
occupying1535
trade1552
wear1571
usury1607
adoperation1608
use-making1608
improvement1620
employ1677
exploiting1842
utilization1847
nuse1848
utilizing1864
α.
?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 16 Þis word habbeð muchel an vs. & inmuðe ofte hwenne ȝe maȝen.
1340 Ayenbite (1866) 55 Ine þe greate bysihede þet hy habbeþ, to porchaci... Efterward, mid grat lost þet hy habbeþ ine þe us.
c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) Coloss. ii. 22 Nether ȝe schulen touche, nether taste, nether trete with hondis tho thingis the which alle ben into deeth by the ilke vss.
c1425 tr. J. Arderne Treat. Fistula (Sloane 6) (1910) 89 Be it kept to vse in ane erþen potte.
Promptorium Parvulorum (Harl. 221) 335/1 Mesure, in vse of cloysterrys nedefulle thyngys, frugalitas.
1558 in A. Feuillerat Documents Office of Revels Edward VI (1914) 251 To lend me the vse of one of your maskes.
1569 J. Leslie Def. Honour Marie Quene of Scotl. iii. f. 143v The vse therof ys not repugnante to the saide holye scripture.
1601 B. Jonson Fountaine of Selfe-love v. i. sig. K2 Denying to the world the precious vse Of hoorded wealth. View more context for this quotation
1605 R. Verstegan Restit. Decayed Intelligence i. 23 The Picards..are said first to haue gotten that name of there great & moste accustomed vse of pykes.
1646 Sir T. Browne Pseudodoxia Epidemica i. vii. 26 In..Law and History, there is..a frequent and allowable use of testimony. View more context for this quotation
1729 T. Innes Crit. Ess. Anc. Inhabitants Scotl. II. 444 The ancient use of letters among the Irish.
1737 R. Challoner Catholick Christian Instructed Pref. p. vi What the Doctor has alledged against the Use of Incense.
1782 F. Burney Cecilia IV. viii. ix. 307 Is the gift of speech only granted us to pervert the use of understanding?
1860 J. W. Warter Sea-board & Down II. 436 Certainly use and abuse are very different things.
1891 Sir A. Wills in Law Times 91 232/2 Massey..lent the use of his name to Kensington in order to oblige him.
1926 H. W. Fowler Dict. Mod. Eng. Usage 569/2 Excessive use of exclamation marks is..one of the things that betray the uneducated or unpractised writer.
1963 A. Baraka Blues People iv. 33 In some parts of the South, ‘conjuring’ or use of ‘hoodoo’ or ‘devil talk’ was punishable by death or, at the very least, whipping.
2003 Independent 9 Oct. (Review section) 10/3 The spirit she is talking about..would, in less subtle hands, necessitate the use of a sick bag.
β. 1487 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (St. John's Cambr.) xvii. 252 For in Scotland..The oys [1489 Adv. ws] of thame [sc. cannon] had nocht beyn sene.a1500 (c1425) Andrew of Wyntoun Oryg. Cron. Scotl. (Nero) i. l. 1310 As þe makaris had daynte Off þa bestis and delyte Be freyte or oysse, or be profyte.
b. The action of consuming something as food, drink, a drug, etc., esp. on a regular or habitual basis; the fact of being consumed in this way.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > consumption of food or drink > [noun]
usagea1500
use1586
expense1587
expending1745
discussion1814
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1963) Judges xix. 19 No man vndyr his roof wile vs resceyuyn hafynge..bred & wyn in to myn & of þi hand maydynys vsys [L. usus].
c1475 Mankind (1969) l. 237 (MED) Dystempure not yowr brayn wyth goode ale nor wyth wyn; Mesure ys tresure; Y forbyde yow not þe vse.
1533 T. Paynell tr. U. von Hutten De Morbo Gallico vi. f. 10v Truely what so euer it be, that he [sc. Epicurus] made so moche of, he ment in the only vse of brede and water.
1586 A. Day Eng. Secretorie i. sig. D5 A kinde of grayne growinge in great coddes, whereby wee sometimes obtaine (though not the naturall) yet some vse of breade.
1588 T. Kyd tr. T. Tasso Housholders Philos. f. 12v The Nurses shoulde not be so narrowly forbidde the often vse of wynes.
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics iv, in tr. Virgil Wks. 129 They..hoard, for Winter's use, the Summer's gain. View more context for this quotation
1725 N. Robinson New Theory of Physick 290 The Patient should be exhorted not to leave off the Use of the Bark too soon.
1772 W. Buchan Domest. Med. (ed. 2) xx. 255 Wholesome food, and a moderate use of generous liquors.
1836 A. Combe Physiol. Digestion ii. v. 304 Many persons imagine that spirits..cannot be injurious, because they feel no immediate bad effects from their use.
1862 Chambers's Encycl. III. 552/2 Certain substances [i.e. tobacco, tea, and coffee] which..may fairly be considered, from the universality of their use, to exert a definite influence on the organism.
1927 Amer. Mercury July 293/2 The tenets of the sect, embodied in a hodge-podge of Biblical texts, forbad the use of alcohol, tobacco, pork, oysters and medical remedies.
1962 H. Hotema Man's Higher Consciousness (ed. 3) v. 30 The body..must adjust itself to the use of tobacco, opium, morphine, medicines, drugs and all other poisonous substances.
1994 Kindred Spirit Autumn 30/3 By sobriety I mean a lot more than just giving up the immoderate use of drugs and alcohol.
c. The opportunity or fact of using someone for sexual purposes; maintenance of a person, as a concubine, a mistress, etc., for this reason. Cf. use v. 14b.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sexual relations > sexual activity > [noun] > use of something for sexual purposes
usea1513
a1513 R. Fabyan New Cronycles Eng. & Fraunce (1516) I. cxcii. f. cxiiii v/1 The woman..whose husbande..he slewe for to haue the vnlawfull vse of her beaute.
1565 T. Cooper Thesaurus at Fruor He hath the vse of hir, &c.
1607 T. Middleton Revengers Trag. ii. sig. D3v I cannot honor her [ante my mother],..Her tongue has turnd my sister into vse.
1648 A. Ross Mystagogvs Poeticvs (ed. 2) viii. 174 His step-mother desired the use of his body.
1648 A. Ross Mystagogvs Poeticvs (ed. 2) ix. 223 [Ixion] began to fall in love with Iuno, desiring the use of her body.
1676 R. Dixon Nature Two Test. 551 A wife, not a Concubine, might be taken by use; for a whole un-interrupted year without usurpation.
1748 tr. P. Lozano True Relation Earthquake Lima iii. 247 Two ancient Ways of marrying still subsist in this Country; that of keeping a Mistress is very answerable to that which was call'd by Use.
1893 Sunset Club 20 Apr. 213 In the public mind a certain amount of infamy is connected with the act of a woman who sells the use of her body for hire.
1927 B. B. Lindsey & W. Evans Companionate Marriage v. 118 ‘He forgot all about me, so far as I could see, except’—laughing bitterly—‘when he wanted the use of me.’
1966 H. Lichtenstein in H. Ruitenbeek Psychoanal. & Male Sexuality vii. 109 Narcissism..described..a perversion consisting of the use of the own body as the only sexual object.
2004 J. Kimm Fatal Conjunction viii. 83 Cultural values about communal use of women..were once part of a total morality and law.
d. Employment of a language, words, etc., for the purpose of communication.
ΚΠ
c1525 T. Linacre Rudimenta Grammatices sig. D4v The participle in dus hath somtyme the signification of the present. as amandus beyng loued. But the vse of it is most in obliques.
1564 J. Rastell Confut. Serm. M. Iuell f. 51v Yf a parish priest say his seruice in the Latin tongue,..is this priest in danger of S. Paules wordes, which he speaketh concerning the vse of a strainge language?
1615 E. Grimeston tr. P. d'Avity Estates 679 The vse of the Latin tongue, common to townes and villages.
1690 J. Locke Ess. Humane Understanding iii. x. 240 The obscurity and confusion that is so hard to be avoided in the Use of Words.
1797 Brit. Critic 9 424 A more trifling matter of objection is the use of the plural form throughout in speaking of himself.
1831 W. Scott Count Robert xi, in Tales of my Landlord 4th Ser. I. 320 His excellence in the use of the French language.
1906 Soldier Slang in C. McGovern Sarjint Larry an' Frinds Square-head, a soldier of German birth and addicted to the use of German idioms.
1956 J. Heyman in S. Maron et al. Surv. Nepal Society x. 186 The dynasty that ruled Kathmandu Valley at the time encouraged the use of Newari as a written, as well as spoken, language.
2010 T. R. Jiménez Replenished Ethnicity v. 165 The boundaries between Mexican Americans and Mexican immigrants are particularly apparent when it comes to the use of Spanish.
e. With possessive adjective. The fact of using something, or of a thing's being used.
ΚΠ
1598 W. Shakespeare Henry IV, Pt. 1 i. iii. 20 When we need Your vse and counsel we shall send for you. View more context for this quotation
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost ix. 750 Thy praise hee also who forbids thy use, Conceales not from us. View more context for this quotation
1691 T. Hale Acct. New Inventions 37 The Ingredients..being Forraign, such has sometimes been the scarcity thereof here, (even when their use has been most wanted).
1795 A. Gordon Disc. Several Subj. I. Postscript p.xlvii As to the articles of our own church, it behoves me to support their use, and defend them from the charge of doing any harm.
1843 W. Pinnock Goldsmith's Hist. Greece (new ed.) i. vii. 54 Foreign troops were occasionally hired in the first Peloponnesian war, but their use became general in the second and third.
1866 Ecclesiastic 28 132 When her [sc. the Virgin Mary's] use was finished, and the Son was born, reverence and favour belonged to her still.
1915 Pop. Mech. Apr. 557/2 The history of canes is an interesting one, consisting of periods of popularity alternating with periods when their use was prohibited.
1978 G. C. Hill & J. S. Holman Chem. in Context xvii. 249 The high refractive index and dispersive power of diamonds led to their use as jewellery in the very earliest civilizations.
2002 J. Perry Quick & Dead iii. 58 All the fuss did not save the wheel-of-fortune that the miners called ‘spinning Jenny’. Her use was banned.
2.
a. Manner or mode of using, employing, or utilizing something; spec. the skill of correctly handling or operating an implement, instrument, etc. Frequently with modifying word.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > advantage > usefulness > use (made of things) > [noun] > manner or mode of use
use1340
using1388
1340 Ayenbite (1866) 41 Of þise zennes ne byeþ naȝt kuytte þo þet þe guodes of holy cherche, þe patremoyne of Iesu crist despendeþ ine kueade us.
a1400 (c1300) Northern Homily: Serm. on Gospels (Coll. Phys.) in Middle Eng. Dict. at Use For [all than] sal we yeld acount That god hauis giuen us forto spend, In god oys.
a1500 (c1340) R. Rolle Psalter (Univ. Oxf. 64) (1884) lxxvii. 14 He gifis þaim welth and riches, and þai dispend þaim in ill oyse.
1526 Bible (Tyndale) Rom. i. 27 Lyke wyse also the men lefte the naturall vse of the woman.
1533 tr. Erasmus Enchiridion Militis Christiani ii. sig. Ciiiv It is tyme that I begyn to gyue the a certeyn rule of the vse of these wepons.
1563 2nd Tome Homelyes Use of Church ii. sig. Cc iij Concernyng the right vse of the temple of god.
1623 E. Gunter (title) The description and use of the sector, the crosse-staffe and other instruments.
1669 S. Sturmy Mariners Mag. i. ii. 5 So have you made the Mariner's Sea-Compass. The Use shall be shew'd in its place.
1703 Moxon's Mech. Dyalling (ed. 4) in Moxon's Mech. Exercises (new ed.) 348 The use of the Line of Chords. As its use is very easie, so its convenience is very great.
1781 W. Cowper Retirem. 170 Nor these alone prefer a life recluse, Who seek retirement for its proper use.
1804 Med. & Physical Jrnl. 12 433 The result of the advantageous use of that remedy.
1869 Times 8 Feb. 9/1 If such people are only taught the use of a needle and thread, the workhouse may confer a permanent benefit on them.
1955 K. Hutton & A. Swallow Chem. for Gen. Sci. x. 133 Experiment 77. To demonstrate the use of soda as an acid neutraliser.
1957 W. F. Friedman & E. S. Friedman Shakespearean Ciphers Examined ii. 25 Any cipher system..must yield unique solutions..with ingenious use, it can be made to produce any answer you like.
1992 A. W. Eckert Sorrow in our Heart i. 58 He had even been promised that soon he would be taught the use and care of firearms.
b. As a count noun. A manner of using, manipulating, or employing something. Frequently with modifying word.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > advantage > usefulness > use (made of things) > [noun] > manner or mode of use > instance of
use1387
1387–8 Petition London Mercers in R. W. Chambers & M. Daunt Bk. London Eng. (1931) 36 The whiche comune wronge vses [of the king's power], & many other, if it lyke to yow, mowe be shewed.
1534 W. Marshall tr. Erasmus Playne & Godly Expos. Commune Crede iii. f. 63 Yf ony man wolde put a vessell that hadde ben consecrated and dedycated to baptisme: or holy oyle or to other holy vses vnto prophane vses of the kechen.
1611 M. Smith in Bible (King James) Transl. Pref. ⁋4 But what mention wee three or foure vses of the Scripture?
1634 T. Herbert Relation Some Yeares Trauaile 154 If they casually finde a piece of paper that has his [sc. Jesus'] name in it, they preserue it from all bad vses.
1651 J. Reading Guide to Holy City xxxv. 428 To make a more thankfull, prudent, and holy use thereof [sc. of health].
1725 I. Watts Logick iv. ii. 529 There is a proper Use to be made of large Paraphrases.
1725 I. Watts Logick iv. ii. 529 There is also a Use of shorter Hints.
1774 O. Goldsmith Hist. Earth VI. 250 With respect to their [sc. animals] uses indeed,..they differ much.
1819 P. B. Shelley Cenci iv. iii. 70 Thou wert a weapon in the hand of God To a just use.
1825 W. Scott Talisman xii, in Tales Crusaders III. 295 An use of the weapon sometimes..resorted to, when a missile was necessary.
1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. II. vi. 64 He..made so dexterous an use of the influence of that cabal that [etc.].
1902 N.Z. Illustrated Mag. Nov. 110/2 She came out to watch him sinking a post-hole, and to explain the uses of a ‘bar’ in clayey soil.
1975 Pacific Affairs 48 174 One Indian defence expert has even accused the two superpowers of a cynical use of the anti-proliferation movement.
2003 Radio Times 27 Sept. (Midlands ed.) 8/2 What impeccable acting performances there were in Carla... What a skilful use of the camera.
3. With of.
a. The ability to use, or the custom or practice of using a tool, resource, technique, etc. Frequently in to have the use of.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > advantage > usefulness > use (made of things) > [noun] > opportunity or practice of using
usea1387
a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1874) V. 99 (MED) He lete þe Galles and þe Pannonyes have use of vynes.
a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) I. viii. xv. 483 He [sc. Mercury] disposiþ and makeþ men able to þe science and vse of calculynge.
a1500 (c1340) R. Rolle Psalter (Univ. Oxf. 64) (1884) lii. §2. 190 Þai ere brokyn fra oyse and strenght of reson.
a1500 (?c1378) J. Wyclif Eng. Wks. (1880) 453 Þis is þe freest vss þat men han off worldly godis.
1577 W. Harrison Descr. Scotl. xiv. 21/2 in R. Holinshed Chron. I The Pict (saith Herodian) hath generally no vse of apparell.
1590 J. Smythe Certain Disc. Weapons 42 b The weapon of all others that God hath put into the hearts of men, to deuise and vse..to chasten..other such Nations, as..had the perfect vse of the same.
1656 H. Phillippes Purchasers Pattern (1676) 137 Men, who have daily use hereof, have tables and lines upon their Rulers.
1698 tr. F. Froger Relation Voy. Coasts Afr. 75 Not having the use or knowledge of iron.
c1720 N. Dubois & G. Leoni tr. A. Palladio Architecture III. iii. 9 The Ancients not having had the use of stirrups.
1729 T. Innes Crit. Ess. Anc. Inhabitants Scotl. II. ii. 443 The Irish had the first use of letters, and were taught to read and write originally by the Latins.
1774 J. Bryant New Syst. (new ed.) I. 341 They had the use of the sphere, and were acquainted with the zodiac.
1814 W. Wordsworth Excursion v. 239 Nature's..higher creatures born and trained To use of reason. View more context for this quotation
1907 C. Smith Autobiogr. (ed. 2) ii. 15 I had the use of tools, hence could do my own work if necessary.
1973 P. Warner Japanese Army of World War II 22/2 It will be clear..that the Japanese had the use of a wide variety of modern weapons.
1999 S. Hobbs et al. Child Labor 65/1 Some of the more complex woven patterns required techniques in which the weaver had the use of an assistant.
b. The capacity to use some mental or physical faculty; the ability to use or exercise some member of the body.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > ability > [noun] > to use or employ
wield?a1300
use1483
1483 W. Caxton tr. J. de Voragine Golden Legende f. ccccxxxij/1 Fyue wymmen..recouerd the vse of gooyng, whiche they had loste by dyuers sekenesse.
1541 T. Elyot Castel of Helthe (new ed.) 64 Passions of the mynde..bryng a man from the vse of reason, and somtime in the displeasure of almightye God.
1585 J. Stell in T. Washington tr. N. de Nicolay Nauigations Turkie Ep. Ded. He had the exquisite vse of two and twenty sundry tongues.
1592 in J. Morris Troubles Catholic Forefathers (1877) (modernized text) 3rd Ser. 30 Another Catholic, that had but the use of one of his hands.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Tempest (1623) iii. iii. 38 Expressing (Although they want the vse of tongue) a kinde Of excellent dumbe discourse.
1670 C. Gataker in T. Gataker Antidote Errour Ep. Ded. sig. A3v If God had granted him a little longer use of light [= life].
1711 R. Steele Spectator No. 36. ⁋8 How hard a thing it is for those to keep Silence who have the Use of Speech.
1737 R. Challoner Catholick Christian Instructed iv. 23 Till a Person is come to the Use of Reason.
1859 Ld. Tennyson Merlin & Vivien 495 in Idylls of King She lay as dead, And lost all use of life.
1860 J. W. Carlyle Lett. (1883) III. 51 ‘Little darling’ has lost the use of an arm and hand by paralysis.
1921 Foreign Service July 21/3 Comrade Kingsley has lost the use of his voice, a result of shell shock.
1962 M. Spinka Christian Thought i. 2 It now resembles that queer New Zealand bird, the kiwi, which has lost the use of its wings because it has long ceased to use them.
1998 T. McHale Casualty (BBC TV post-production script) (O.E.D. Archive) 13th Ser. Episode 1. 63 Sean: I'll get one of the nurses to grab some. Charlie: You lost the use of your legs, doctor?
c. The opportunity, right, or privilege of using or employing someone else's property, typically for a temporary period.Frequently difficult to distinguish from and often confused with sense 15b, esp. when used in legal contexts.
ΚΠ
1530 in W. Fraser Lennox (1874) II. 235 The tenentis..had fre wis and pastour on the ground abone writing.
1587 Acts Parl. Scotl. (1814) III. 508/2 Thay may cheis to thame selffis within the said burgh..ane convenient place for the vse of wattir to thame and thair servandis.
1606 L. Andrewes Serm. Hampton Court 20 Moses shall permit Aarons sonnes to haue the vse of these trumpetts. But the vse, not the property.
1650 Orig. Jrnls. House of Commons 25 Feb. (Parl. Archives HC/CL/JO/1/34) 766 Resolued That the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland have the use of the Lodgings called the cockpitt.
a1701 H. Maundrell Journey Aleppo to Jerusalem (1703) 7 It was not without much importunity that we obtain'd to have the use of a dry part of the house.
1832 New-Eng. Mag. Nov. 387 The privileges of the first are, to walk without the bounds,..and to have the use of the recreation room without permission.
1851 Odd-fellows Offering 58 A rough-board coffin, the use of a horse and cart, and the sexton's services, were all that this poor family had received of public charity.
1928 Daily Mail Year Bk. 24/1 They can obtain the use of a machine in which to fly solo for £1 an hour.
1998 I. Hunter Which? Guide to Employment v. 99 A benefit in kind—such as the use of a company car or the provision of life assurance or private health insurance cover.
2003 D. Holland in M. Hardee & J. Fleming Sit-down Comedy 225 Give him a penthouse on the Thames (with concierge and the use of a gym!).
4. The action of using something repeatedly or habitually, resulting in its deterioration or becoming worn; the fact of something being used in this way.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > advantage > usefulness > use (made of things) > using up, expending, or consuming > [noun]
spendinga1430
use1440
consumptionc1522
abuse1539
spensec1547
abusinga1555
waste1569
expense1593
dispendium1648
expenditure1812
using-up1863
Promptorium Parvulorum (Harl. 221) 522/2 Weryn or wax olde and febyl [by] vse, veterasco, vetero, invetero.
1576 R. Robinson tr. F. Patrizi Moral Methode Ciuile Policie iv. f. 41 Apparell & ornamentes for her owne bodye..in small space are eyther by vse cleane worne, or elles solde for a greate deale lesse then they were bought.
1670 S. Crow in 12th Rep. Royal Comm. Hist. MSS (1890) App. v. 15 Theire ordnary designes [in tapestry]..with a whiles use will soone loose theire luster.
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics iii, in tr. Virgil Wks. 96 All other Themes, that careless Minds invite, Are worn with use . View more context for this quotation
1755 S. Johnson Dict. Eng. Lang. at To wear To waste with use or time.
1769 D. Hume Let. 10 July (1932) II. 204 Our shillings and sixpences..are so much worn by use, that they are twenty, thirty, or forty per cent below their original value.
1813 W. Leslie Gen. View Agric. Nairn & Moray (new ed.) Gloss. 454 Feaze, to have the edge of a razor..turned to a side, instead of being blunted by use.
1841 C. Dickens Old Curiosity Shop i. xvii. 182 Everything told of long use and quiet slow decay.
1904 F. P. Verney & M. M. Verney Mem. Verney Family 17th Cent. (ed. 2) I. 68 The wear and tear of even holiday use.
1930 Morning Post 18 Aug. 3/4 Certain parts of the receiver do not deteriorate to any extent with use.
1994 B. A. Staples Parallel Time vi. 92 Tommy kept his accounts in a thick composition tablet, its pages butterflied from constant use.
5.
a. The fact of using money borrowed or lent at interest.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > financial dealings > moneylending > [noun] > moneylending at interest
ocker?c1225
gavellingc1250
usury1303
usurea1325
lendinga1340
ockeringa1400
usea1450
usance1539
feneration1598
gombeen1862
a1450 (c1410) Dives & Pauper (Douce 295) vii. xxiv. f. 175v The vsurer sellith to geder þe þing þat he lenyth & þe vse of the þing And þerfor vsure comyth of sellyng of þe vse.
1572 T. Wilson Disc. Vsurye f. 53v I doe not thinke that the wydowe and her children shoulde offende god, yf others wil geue reasonably for the vse of her money, to maynteyne her selfe and her children.
1603 P. Holland tr. Plutarch Morals 283 [They] choose..to pawn them for to borrow money thereupon & pay for use [Fr. pour avoir de l'argent à usure dessus].
a1612 J. Harington Brief View Church of Eng. in Nugæ Antiquæ (1804) II. 232 Sending some present, enough perhaps to pay for the use of 1000 li.
1641 Aldeburgh Rec. in Notes & Queries 12th Ser. 9 146/2 Rec[ei]vd of Mr. John Blowers for one yeeres use of 40 li. 2[li.] 16. 00.
1729 G. Jacob New Law-dict. at Usury Reasonable Interest may be taken for the Use of Money at this Day.
1767 W. Blackstone Comm. Laws Eng. (new ed.) II. 454 When money is lent on a contract to receive..an increase by way of compensation for the use.
1862 T. A. Trollope Marietta I. 30 The old Catholic doctrine that no usance whatever could be unsinfully received for the use of money.
1878 Encycl. Brit. XVI. 721/1 In mercantile phraseology the value of money means the interest charged for the use of loanable capital.
1951 W. W. Elliott & E. R. C. Miles College Math. (ed. 2) x. 131 If a person borrows a sum of money he usually has to pay for the use of this money.
1966 Univ. Chicago Law Rev. 33 349 The interest rate for the use of money.
1999 J. Kung in J. C. Oi & A. G. Walder Prop. Rights & Econ. Reform in China i. v. 119 Previous payments would be treated merely as interest paid for the use of capital.
†b. Premium on money lent to another; interest. Frequently (and in earliest use) figurative. Cf. use-money n. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > financial dealings > moneylending > [noun] > moneylending at interest > interest
gavela700
usure1338
usuryc1450
interess1529
interest1545
fenory1572
usance1584
use1595
advantage1600
excess1600
interest-money1618
premium1669
service1817
usage1822
vigorish1935
1595 R. Southwell St. Peters Complaint 18 Large vse he gaue, a flame for euery sparke.
1600 W. Shakespeare Much Ado about Nothing ii. i. 261 He lent it [sc. his heart] me awhile, and I gaue him vse for it, a double heart. View more context for this quotation
1611 B. Rich Honestie of Age (1844) 60 Therefore, (sayth the Vsurer), we may take vse of him that is rich.
1637 in F. P. Verney & M. M. Verney Mem. Verney Family 17th Cent. (1907) I. 104 He threatens to make him pay use for his barn.
1655 T. Stanley Hist. Philos. I. iii. 80 If the Moon Ne'r rise again, I'me bound to pay no use... 'Cause use you know is paid by th' Month.
1668 J. Child Brief Observ. Trade 24 With them..there is not any Use for Money tollerated, above the rate of six in the hundred.
1728 T. Sheridan tr. Persius Satyrs (1739) vi. 93 Do not you..advise me, to live upon the Use of my Money.
1747 tr. Mem. Nutrebian Court I. 55 On whom he settled the use of 20,000 crowns for her life.
1785 W. Cowper Task iii. 364 Human life Is but a loan to be repaid with use.
1874 T. Hardy Far from Madding Crowd II. xi. 127 You'll never see Fanny Robin no more—use nor principal—ma'am.
1892 Ld. Tennyson Foresters iv. i. 130 Robin: Here be one thousand marks... Justiciary: Ay, ay, but there is use, four hundred marks.
6. = usage n. 7.
ΚΠ
1551 S. Gardiner Explic. Catholique Fayth f. 48v As touchyng the vse of the worde figuratiuely, to saye that Christe is figuratiuely in the bread and wyne,..is a doctrine before this diuerse tymes reproued.
1654 J. Tillinghast Generation-work ii. iii. 24 To this I do more readily assent,..Because the ordinary use of the words give this to be the meaning.
1790 Monthly Rev. June 132 The word Messiah is, even in English use, much more familiar as the name of the office, than the term Christ.
1827 Lect. on Evidences of Revelation (London Congregational Union) xii. 370 This is the established use of the term.
1882 Academy 23 Dec. 454/3 A better example might have been found in the Herodotean use of the article as a relative, a use which is Homeric, and not..Attic.
1909 Daily Chron. 29 Nov. 4/5 ‘Privilege’, of which we are hearing so much in connection with the crisis, is a word that has both broadened and narrowed in English use.
1977 C. Miller & K. Swift Words & Women iv. 67 Hysteria now refers in technical use to a specific psychoneurosis that may affect anyone, male or female.
1993 D. J. Mastronarde Introd. to Attic Greek vi. 40 Abstract nouns and abstract substantives are often accompanied by the definite article in Greek, a use found in other languages, but not in English.
2009 Economist (Nexis) 3 Oct. Nattering was meant to denote complaining, but..his pundit-mentor, had told him that the British use was closer to chattering.
II. Senses relating to habitual or customary practice.
7.
a. With the. The habitual, usual, or common practice; continual, repeated, or customary employment or exercise; habit, custom. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > behaviour > customary or habitual mode of behaviour > [noun]
i-wunec888
wise971
gatec1175
lawc1175
manners?c1225
wone?c1225
usec1325
hauntc1330
use1340
rotec1350
consuetude1382
customancea1393
usancea1393
practicc1395
guisea1400
usagea1400
wonta1400
spacec1400
accustomancec1405
customheada1425
urec1425
wontsomenessc1425
accustomc1440
wonningc1440
practice1502
habitudec1598
habiture1598
habit1605
wonting1665
c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) l. 9402 (MED) Þe wone & hus [v.r. vse] þat ȝe abbeþ euere ibe aboue Þat aȝte make ȝou abbe to fiȝte þe betere loue.
?a1500 R. Henryson tr. Æsop Fables: Sheep & Dog l. 1153 in Poems (1981) 47 By the vse and cours and commoun style, On this maner maid his citatioun.
1565 T. Cooper Thesaurus at Usus To suche a one as was nowe paste the vse and custome of lewde doeynge.
1577 B. Googe tr. C. Heresbach Foure Bks. Husbandry ii. f. 66 The vse of sowing of them is best.
1594 C. Marlowe & T. Nashe Dido i. i It is the vse for Turen maides to weare Their bowe and quiuer in this modest sort.
1604 King James VI & I Counterblaste to Tobacco sig. A4v The vile vse (or rather abuse,) of taking Tobacco.
1637 Earl of Monmouth tr. V. Malvezzi Romulus & Tarquin 209 The use of seeing dead men takes mercy totally away.
1656 Earl of Monmouth tr. T. Boccalini Ragguagli di Parnasso ii. xxviii. 271 The use of being drunk, being rather a piece of publick cunning amongst the Dutch, then [etc.].
1720 J. Ozell tr. R. A. de Vertot Hist. Revol. Rom. Republic (1740) II. xi. 170 Metellus Pius commanded them, as a Proconsul, according to the Use of those Days.
1725 A. Pope tr. Homer Odyssey III. x. 551 The cause remov'd, habitual griefs remain, And the soul saddens by the use of pain.
1825 W. Scott Betrothed v, in Tales Crusaders II. 110 One not in the use to speak before his purpose was fixed.
1854 C. Wordsworth Misc. (1879) I. 104 The use is inveterate, and it would be difficult to reform it.
1877 M. Oliphant Makers of Florence (ed. 2) iv. 112 The painter following the religious use and wont of his time.
1903 G. W. Kitchin Ruskin in Oxf. iii. 114 Round her have gathered some local legends, as was the use of those times.
b. Without article. Customary practice or procedure; habit, usage, custom, wont. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > customs, values, and civilization > customs, values, or beliefs of a society or group > [noun] > custom of a society or group
i-wunec888
thewc893
wise971
law of (the) landc1175
customa1200
wonec1200
tidingc1275
orderc1300
usancea1325
usagec1330
usea1393
guisea1400
spacec1400
stylec1430
rite1467
fashion1490
frequentation1525
institution1551
tradition1597
mode1642
shibboleth1804
dastur1888
praxis1892
a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) i. l. 2695 The which to comun us is strange.
a1425 (a1400) Prick of Conscience (Galba & Harl.) (1863) l. 7634 (MED) Planetes..styk noght fast, als smale sternes dose; Ilk ane his course mase thurgh use.
c1440 (a1349) R. Rolle Eng. Prose Treat. (1921) 12 (MED) Here es forboden all maner of wilfull pollusyone procurede one any maner agaynes kyndly oys or oþer-gates.
c1450 (c1350) Alexander & Dindimus (Bodl.) (1929) l. 720 Ȝe schullen bi ordre of..vs offren to vectus [read Venus] A ful derworþe douve.
a1500 (?a1390) J. Mirk Festial (Gough) (1905) 45 Mony fals opynyons of wychecraft..þe whech ben noght to telle among crysten men, lest þay wer drawen yn vsne [read vse].
a1500 R. Henryson tr. Æsop Fables: Fox & Wolf l. 786 in Poems (1981) 33 Vse drawis nature swa in propertie Of beist and man that neidlingis thay man do As thay of lang tyme hes bene hantit to.
1526 W. Bonde Pylgrimage of Perfection iii. sig. IIIiii Lette vs nat come to the churche by vse & custome, as the oxe to his stall.
1579 E. Spenser Let. to G. Harvey in Poet. Wks. (1912) 635/2 As for the twoo worthy Gentlemen,..they haue me..in some vse of familiarity.
1585 C. Fetherston tr. J. Calvin Comm. Actes Apostles vi. 2 Vse is the father of wisedome.
1651 T. Hobbes Leviathan ii. xxvi. 138 Long Use obtaineth the authority of a Law.
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics ii, in tr. Virgil Wks. 82 So strong is Custom; such Effects can Use In tender Souls of pliant Plants produce. View more context for this quotation
1730 J. Swift Apol. Lady Carteret 7 Madam, the mighty Pow'r of Use Now strangely pleads in my Excuse.
1782 W. Cowper Conversation in Poems 222 To rush into a fixt eternal state,..Whatever use may urge or honour plead, On reason's verdict is a madman's deed.
1812 H. F. Cary tr. Dante Paradiso xxvi. 135 In mortals, use Is as the leaf upon the bough: that goes, And other comes instead.
1895 S. J. Weyman Red Cockade i. 10 Those common signs of poverty to which use had accustomed me.
1925 L. J. Vance White Fire (1926) 164 Use had accustomed her to the folk who ran the little inn tucked away so remotely in the pleated hills.
1943 A. K. Coomaraswamy Christian & Oriental Philos. of Art iii. 76 Having fixed upon that course of art which is right, use has made it pleasant.
c. With possessive adjective. A tendency; a person's habit or way.
ΚΠ
a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) i. l. 267 (MED) It is noght my comun us To speke of vices and vertus.
a1450 Castle Perseverance (1969) l. 946 Do now wel ȝoure olde owse. Whanne ȝe com to Mankynde Make hym wroth and envyous.
a1450 Castle Perseverance (1969) l. 770 Messenger, do now þyne vse.
c1540 (?a1400) Gest Historiale Destr. Troy (2002) f. 100 Nay warloghe wolfe..Þat neuer of forray art full with þi foule vse.
1569 R. Grafton Chron. II. 89 His vse was to ride with a thousande horses continually.
1609 T. Dekker Guls Horne-bk. sig. D3v Let it be your vse to repaire thither some halfe houre after eleuen.
1655 W. Gouge & T. Gouge Learned Comm. Hebrewes (ix. 103) iii. 379 Their use was to sprinkle blood and water.
1670 I. Walton Life H. Wotton 50 in Lives After his customary publick Devotions, his use was to retire into his Study.
1722 W. Hamilton Life of Sir William Wallace ii. iii. 235 Some plainly said, Wallace had broke the Truce, Others said Nay, that never was his use.
1828 Light & Shade II. 195 His uses are..to quadrille with young [ladies].
1864 Ld. Tennyson Aylmer's Field in Enoch Arden, etc. 80 The gentle creature shut from all Her charitable use,..slowly lost..her hold on life.
a1960 F. D. Cornford tr. A. Blok Enitharmon (1996) 66 Therefore, neighbour, 'tis my use To have no truck with wolves except to skin 'em.
1992 K. Gupta War of no War iii. 69 It is my use to visit suffering people and give them a bit of consolation, peace and hope.
d. With of. Customary practice, habit, or procedure on the part of a group of persons, country, or institution.
ΚΠ
a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) Prol. l. 359 Upon the hond to were a Schoo..Acordeth noght to the behove Of resonable mannes us.]
1432 Rolls of Parl.: Henry VI (Electronic ed.) Parl. May 1432 §38. m. 6 Eny clothis..made aftre the use of the countrey.
c1450 J. Capgrave Life St. Augustine (1910) 47 I trowe þat he had þe vse of Itaile whilles he studied þere, and coude not litly out of þe same vse, for þei ete not mech at onys.
?a1475 (?a1425) tr. R. Higden Polychron. (Harl. 2261) (1865) I. 401 The vse of that cuntre differrethe from the rite of Englonde in clothenge,..and in mony other thynges.
1490 W. Caxton tr. Foure Sonnes of Aymon (1885) ix. 200 Be not dismayed for no thynge, For this is but an vse of werre, suche a thyng befalleth often to many one.
c1500 Melusine (1895) xxvi. 207 The halle was hanged nobly with ryche clothes after the vse of the land.
1535 Bible (Coverdale) 2 Macc. xi. 25 That they maye lyue acordinge to the vse & custome of their forefathers.
1612 T. Shelton tr. M. de Cervantes Don-Quixote: Pt. 1 i. iv. 24 It is the vse of Cowards to doe that which thou dost.
1697 R. Coke Detect. Court & State Eng. (ed. 3) 168 If they alledg, it is not the Use of the House to give twice in a Sessions.
1800 W. Wordsworth Michael 155 Not alone For pastime and delight, as is the use Of fathers.
1836 Husenbeth Faberism Exposed v. 528 The use and practice of the Catholic Church..of reordaining clerical converts from the Anglican Church.
1885 Dunckley in Manch. Weekly Times 23 May 5/6 The proper pronunciation..was handed down by oral tradition and by the use of the synagogue.
1916 W. E. Addis & T. Arnold Catholic Dict. (rev. ed.) 328/2 It is impossible to ascertain with certainty the use of the ancient Church on this head.
2001 J. Rohwer & M. S. Monakov Stalin's Ocean-going Fleet v. 44 The development of the merchant fleet was to be organized according to the use of the merchant ships in times of war.
8. Repeated exercise, employment, application, etc., leading to familiarity with or capability in something; habituation, practice. Now rare or merged in sense 1.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > behaviour > customary or habitual mode of behaviour > [noun] > accustomedness > action or fact of accustoming
usea1382
accustominga1475
inurance1571
inurement1592
enuring1606
assuefaction1644
wonting1692
using1702
habituation1816
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1963) 1 Kings xvii. 40 Þanne dauyd..began to asaien yf armed he myȝte gon...& dauyd seide to Saul, I mai not þus gon, for & vse [L. usum] I haue not.
Promptorium Parvulorum (Harl. 221) 508/1 Vse, oftyne tymys, þat ys callyd excersyse, exercicium.
1488 (c1478) Hary Actis & Deidis Schir William Wallace (Adv.) (1968–9) viii. l. 1259 Lang ws in wer gert thaim desyr thar will.
1529 T. More Dialogue Heresyes i, in Wks. 144/2 Howe far so euer his people fal from the vse of vertue.
1551 T. Wilson Rule of Reason sig. Cviij When men can by muche vse, leape, wrastle, or cast the barre, better then any other.
a1586 Sir P. Sidney Astrophel & Stella (1591) 45 Giue thy lieuetenancie To this great cause, which needes both use and art.
1680 J. Moxon Mech. Exercises I. xii. 203 Use has made the Mawl more handy for them.
1788 E. Gibbon Decline & Fall IV. xli. 130 The infantry..yielded to the more prevailing use and reputation of the cavalry.
1819 P. B. Shelley Cenci iii. i. 42 Should the offender live?..and make, by use, His crime, whate'er it is, dreadful no doubt, Thine element.
1887 S. A. Curzon Laura Secord 178 I am not inclined to regret the step rendered necessary by my devotion to my sex, for use has made me quite at home in the—ah—divided skirt!
2001 M. Inglis Field Guide to Deep Sky Objects v. iii. 244 Like most things in observational astronomy, it will all become easier with use.
9. Chiefly Christian Church.
a. A religious rite or ceremony observed in particular services of the church; a customary form of religious observance or service. Cf. usage n. 1b.
ΘΚΠ
society > faith > worship > observance, ritual > [noun] > instance or form of
churchOE
servicelOE
rightlOE
observancea1250
officec1300
preachingc1350
ritec1350
ceremonyc1380
usea1382
prayerc1384
form1399
ordinancea1400
ordera1425
worship?a1425
worshippingc1443
common prayer1493
common servicea1500
ordinarya1513
celebrity1534
church servicea1555
religious exercise1560
function1564
agend1581
church office1581
liturgy1593
Common Prayer service1648
ritualities1648
ceremonial1672
hierurgy1678
occasion1761
religiosities1834
cursus1865
joss-pidgin1886
worship service1929
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1959) Exod. xxvii. 19 All þe vessels of þe tabernacle, in to all vsis [L. usus] & serymonys,..þou schalt make of brasse.
a1500 (c1425) Andrew of Wyntoun Oryg. Cron. Scotl. (Nero) ii. l. 715 His body..Was put in honest sepulture, Wiþ swylk oysse and solempnyte As þat tyme was in þat cuntre.
1534 Prymer in Eng. x. sig. Jv It is therfore to be feared lest yf thou be ignoraunt in the true vse of the masse that the mo thou hearest the more thou offendest god abusynge his institution and ordinaunce.
1560 J. Daus tr. J. Sleidane Commentaries f. xxxiiij He him selfe..can not tel what time this accustomed vse of masse..came vp.
1766 W. Blackstone Comm. Laws Eng. II. 495 A use more truly pious, than any requiem, or mass for his soul.
1877 A. J. Ross Mem. A. Ewing 180 Some very remarkable ‘uses’.., such as mixing water with the wine in the Holy Communion.
a1894 W. Pater Gaston de Latour (1896) ii. 39 This mother of churches, which had also its own picturesque peculiarities of ‘use’.
1897 Daily News 12 Apr. 6/7 The revived ‘use’ of the Victorian era in the Anglican Church.
1957 Times 4 Oct. 6/2 Convocation should go forward unanimously and explain that both uses were tolerated in the Church.
1996 R. L. Kendrick Celestial Sirens (2001) v. 136 Veni sponsa was also an antiphon for the Common of Virgin Martyrs in all rites and uses.
b. The distinctive ritual and liturgy, form of service or public worship, prevailing or practised in a particular church, province, diocese, community, etc.; an example of this.With Salisbury use, cf. Sarum Use n. at Sarum n.
ΘΚΠ
society > faith > worship > observance, ritual > [noun]
usec1400
divine1480
actiona1572
liturgy1593
ritual1620
opus Dei1860
li1912
c1400 J. Wyclif Sel. Eng. Wks. (1871) III. 482 What resoun is hit to bynde us to newe songe and newe serymonyes of dyverse uses al day, þat we never mowe do boþe togedur?
?c1430 Stipendiis Ministrorum in T. Arnold Sel. Eng. Wks. J. Wyclif (1871) III. 202 To seie matynes and masse and evensong bi Salisbury uss.
?c1450 Life St. Cuthbert (1891) l. 7549 (MED) Of monkys vse þai saide þair houres.
1488 (c1478) Hary Actis & Deidis Schir William Wallace (Adv.) (1968–9) xi. l. 1020 Salysbery oys our clerkis than has tan.
1527 (title) This prymer of Salysbury vse.
1548–9 (title) The booke of the common prayer..after the vse of the Churche of England.
1549 Bk. Common Prayer (STC 16267) Pref. sig. ❧.iv From hencefurth, all the whole realme shall haue but one vse.
1549 Bk. Common Prayer (STC 16267) Pref. sig. ❧.v Some folowyng Salsbury vse, some Herford vse, some the vse of Bangor, some of Yorke, & some of Lincolne.
1590 Articles against Cartwright in T. Fuller Church-hist. Brit. (1655) ix. 198 The said Thomas Cartwright..conformed himself in both to the use and form of some other forraign Churches.
1636 E. Pagitt Christianographie (ed. 2) iii. 95 The Popes Legates..brought in the Roman use or service into Ireland.
1643 R. Baker Chron. Kings of Eng. ii. 58 In his third yeare, the order of Church service..was changed from the use of Pauls to the use of Salisbury.
1718 J. Toland Nazarenus ii. 22 It is not seven hundred years, since the Irish did finally and universally receive the Roman use.
1849 D. Rock Church of our Fathers (1903) I. i. v. 321 Almost the whole of the Salisbury Use had been printed while this country was still Catholic.
1878 T. F. Simmons Lay Folks Mass Bk. 89 The Order of Mass for Trinity Sunday, according to the use of York.
1878 T. F. Simmons Lay Folks Mass Bk. 354 A comparative calendar and index of fixed feasts, so necessary in the identification of uses.
1907 A. Fortescue Orthodox Eastern Church iii. 118 These three liturgies make up the use of Constantinople, which spread throughout the Orthodox East.
1948 H. M. Smith Henry VIII. & Reformation ii. vi. 404 The Litany of Cranmer was derived from many sources, mostly from the Sarum Use and somewhat from the Use of York.
1991 J. Caldwell Oxf. Hist. Eng. Music I. iii. 167 This is for the Use of Salisbury, and the alternative suggestion that the manuscript hailed from the remote Cistercian abbey of Meaux is not really compatible with it.
†10. An established practice; a custom. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > behaviour > customary or habitual mode of behaviour > [noun] > a habit or practice
thewc888
customa1200
wonec1200
moursc1250
usec1384
usancea1393
usagea1400
stylec1430
practice1502
commona1525
frequentation1525
ordinary1526
trade?1543
vein1549
habit1581
rut1581
habitude1603
mores1648
tread1817
dastur1888
c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) Rom. i. 26 The wymmen of hem chaungiden the kyndely vss [L. usum] in to that vss that is aȝens kynde.
c1450 (?a1400) Wars Alexander (Ashm.) l. 2950 Sen þis vse is here vn-honourable, here I þam leue.
c1450 (a1400) Libeaus Desconus (Calig. A.ii) (1969) l. 752 (MED) Syr Gyffroun le Flowdous, Jn fyȝtyng he haþ an vs Knyȝtes to be-gyle.
a1500 (?a1390) J. Mirk Festial (Gough) (1905) 113 (MED) Þou marterys me by a foule vse and custom of sweryng.
1542 A. Borde Compend. Regyment Helth ix. sig. E.iiiv Englande hath an euyll vse in syttynge longe at dyner.
a1550 (c1425) Andrew of Wyntoun Oryg. Cron. Scotl. (Wemyss) ii. l. 376 In till Egipt..That vys is kepit to þis day.
1587 R. Hovenden in C. R. L. Fletcher Collectanea (1885) I. 217 We never let our woods but once and that by great oversight: this one tyme we trust your Lordship will not count an use.
1601 R. Hakluyt tr. A. Galvano Discov. World 15 It was a vse also..to passe to India by land.
1613 S. Purchas Pilgrimage 749 They haue a filthy and detestable vse in marrying their Maidens.
1721 J. Kelly Compl. Coll. Scotish Prov. 272 An ill Use ought to be early broken off.
1728 E. Chambers Cycl. Uses and Customs of the Sea are certain Maxims, Rules, or Usages, which make the Base or Ground work of the Maritime Jurisprudence.
1819 P. B. Shelley Cenci iv. iv. 78 She knows not yet the uses of the world.
1827 T. Jarman Powell's Ess. Learning of Devises (ed. 3) II. 21 The giving lands to a corporation for their own benefit barely as an aggregate body, is not a charitable use.
1879 W. E. Gladstone Gleanings Past Years VI. iii. 124 When such an use came in, it was thought to be like a sign of the double superlative in High Churchmanship.
†11. Knowledge or understanding gained from practical experience. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > behaviour > customary or habitual mode of behaviour > [noun] > usual course, condition, etc. > usual or ordinary experience
use?a1425
?a1425 tr. Guy de Chauliac Grande Chirurgie (N.Y. Acad. Med.:Wallner) i. 26 (MED) It byhoueþ euery leche first for to konne and afterward to haue vse & experience.
a1450 ( tr. Vegetius De Re Militari (Douce) f. 10v (MED) In as muche as euere we couþe knowe by vse oþer open preue, in þis haue oure enemyes moost harm ydoon vs.
1588 T. Kyd tr. T. Tasso Housholders Philos. f. 17 One should so helpe another, as wee see by vse in our owne bodies, when the one leg is weary we can rest it one ye other.
1601 W. Cornwallis Ess. II. xxxii. sig. S4v But to my vse, we leaue our women ignorant, and so leaue them fearefull.
†12. Scottish. A person's characteristic manner of conduct or way of life. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > behaviour > way of life > [noun]
lifeeOE
lifewayOE
livelihoodOE
livingc1350
dietc1460
tradec1485
use1488
daily life1516
way of living1516
governmenta1616
way of lifea1616
tread1628
mode1758
1488 (c1478) Hary Actis & Deidis Schir William Wallace (Adv.) (1968–9) vii. l. 1279 In wtlaw oys he lewit thar but let.
a1500 (c1425) Andrew of Wyntoun Oryg. Cron. Scotl. (Nero) vii. l. 1218 His awyn oysse to lif wertual, May mirroure and ensampil be Til alkyn statis.
III. Senses relating to the end or purpose of an action.
13.
a. A purpose, object, or end, esp. of a useful or advantageous nature.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > intention > [noun] > intention or purpose > end, purpose, or object
willeOE
errand?c1225
purposec1300
endc1305
emprisec1330
intentc1340
use1340
conclusionc1374
studya1382
pointc1385
causec1386
gamea1393
term?c1400
businessc1405
finec1405
intentionc1410
object?a1425
obtent?a1475
drift1526
intend1526
respect1528
flight1530
finality?1541
stop1551
scope1559
butt?1571
bent1579
aiming point1587
pursuitc1592
aim1595
devotion1597
meaning1605
maina1610
attempt1610
design1615
purport1616
terminusa1617
intendment1635
pretence1649
ettle1790
big (also great) idea1846
objective1878
objective1882
the name of the game1910
the object of the exercise1958
thrust1968
1340 Ayenbite (1866) 37 (MED) Zuych is þe zenne of þe wyue þet þe guodes of hire lhorde stelþ, uor to yeue hare kenne, oþer uor to done into kuead us.
c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) Titus iii. 14 Oure men lerne for to be bifore in good werkis, to necessarie vses [L. usus], that thei be not vnfruytouse.
a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) vii. l. 1519 (MED) Loke wel that he ne schifte Hise wordes to no wicked us.
a1425 (a1400) Prick of Conscience (Galba & Harl.) (1863) l. 3674 Yhit may it availle to a gude use.
1495 Trevisa's Bartholomeus De Proprietatibus Rerum (de Worde) v. lxiv. 182 Skynnes of beestes ben graunted to men for ryght many maners and dyuerse vses.
a1500 (c1425) Andrew of Wyntoun Oryg. Cron. Scotl. (Nero) ii. l. 246 He ordanyt þe iugis set [= seat] To be for þat oysse þe market.
1552–3 in A. Feuillerat Documents Office of Revels Edward VI (1914) 104 Prouided for lynyng of..his officers garmentes and like vses.
1597 R. Hooker Of Lawes Eccl. Politie v. lxxix. 241 If we..conuert some smal contemptible portion thereof to charitable vses.
1623 J. Taylor New Discouery by Sea B 8 b At his death perhaps..he will giue..a little money to Pious vses.
1669 S. Sturmy Mariners Mag. ii. vi. 67 This is sufficient for that Use, to shew you the difference between the true Compass and the Steering Compass.
1726 J. Swift Gulliver I. i. viii. 140 I had the Tallow..for greasing my Boat, and other Uses.
1736 Act 9 Geo. II c. 36 Many large..Alienations or Dispositions made by..Persons, to Uses called Charitable Uses.
1818 P. B. Shelley Julian & Maddalo 100 I..saw..A building on an island; such a one As age to age might add, for uses vile.
1842 Ld. Tennyson Day-dream in Poems (new ed.) II. 160 To what uses shall we put The wildweed-flower that simply blows?
1919 Educ. Found. June 495/1 Animal and fish oils today are largely mixed with vegetable and mineral oils for various uses.
1968 Fortune Jan. 95/1 (advt.) Basic petrochemicals for such uses as making synthetic fibers.
2001 H. J. Petermann Esoteric Sci. xv. 490 Thus it is that he can use spiritual energies by his will and apply them to evil uses, wicked uses.
b. With of or possessive.
ΚΠ
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1959) Exod. xxx. 37 Sych a makyng ȝe schull not make in to ȝour own vses [L. usus].
1535 Bible (Coverdale) Baruch vi. B The prestes..take the golde and syluer from them, & put it to their owne vses.
1550 in J. Stuart Extracts Council Reg. Aberdeen (1844) I. 277 That tha may caus mak inuintour thairof to be keipit to the vsis of the altaragis thairof in tymes cuming.
1600 W. Shakespeare Henry IV, Pt. 2 ii. i. 118 You haue..made her serue your vses both in purse and in person. View more context for this quotation
1654 E. Nicholas Papers (1892) II. 43 There is some oweing to me, that I have layd out for his Highnes uses.
1673 J. Ray Observ. Journey Low-countries 36 To cast the Rain Water..into a large Cistern, where it is kept for the uses of the House.
1852 R. Browning in P. B. Shelley Lett. 13 Shaping for their uses a new and different creation from the last, which it displaces by the right of life over death.
1954 C. P. Snow New Men xxxii. 227 He had foreseen the danger about Sawbridge: he had also foreseen how to turn it to his own use.
2002 N. Basbanes Among Gently Mad i. 3 I have paid careful attention to how these individuals go about doing what they do, and I have adopted a number of their precepts for my own use.
†c. The provision or maintenance of something. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > supply > [noun] > action of providing or supplying
usea1382
purveyancea1387
administration?a1425
application?a1425
ministration?a1425
purveying1442
findingc1449
administering1468
liveryc1475
storing1494
furnishing1496
nourishinga1530
ministering1530
conference1545
applial1548
affording1574
supplying1586
supplyment1589
accommodation1612
suppeditation1612
furniturea1649
supplial1738
purveyal1877
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1963) 2 Kings xxiv. 22 Hast þou..a wayn & ȝokis of oxen in to þe vse of trees [a1425 L.V. in to vss of wode; L. in usum lignorum]?
a1525 ( Coventry Leet Bk. (1909) III. 587 The seid officers to haue jd. & þe oþer jd. to þe vse of þe Cundite.
a1525 ( Coventry Leet Bk. (1908) II. 572 Euery other person [to pay]..xx d. to þe vse of þe Cundith.
a1525 ( Coventry Leet Bk. (1908) II. 110 Dyuers somes..to go to þe vce of vestments of þe Trinite chirche.
1594 R. Holland Holie Hist. Lord & Saviour v. 219 The tribute payd to the vse of the Temple, was then leuied to the vse of the Emperour.
d. A part of a sermon, homily, or other formal religious address, devoted to the practical application of doctrine. Also figurative and in figurative contexts. Now historical.
ΘΚΠ
society > faith > worship > preaching > [noun] > instance of > part of
use1615
observe1833
1615 R. Brathwait Strappado 39 I doe rather chuse, (Satyre) to make of all his praiers an vse, That when the vse shall well expressed be, Thou maist apply the Benefit to thee.
a1628 J. Preston Serm. before his Majestie (1630) 121 The vse shall be, that you would take heed how you limit the holy One in regard of his mercy.
1632 P. Massinger Maid of Honour i. i. sig. B3 When you had beene Cudgell'd well, twice or thrice, and from the doctrine Made profitable uses.
1652 R. Brome Joviall Crew Ep. Ded. sig. A2v I will winde up all, with a Use of Exhortation.
1679 R. South Serm. Several Occasions 43 I proceed now to the Uses that may be drawn from the Truths delivered.
1734 I. Watts Reliquiæ Juveniles xxvi. 105 In his last Sermon he had an Use of Reproof for some Vices which were practised..in his Parish.
1816 W. Scott Old Mortality iv, in Tales of my Landlord 1st Ser. III. 95 A..devout, Christian woman, whom many thought as good as himself at extracting a doctrine or an use.
1816 W. Scott Old Mortality v, in Tales of my Landlord 1st Ser. III. 100 The discourse..was divided into fifteen heads, each of which was garnished with seven uses of application.
1986 K. E. Rowe Saint & Singer iii. 75 As if inspired by the uses of his own sermon, Taylor exalts the enlightening wisdom and curative power of Christ.
14.
a. In negative and interrogative contexts: advantage, benefit; point, sense. Frequently followed by of and gerund.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > advantage > usefulness > [noun]
usea1382
notefulheada1400
utilityc1400
serviceableness1579
behovefulness1592
usefulness1618
inservience1657
commodationa1676
utile1685
service1691
serviceability1845
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(1)) (1850) Wisd. xiii. 13 To noon vse [L. ad nullos usus], a crokid tree..he maketh.
1542 N. Udall tr. Erasmus Apophthegmes f. 157v Denying the arte of geometrie..to bee to veraye litle use or purpose.
1580 W. Fulke Discov. Daungerous Rocke in Retentiue 148 O maister of impudencie, what vse is there of the Greeke and Latine tongues, to be read to the people that vnderstande them not?
1611 Bible (King James) Tobit vi. 6 To what vse is..the gall of the fish? View more context for this quotation
1643 O. Cromwell Lett. & Speeches (1871) II. 288 It is to no use any man's saying he will do this or that.
1816 W. Scott Antiquary I. ix. 191 Ou dear! Monkbarns, what's the use of making a wark?
a1822 P. B. Shelley Let. to — in Posthumous Poems (1824) 66 Alas! it is no use to say, ‘I'm poor!’
1853 E. K. Kane U.S. Grinnell Exped. (1856) xxix. 248 Her position changes so constantly that there is little use of recording it.
1878 T. Hardy Return of Native I. ii. ii. 248 Is there any use in saying what can do no good, aunt?
1886 ‘H. Conway’ Living or Dead xxv Rothwell [tried]..to look as much at his ease as possible. But it was no use.
1906 Smart Set Aug. 122/2 Here's a quid, if that's any use to you?
1928 Amer. Flint Apr. 8/2 What's the use of always weepin', Making trouble last?
1954 Coast to Coast 1953–4 20 I tell you both before youse throw the swags in it ain't any use you comin' out if you can't handle hay.
2009 Independent on Sunday (Nexis) 23 Aug. 82 We have directives about working hours, which are a fat lot of use if you are self-employed.
b. Ability to be used, esp. for a particular purpose; capability of securing some beneficial end or result; usefulness, utility.
ΚΠ
1570 H. Billingsley tr. Euclid Elements Geom. xii. f. 357 (heading) Iohn Dee his fruitfull instructions, with certaine Corollaries, and their great vse.
1598 J. Manwood Treat. Lawes Forrest To Rdr. The necessarie vse and common good, that may arise..by the publishing of this Treatise.
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost vii. 346 God made two great Lights, great for thir use To Man. View more context for this quotation
1700 J. Locke Ess. Humane Understanding (new ed.) iv. vii. 364 I may have reason to think their use is not answerable to the great Stress which seems to be laid on them.
1759 S. Johnson Prince of Abissinia II. xxxi. 46 He that has built for use, till use is supplied, must begin to build for vanity.
1780 J. Bentham Introd. Princ. Morals & Legisl. (1789) p. ccxcv A few words, for the purpose of giving a general view of the method of division here pursued,..may have their use.
1837 Tait's Edinb. Mag. June 348a A self-interrogation to that end might not be without its use.
1874 G. W. Dasent Half a Life III. 46 Fifty years before it might have been some use to him.
1966 K. Burke Lang. as Symbolic Action 270 We happen to have seen a comment which Roethke wrote on this passage, and we cite it for its great use in revealing his methods.
2007 T. L. Lemke et al. Foye's Princ. Medicinal Chem. (ed. 6) ii. xiii. 402/2 The ß-blocking activity of methoxamine, which is seen at high concentrations, affords some use in treating tachycardia.
15.
a. The benefit or advantage gained by a person, group, etc., from a particular action or circumstance; (after 16th cent. only in Law) the profit or benefit received by a specified person, institution, etc., deriving from land or other property, esp. where the beneficiary is not the nominal owner of the property (cf. sense 15c). Frequently with of. Now historical.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > advantage > [noun] > resulting from something > instance of > resulting from lands, tenements, etc.
usea1387
a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1869) II. 23 (MED) In Brytayne beeþ hoote welles wel arrayed and i-hiȝt to þe vse of mankynde.
1394 in Collectanea Topographica & Genealogica (1836) III. 256 A rente charge..paiable to the vse and profit of his chanterie ther.
a1440 Let. in Eng. Hist. Rev. (1940) 55 642 (MED) Lett the seide Simon haue the seide Cotages for vj s. of rent by ȝere and he wyll bilde hem newe euery stikk, the which shall be wurship and grete use to the plase.
1487 Rolls of Parl.: Henry VII (Electronic ed.) Parl. Nov. 1487 §20. m. 10 All dedes of gyfte of goodes and catalles..made of trust to thuse of that persone or persones that made the same dede of gyfte.
c1523 J. Rastell Expos. Terminorum Legum Anglorum sig. B.5v Yf any man be feffee to ye vse of an other & his heyris & he to whose vse he is so seisyd make deuise of his landis this deuise is good.
1535–6 Act 27 Hen. VIII c. 10 §4 Where..purchase of any Landes..shalbe made..to any other person or persones..to the use and behove of the seid Husbond and Wife or to the use of the wife.
1599 in Roxburghe Ballads (1886) VI. p. xxvi The somme of sixteene poundes of myne Restinge in the handes and keepinge for me and to my use of Richard Oringe.
1607 J. Cowell Interpreter sig. Ooov/1 The gathering of the fruites of a Benefice voide, to the vse of the next incumbent.
a1626 J. Davies Question conc. Impositions (1656) ix. 39 The Merchandizes are ipso facto forfeited, and may presently be seized to the use of the King.
1729 G. Jacob New Law-dict. Cestui que Use..signifies him to whose Use any other Man is enfeoffed of any Lands or Tenements.
1766 W. Blackstone Comm. Laws Eng. II. 271 The lands were granted..to nominal feoffees to the use of the religious houses.
1818 W. Cruise Digest Laws Eng. Real Prop. (ed. 2) I. 338 If the heir refuses to come in.., the Lord..may seize the estate to his own use.
1843 Penny Cycl. XXVI. 65 If a feoffment had been made to A for life to his own use, with remainder to B in fee for the use of C.
1922 W. S. Holdsworth Hist. Eng. Law (ed. 3) I. v. ii. 455 The statute..did not..apply to cases where the feoffees were possessed of chattels real or personal to the use of others.
1979 J. G. Bellamy Tudor Law of Treason i. 16 The parliament..was used to legislate an attainder act which provided for the forfeiture of lands held to the use of Stanley.
b. The enjoyment of some beneficial or advantageous state of affairs; (after Middle English only in Law) the enjoyment of the revenue, profit, or other benefit from deriving from land or other property, esp. where the person enjoying these benefits is not the nominal owner of the property (cf. sense 15c); the right to this. Now historical.Now overlapping with and sometimes difficult to distinguish from sense 3c.
ΘΚΠ
society > law > legal possession > [noun] > possession so as to derive benefit
use?a1425
?a1425 (a1415) Lanterne of Liȝt (Harl.) (1917) 26 Þe fourþe fruycioun or vse of þe godhed.
1429 Will in Trans. Essex Archæol. Soc. (1895) 5 297 The goodes that of thy goodnesse hast suffred me haue use and proffit of.
c1460 Tree & 12 Frutes (McClean) (1960) 94 (MED) This mete and þis drinke on oure lordis table..is no þing ellis but..blis and fruycioun and vse of endeles blissednes for þe sorowis wiche we suffren here.
1535–6 Act 27 Hen. VIII c. 10 §6 Concernyng such right, title, use, interest, or possession as they..have clayme or pretende to have.
1565 T. Cooper Thesaurus Ususfructuarius,..he that hath the vse and fruite of a thyng, but not the proprietie.
1579 Rastell's Expos. Termes Lawes (new ed.) 183 b/2 The stat. of An. 27. H. 8. c. 10 prouided..that who hath the vse of the lande, the same hath ye possession therof by vertue of that estatute.
1629 Vse of Law 71 in J. Doddridge Lawyers Light They conveyed their full estates of their Lands in their good health, to friends in trust;..and this trust was called, the vse of the land.
1681 J. Dalrymple Inst. Law Scotl. xvi. 327 Usufruct is the power of disposal of the use and fruits, saving the Substance of the thing.
1706 G. Stanhope Paraphr. Epist. & Gospels III. 334 The longest Inheritance and Descent, is in truth but the longest Use, but not so much as a Lease or Tenant-right.
1734 A. Pope Satires of Horace ii. ii. 165 ‘Pity! to build, without a son or wife:’..Well, if the Use be mine, can it concern one Whether the Name belong to Pope or Vernon?
1766 W. Blackstone Comm. Laws Eng. II. 137 The property or possession of the soil being vested in one man, and the use, or profit thereof, in another.
1818 W. Cruise Digest Laws Eng. Real Prop. (ed. 2) I. 474 No use would have resulted to the father, because blood was a sufficient consideration to have vested the use in the son.
1888 Encycl. Brit. XXIII. 596/1 The conveyance of an estate to a friend on the understanding that they should retain the use, i.e., the actual profit and enjoyment of the estate.
1910 Burlington Mag. Nov. 120/1 Montbas was merely the name of his father's fief, to the use of which the bishop had no claim.
1987 Univ. Pennsylvania Law Rev. 135 919 If the defendant was found to be holding land in trust for another, he could be compelled to give the use and profit of the property to the beneficiary.
c. A trust vested in a person for the holding of land or other property, of which another receives or is entitled to the profits or benefits.The use of these trusts was regulated by the Statute of Uses (1535); the statute was repealed and uses abolished in 1925.
ΘΚΠ
society > law > transfer of property > settlement of property > [noun] > putting property into trust > trust reposed in person holding property
trust1415
confidence1528
use1535
1535 Act 27 Hen. VIII c. 10 §1 Fraudulent feoffementes, fynes, recoveryes, and other assurances craftely made to secrete uses, intentes, and trustes.
1535 Act 27 Hen. VIII c. 10 §12 Any person..seasid of or in any Landes, Ten[emen]tes, or Hereditamentes to any use, trust, or confydence.
1579 Rastell's Expos. Termes Lawes (new ed.) 183 b/2 Vses of Land had beginning after that the custome of propertie began among men.
1628 E. Coke 1st Pt. Inst. Lawes Eng. 272 b An Vse is a Trust or Confidence reposed in some other.
1720 T. Wood Inst. Laws Eng. 436 Where no Uses are Declared, the Feoffment, Fine or Recovery shall enure to the Use of the Feoffor, Cognizor, etc.
1760 L. Sterne Life Tristram Shandy I. xv. 88 By force and virtue of the statute for transferring of uses into possession.
1765 W. Blackstone Comm. Laws Eng. II. 335 This is sometimes called a secondary, sometimes a shifting, use.
1845 J. Williams Princ. Law Real Prop. 124 A doctrine was laid down, that there could not be a use upon a use.
1882 F. Pollock in Macmillan's Mag. 46 365 The Statute of Uses ( a.d. 1535) was passed in order to prevent the severance of legal from beneficial ownership.
1888 Encycl. Brit. XXIII. 596/1 The feoffee to uses, as he was called, or the person seised to the use of another.
1926 Harvard Law Rev. 39 469 A third accomplishment of the Statute of Uses was the power it gave the owner to impress his will upon the property.
1980 D. M. Walker Oxf. Compan. Law 1268/1 Uses could be used to avoid various burdensome exactions,..and this led to the Statute of Uses of 1535.
2009 Stud. Hist. Tax Law 3 234 Trusts enabling the purchase of land in the name of another were not infrequently passive trusts of freehold in the form of a use upon a use.
16. Benefit, service; the fact or quality of serving the needs or ends of a person or persons.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > advantage > usefulness > use (made of things) > [noun] > fact or quality of serving needs or ends
servicec1350
usea1398
functionality1836
a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) II. xvii. clxxii. 1063 Such confeccioun schulde nouȝt be made to mannes vse..such confeccioun schulde be offred in þe temple vpon þe autier.
?a1425 Mandeville's Trav. (Egerton) (1889) 84 Of þe white peper sell þai bot lytill..bot kepez it till þaire awen vse.
a1450 (c1410) H. Lovelich Merlin (1904) I. l. 946 (MED) Sche was deliuered..of a knave child..the devel wrowhte so falsly, God to his evs hath taken jt, trewly, thorwgh the modris verray repentaunce.
1487 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (St. John's Cambr.) xix. 196 [They] distroyit the men ilkane, And till thar oys thar gude has tane.
a1500 (c1340) R. Rolle Psalter (Univ. Oxf. 64) (1884) iv. 8 Whet, wyne, and oile..ere mast nedful til mannys oise.
a1505 R. Henryson Sum Pract. Med. 47 in Poems (1981) 181 This vntment is rycht ganand for ȝour awin vs.
1522 in J. T. Fowler Acts Church SS. Peter & Wilfrid, Ripon (1875) 357 To the usse and behowe of Cecill my wiffe.
1560 Bible (Geneva) Judith xii. 15 Her maide..spred for her skinnes..which she had receiued of Bagoes for her daily vse.
1560 Bible (Geneva) Wisdom xv. 7 The potter..facioneth euerie vessel with labour to our vse.
1617 J. Taylor Three Weekes Obseruations F 2 Hares..killed..and carried to the markets by cart-loads, and sold for the vse of the honourable owners.
1694 E. Phillips tr. J. Milton Lett. of State 265 Rice, Sugar, and Coffee..for the use of the Grand Seignior.
1713 G. Berkeley Three Dialogues Hylas & Philonous i. 22 Common Language..is framed by, and for the Use of, the Vulgar.
1774 O. Goldsmith Hist. Earth I. 230 We shall never know whether the things of this world have been made for our use.
1821 W. Scott Pirate I. ii. 24 A bargain of rock-cod, purchased..for the use of the family.
1895 W. C. Scully Kafir Stories 106 Food for the use of the Zulus on the journey would be provided.
1909 Chatterbox 94/1 There, amid the golden corn, the beautiful crop all ready to be reaped and garnered for the use of men.
1948 J. A. Marinsky & L. E. Glendenin in Chem. & Engin. News 9 Aug. 2348/2 Prometheus.., who stole fire from heaven for the use of mankind.
2006 R. Gerber in J. C. Lee & M. Williams Environmental & Geogr. Educ. for Sustainability iii. 40 The Water Serpent..maintains the regular supply of fish and water for their use.
17. With possessive adjective or genitive. Office; function; service.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > [noun] > proper operation or function
workOE
office1340
helpingc1400
servicea1475
use1509
function1537
working1643
1509 S. Hawes Pastime of Pleasure (1928) xxiv. 109 This is the vse of the eyene intere To se all thynges.
1560 Bible (Geneva) 1 Chron. xxviii. 15 For the candlestickes of siluer,..and the lampes thereof, according to the vse of euerie candlesticke.
1718 M. Prior Alma ii, in Poems Several Occasions (new ed.) 353 Observe but in these Neighb'ring Lands, The diff'rent Use of Mouths and Hands.
1729 W. Law Serious Call iv. 47 Things may, and must differ in their use.
1811 A. T. Thomson London Dispensatory iii. 431 The use of the sand in these processes is to prevent the amber..from passing over into the receiver.
1858 E. H. Sears Athanasia xviii. 161 It performs its use in the grand economy.
1929 H. A. A. Nicholls & J. H. Holland Text-bk. Trop. Agric. (ed. 2) i. xi. 84 The cultivator or grubber is an implement made on the type of the rake..Its use is to break up the soil after it has been ploughed.
1965 F. Gerrard Macgregor's Struct. Meat Animals (ed. 2) vii. 127 The main use of saliva is to moisten and lubricate the food.
1999 J. R. Campbell & A. Rew Identity & Affect 122 Although ginger is cultivated it is not used for culinary purposes in Kalauna... Its sole use is ‘magical’.
18. Need or occasion for using or employing something; necessity, requirement, demand. Chiefly in to have use for (also †of). Cf. to have no use for at Phrases 14.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > necessity > condition of being necessary > need or want > [noun] > need for use
turn1538
use1596
1596 Vlysses vpon Aiax sig. D7 Hee hath prouided no seemely glasse windowes for his Aiax, and by that meanes hee bringeth those that shal haue vse of it, into a great inconuenience.
1607 J. Norden Surueyors Dialogue 213 For there is no Country..but hath vse of timber.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Othello (1622) iii. iii. 324 I haue vse for it. View more context for this quotation
1633 Bp. J. Hall Plaine Explic. Hard Texts ii. 95 Not out of any necessity, or use of nature..hee tooke that fish.
1672 Life in J. Mede Wks. p. xxxvi A Book of Mathematicks which he had great use of, and had long thirsted after.
1710 T. Ruddiman in G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneis (new ed.) Gloss. at Nate He would note it, i.e. needs it, or has use for it.
1826 A. Scott Poems 39 The warld will still have use for you and me.
1854 H. Miller My Schools & Schoolmasters vii There was no use, they said, for being in the Devil's Cave so late.
1904 R. Kipling Traffics & Discov. 70 We run down our trampo..an' inquired of 'er if she had any use for a free and gratis stowaway.
1948 J. Thurber Let. 24 Apr. (2002) 427 ‘You and your mother may have some use for these’, I said. ‘They are a dozen sanitary napkins.’
2004 M. Miller Absolute Beginner's Guide to Upgrading & Fixing Your PC xviii. 221 Someone less fortunate might have great use for a second-hand PC.
IV. concrete.
19. Manufacturing Technology. A shaped piece of iron or other metal manufactured for a particular application.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > materials > derived or manufactured material > metal > iron > [noun] > type of iron > other forms of iron
faggot ironc1503
sheaf-iron1572
merchant's irona1650
use1783
merchant iron1784
strap iron1833
angle1834
strip1887
society > occupation and work > materials > derived or manufactured material > metal > metal in specific state or form > [noun] > piece of metal in other form
blank?1590
knee1825
larget1852
strand1876
core1892
undercloak1896
use1955
1783 H. Cort in Patents Manuf. Iron (1858) 10 Peculiar method..of preparing, welding, and working various sorts of iron, and of reducing the same into uses by machinery.
1861 W. Fairbairn Iron 102 The forging of ‘uses’, that is,..those peculiar forms so extensively in demand for steam-engines, steam-boats, railway carriages, and other works.
1955 Aeroplane 4 Mar. 276/2 The forging uses, as they are now known, are prepared for visual inspection.
1974 Metals Technol. 1 66/1 As far as continuously cast billets for forging are concerned it is thought highly unlikely that a start can be made from as-cast uses cut from continuously cast billets.

Phrases

P1. in use.
a. Currently employed or utilized; in a state of being used.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > advantage > usefulness > use (made of things) > in use [phrase]
to (also in) noteOE
in usea1400
in urec1420
a1400 tr. Lanfranc Sci. Cirurgie (Ashm.) (1894) 306 (MED) Þe i instrument þat is comoun & moost in vss is clepid nodulum.
a1500 (c1340) R. Rolle Psalter (Univ. Oxf. 64) (1884) cxviii. §48. 417 Of mykil thynkynge of þe comandmentis cumys in oyse goed werke.
1558–9 Act 1 Eliz. c. 2 §13 That suche Ornamentes of the Churche and of the Ministers therof shall bee reteyned and bee in use as was in this Churche of Englande.
1569 R. Grafton Chron. II. 345 Gonnes were first in vse, which were inuented by one of Germany.
1631 W. Gouge Gods Three Arrowes iv. Ded. p. v I remember a Proverbiall speech in use among the Iewes.
1691 T. Hale Acct. New Inventions 5 To apply themselves forthwith to the putting in use this Invention upon some of his own Ships.
1708 S. Ockley Conquest of Syria Table sig. Dd8 Sawik, a sort of Food in Use among the Arabians.
1711 R. Steele Spectator No. 36. ⁋8 All the fashionable Phrases and Compliments now in use.
1755 S. Johnson Dict. Eng. Lang. at To Quarry To prey upon. A low word not in use.
1801 Med. Jrnl. 21 83 Every plan of cure at present in use.
1885 Manch. Examiner 10 July 5/2 Those [lamps] now in use.
1890 Sir N. Lindley in Law Times Rep. 63 690 These two forms of order..are in constant use in the Chancery Division.
1930 H. G. Newth Marshall & Hurst's Junior Course Pract. Zool. (ed. 11) p. xxxiv When not in use, keep the microscope in its case or covered with a bell-jar, leaving an ocular in the draw-tube.
1966 J. Sankey Chalkland Ecol. i. 13 Dew ponds have largely been replaced by mains water, though a few still remain in use on the downland.
1994 Stamp Mag. Nov. 89/3 The heller and krone had been in use in Bosnia and Herzegovina since 1900.
†b. Given to a person to hold or use for the benefit of another; in trust. Also figurative. Obsolete.
ΚΠ
1535 Act 27 Hen. VIII c. 10 §1 In suche lyke estates as they had or shall have in use, trust, or confidence of or in the same.
1600 W. Shakespeare Merchant of Venice iv. i. 380 So he will let me haue the other halfe in vse, to render it vpon his death vnto the Gentleman. View more context for this quotation
a1616 W. Shakespeare Antony & Cleopatra (1623) i. iii. 44 But my full heart Remaines in vse with you. View more context for this quotation
1888 Encycl. Brit. XXIII. 596/1 This alienation of land in use was looked upon with great disfavour by the common law courts.
†c. In a condition of proficiency in a skill through recent repeated performance of it. Frequently in to keep one's (also the) hand in use.
ΚΠ
1637 P. Heylyn Antidotum Lincolniense iii. ix. 31 Him that being used to steale, to keepe his hand in use, would be stealing rushes.
a1774 O. Goldsmith tr. P. Scarron Comic Romance (1775) I. xv. 154 I frequented all the fencing-schools to keep my hand in use.
1869 G. Harris Theory of Arts II. xiv. i. 236 Provided there is sufficient practice followed to keep the hand in use.
d. Of a horse: on heat; capable of breeding. Now rare.
ΚΠ
1841 C. H. Hartshorne Salopia Antiqua Gloss. 606 A mare is said to be ‘in use’ when she is under the influence of certain appetites or affections.
1894 Nature's Method in Evol. Life iii. 45 Stallions are commonly in use long before they are full grown.
1913 Amer. Jrnl. Vet. Med. Jan. 150/1 They [sc. mares] may be in use on the fifth day.
P2. to come (also fall, go, etc.) into use: to be introduced into customary or habitual employment or practice; to begin to be used; esp. (of vocabulary, syntax, etc.) to be introduced into common usage.
ΚΠ
c1400 Bk. to Mother (Bodl.) 129 (MED) Þoruȝ ofte doinge, synnes com into use, and fro use to consuetude.
1609 T. Morton Catholike Appeale iv. xxv. 551 Vntill men had a while trembled at the vnderstanding of a fierie Purgatory, Indulgences did not come into vse.
1664 J. Forster Englands Happiness Increased 23 When these Roots shall once come into use, People will live more happily and plentifully.
1721 J. Strype Eccl. Memorials II. i. xxv. 212 The Troubles..gave great Hopes to the Popishly affected Subjects, that the old Mass would come into Use again.
1742 J. Martyn & E. Chambers tr. Philos. Hist. & Mem. Royal Acad. III. 91 The clear augmentation of distant objects requires..very large spheres, which is impracticable, and does not fall into use.
1837 J. Marsh tr. D. H. Hegewisch Introd. to Hist. Chronol. 57 With this 1st of January the new Calendar went into use.
1879 M. J. Guest Lect. Hist. Eng. l. 508 Two wonderful instruments had lately come into use.
1890 Sat. Rev. 8 Feb. 175/2 This word came into use to express [etc.].
1901 F. Brinkley Oriental Series: Japan I. iii. 53 Such titles as ‘great body’..were employed as terms of respect, and ultimately passed into use as official titles.
1922 Woman's World (Chicago) Nov. 20/1 (advt.) Many long months of indoor weather are ahead, before golf sticks, fishing kit..come into use again.
2007 Chicago Tribune (Midwest ed.) 23 Nov. i. 10/1 Soon after 9/11, the term ‘new normal’ came into use to describe activities that before that cataclysmic event would have seemed strange if not downright weird but are now regarded as routine.
P3. Scottish. as use is and variants: = Phrases 4.With quot. 1557 cf. use and wont at Phrases 8.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > behaviour > customary or habitual mode of behaviour > in habitual or customary use [phrase] > as a habit or custom > as is usual or customary
as use is1423
as (or than) usual1716
1423 in J. D. Marwick Charters Edinb. (1871) 55 Payand of the chaldre as vse and custume is and as thai war wont to pay [etc.].
c1480 (a1400) St. Mary of Egypt 126 in W. M. Metcalfe Legends Saints Sc. Dial. (1896) I. 299 Syne, as oyse was, þai entryt in þare oratore.
1549 in C. Innes Registrum Episcopatus Aberdonensis (1845) I. 434 As vse euer hes beyne in tyme bygane.
1557 Reg. Cupar Abbey II. 140 Payand ȝerle..ten merkis money.., as vse and wont wes.
1697 Minute Bk. Fleshers of Jedburgh (Hawick Museum: JED545) 22 Who hes payed all dewes as use is.
1802 A. Menzies in J. B. Moore & J. Payne Rep. Cases Common Pleas & Exchequer (1828) I. 670 The defender having..been..divers times this day publicly called by a macer from the bar, as use is, yet he failed to appear.
1823 J. M. Duncan Trav. U.S. & Canada I. 284 We kept together ‘as use is,’ till the clocks of the city had tolled the knell of expiring time.
1934 J. U. Nicolson Chaucer's Canterbury Tales 80 And after that came woeful Emily, With fire in hands, as use was, to ignite The sacrifice and set the pyre alight.
P4. as the use is: as is customary. Cf. sense 7b.
ΚΠ
1432 in Hist. MSS Comm.: 15th Rep.: App. Pt. VIII: MSS Duke of Buccleuch & Queensberry (1897) 44 in Parl. Papers (C. 8553) L. 207 The saidis Jone and Elisabeth sall be handfast, as the oys is, in haly Kyrk.
?a1475 (?a1425) in tr. R. Higden Polychron. (Harl. 2261) (1882) VIII. App. 441 That men electe to be bischoppes..may..be confermede of theire metropolitans as the use was afore.
1535 Bible (Coverdale) Judith xvi. 20 The people was ioyfull, as the vse is.
1611 Bible (King James) 2 Macc. xii. 39 Vpon the day following as the vse had bene,..his company came to take vp the bodies. View more context for this quotation
1633 P. Fletcher Purple Island i. v. 2 Wake thy..Muse, And thank them with a song, as is the use.
a1832 W. Scott Poet. Wks. (1841) 433 See him dart O'er stock and stone like hunted hart, Precipitate, as is the use, in war or sport, of Edward Bruce.
1871 W. Alexander Johnny Gibb xxxv. 244 They fixed it [sc. the settlement of the minister], as the use and wont is, for a week day.
1916 W. D. Howells Years of my Youth iv. v.195 None went away for the season, as the use is now.
2006 P. C. Tandura in Culture India xxvii. 245 The ‘Sargam’ or the notes of the scale themselves may be sung as is the use in South India.
P5. out of use. No longer part of established practice or procedure; no longer used, obsolete; (also) not being used, inactive. to go (pass, drop, etc.) out of use: to become obsolete, to be no longer needed. Cf out of prep. 14.
ΚΠ
c1460 Tree & 12 Frutes (McClean) (1960) 150 (MED) He will asayle vs of þat same vice..vnto þe tyme it be for yetyn and put oute of vse.
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 676/2 I queme,..This worde is nowe out of use.
1538 T. Elyot Dict. Exoletus, he that is passed growynge..olde, or out of vse.
1579 E. K. in E. Spenser Shepheardes Cal. Epist. Such good and naturall English words, as haue ben long time out of vse.
1603 G. Owen Descr. Penbrokshire (1891) iii. 36 And soe was the English growne out of use..and used only amonge the basest sorte of people.
a1684 J. Evelyn Diary anno 1649 (1955) II. 552 The Blessed Sacrament, which was now wholy out of use: in the Parish Churches.
1710 R. Steele Tatler No. 174. ⁋3 A broken Limb will recover its Strength by the sole Benefit of being out of Use.
1892 Monthly Packet Oct. 430 The name..had in some way gone out of use.
1911 H. M. Hobart Dict. Electr. Engin. II. 591/1 It may be entirely lifted off when the instrument is out of use.
1936 Amer. Home Feb. 42/2 Zedoary is a forgotten spice. A famous condiment of medieval times, it has dropped out of use almost completely.
2006 D. Edgerton Shock of Old (2008) ii. 46 In most places the hand-rickshaw went out of use after the Second World War, condemned as a barbarous machine humiliating the poor pullers.
P6. to put to (a) use: to employ, utilize; to use as an expedient; to profit from or take advantage of. Frequently with modifying word. †Formerly also with into.
ΚΠ
a1475 J. Fortescue Governance of Eng. (Laud) (1885) 120 (MED) It nedith þat ther be lyvelode asseigned ffor the payment therof, wich lyvelode be in no wyse putte to no other vse.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Comedy of Errors (1623) iii. ii. 97 I know not what vse to put her too. View more context for this quotation
1628 J. Earle Micro-cosmogr. xv. sig. D2v No man puts his Braine to more vse then hee.
1688 G. Miege Great French Dict. ii. sig. Ffff2v/3 To put a Thing into Use.
1690 J. Locke Ess. Humane Understanding i. iv. §21. 34 The great difference..in the Notion of Mankind, is, from the different use they put their Faculties to.
1748 Ld. Chesterfield Let. 16 Feb. (1932) (modernized text) III. 1103 Every moment may be put to some use.
1847 W. T. Porter Quarter Race in Kentucky (1854) 152 We began to discover that India rubber could be put to other uses besides making over-shoes.
1893 National Observer 7 Oct. 536/1 The gallows were put to real use.
1937 M. W. C. Deland Old Chester Days i. 41 The hereinbefore mentioned account-book might be put to an improper use.
1963 Daily Gleaner (Kingston, Jamaica) 31 Jan. 14/7 Dark, rank-tasting honeys put to good use in making cakes and brown malt breads.
1999 New Statesman 8 Nov. 49/2 The grape is also put to use as a base for brandy, particularly in France.
P7. to bring (also take, introduce, etc.) into use: to cause to be adopted into customary or habitual employment or practice; to begin to use.
ΚΠ
c1475 (c1445) R. Pecock Donet (1921) 51 (MED) Sum man vsiþ into his propre civil lordschip sum kyndis of þe now seid godis..or ellis he takiþ into vse alle kyndis of hem.
1589 G. Puttenham Arte Eng. Poesie ii. xii. 86 By some leasurable trauell it were no hard matter to induce all their auncient feete into vse with vs.
1621 T. Taylor Parable of Sower & Seed 352 There is no part of his Word, which is not worthy both to be knowne, and brought into vse.
1684 G. S. Anglorum Speculum 947 Organs were brought into general use in Churches about the year 828.
1728 R. North Mem. Musick (1846) 55 Instruments..invented, and brought into common use.
1780 tr. C. Buffier First Truths ii. vi. 147 The name of each thing has been introduced into use by the common people.
1835 Penny Cycl. IV. 398/1 At what time..bills of exchange were first brought into use is a matter..not..satisfactorily ascertained.
1870 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Dec. 667/1 That weapon she laid up in store, not to be taken into common use till war should break out.
1931 Movie Makers Feb. 81/1 To eliminate the slightest possibility of sound leaving the camera, ‘blimps’ were brought into use.
1968 A. J. Rook et al. Textbk. Dermatol. I. xiv. 301/1 The patch-test was first devised by Jadassolm 1896 and later brought into general use by Bloch.
2002 Independent 4 Mar. i. 1/5 They say it might have been cheaper to boost NHS capacity, for example, by bringing back into use mothballed wards and operating theatres.
P8. Chiefly Scottish. use and wont: custom or established practice, esp. when regarded as having the force of law. Also attributive: guided or informed by custom or established practice; customary. Cf. used and wont at used adj. Phrases.
ΚΠ
1492 in Acts Lords of Council Civil Causes (1839) I. 216/2 That thai eik na covbille for the said fischingis bot as vse & wont wes of before.
1527 Wigtown Burgh Court Rec. f. 207 Half amark of annvell of the hayll tennement of the lochand more payand to the commvnyte hus and vont.
1609 J. Skene tr. Regiam Majestatem 44 He craues onelie na other service, bot vse and wont.
1689 in Acts Parl. Scotl. (1875) XII. 58/2 Þat the maltmen þer be lyable for the excyse according to use and wont.
1762 in Minutes of Evid. Nairne Peerage (1873) 92 in Sessional Papers House of Lords (H.L. A) XII. 65 Priviledges belonging to the said lands conform to use and wont.
1825 R. Wilson Hist. Hawick 190 This tax,..by the law of ‘use and wont’,..has become part and parcel of the system.
1845 T. Carlyle in O. Cromwell Lett. & Speeches II. 277 Constitutional Presbyterian persons, Use-and-wont Neuters.
1850 Ld. Tennyson In Memoriam xxix. 47 Make one wreath more for Use and Wont That guard the portals of the house. View more context for this quotation
1885 W. Pater Marius the Epicurean I. 131 A careless, half-conscious, ‘use-and-wont’ reception of our experience.
1904 ‘H. Foulis’ Erchie 127 ‘On this question of corporal punishment in the schools, Erchie,’ I said to my old friend, ‘what are your views? I've no doubt you're dead against any alteration on use and wont.’
1996 Herald (Glasgow) (Nexis) 19 Nov. 28 This is not creative accounting but is established by use and wont in business.
P9. of use.
†a. Customarily utilized or employed; in use. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > advantage > usefulness > use (made of things) > [adjective]
useda1475
of usea1504
utilized1881
a1504 J. Holt Lac Puerorum (1508) sig. A.ivv Also the scrypture vseth animabus, famulabus, dominabus..the whiche of all suche other be not of vse.
a1626 F. Bacon Elements Common Lawes (1636) 23 This maner of gaining lands was in the first dayes, and is not now of use in England.
1634 T. Herbert Relation Some Yeares Trauaile 183 [The jacks] boyld giue food no lesse pleasant..then doe the Date-stones of vse in Persia.
1691 J. Ray S. & E. Country Words (E.D.S.) Paigle..is of use in Essex, Middlesex, Suffolk, for a cowslip: cowslip with us signifying what is elsewhere called an oxslip.
b. With modifying word. Used or usable to a specified extent, or in a specified context.
ΚΠ
1533 Fabyans Cronycle (new ed.) I. ciii. f. xliv/2 Lotharius..gaue hym to huntynge and chace of wylde bestes, a game of great vse among all Frenche prynces.
1570 T. Norton & T. Sackville Tragidie Ferrex & Porrex ii. i. sig. Ciiiv In temperate breathing of the milder heauen, In thinges of nedefull vse.
1611 M. Smith in Bible (King James) Transl. Pref. ⁋1 Thus it is apparent, that these things..are of most necessary vse.
1653 R. Sanderson Serm. Newport 6 Words..of very frequent use in the New Testament.
1833 J. Holland Treat. Manuf. Metal (Cabinet Cycl.) II. 285 Articles of such universal use and importance.
1839 F. A. Kemble Jrnl. Resid. Georgian Plantation (1863) 18 Implements..of household use.
1880 J. Britten Old Country & Farming Words p. xiv Others [sc. words] apparently of general use.
1906 J. Vinycomb Fictitious & Symbolic Creatures in Art 177 The phoenix is of frequent use in heraldry.
1996 E. Tarlo Clothing Matters iv. 111 The National Council of Women..began making embroidered ready-made garments and items of household use which they hawked from house to house.
c. Of service; useful, beneficial, or helpful.
(a) With modifying word indicating extent.
ΚΠ
1559 W. Bavand tr. J. Ferrarius Common Weale f. v. 103v A Bee of diuers floures, that bee of their owne nature of smalle vse, gathereth the swetenes of her honie.
1570 H. Billingsley tr. Euclid Elements Geom. vii. f.187 For their rarenes and great perfection, they [sc. perfect numbers] are of maruelous vse in magike, and in the secret part of philosophy.
1634 T. Herbert Relation Some Yeares Trauaile 35 A Castle planted with great Ordnance and Ammunition, but of small vse.
1663 S. Patrick Parable of Pilgrim xxxvi It is a thing of great Use, and great Value.
1711 J. Addison Spectator No. 121. ¶2 Beasts and Birds..that are of Assistance and Use to Man.
1735 S. Johnson tr. J. Lobo Voy. Abyssinia 27 Some pieces of Callicoe, which were of the same Use as Money.
1880 A. Geikie Elem. Lessons Physical Geogr. (new ed.) ii. 83 Snow is of great use in winter, as it protects vegetation from being nipped by severe frost.
1914 T. S. Eliot Let. 9 Nov. (1988) I. 68 I do not know whether any of my notes would be of the slightest use to you.
1949 C. Headlam Diary 31 Jan. in S. Ball Parl. & Politics in Age Churchill & Attlee (1999) xviii. 570 There is one non-speaking room but it is of no use to me as a workshop as smoking is verboten.
2000 A. Bourdain Kitchen Confid. (2001) 151 My culinary education..and my rather privileged high school and college years were of little use to me behind a shellfish bar.
(b) Without modifier.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > advantage > usefulness > useful [phrase]
of (‥) utilityc1440
to one's purpose1565
of use?1591
?1591 H. Barrow Brief Discouerie False Church 68 The precious word of God, wherof euerie iode and title abideth for euer, and is of vse and fruite in the church of God.
1603 R. Rogers Seuen Treat. Pref. sig. A6 (margin) It is of vse to all sorts of good christians, and that was one reason of setting it out.
1702 J. Raphson Math. Dict. Introd. 15 A Porime..is an easie Problem and almost self-evident, and which is of use for the Solution of more Difficult.
1797 Encycl. Brit. XI. 282/1 Excision will be of use a considerable time after the bite is received.
1810 G. Crabbe Borough xx. 280 To be of use Would pleasant Thoughts and heavenly Hopes produce.
1859 F. E. Paget Curate of Cumberworth 354 I had good reason to hope that I was being of use at Roost.
1915 W. S. Maugham Of Human Bondage lii. 263 He knew that he could say nothing which would be of use.
1968 ‘A. D'Arcangelo’ Homosexual Handbk. 13 This book is..designed for the young inexperienced male, although there are certain suggestions about sexual technique that may be of use to women.
2003 F. Moody Seattle & Demons of Ambition 212 Something was wrong with the paper—the creative energy in the air was gone, as was the sense that we were doing something of use to the city.
P10. Chiefly Scottish. to be in use: (with to and infinitive, or †of and gerund) to be in the habit of doing something. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > behaviour > customary or habitual mode of behaviour > in habitual or customary use [phrase] > in the habit (of)
to be in use1504
in a way ofc1704
in the habit (habits) of doing1801
by way of1824
1504 in C. Innes Liber Sancte Marie de Melros (1837) 601 That the said schirref was in vse of calling of the said landis..in thare courtis.
1566 in J. H. Burton Reg. Privy Council Scotl. (1877) 1st Ser. I. 492 The Personis of Glasgow hes alwayis bene in use to furneis breid.
1574 in J. H. Burton Reg. Privy Council Scotl. (1878) 1st Ser. II. 389 He has bene in use of pament of the soume of fourtie pundis yeirlie.
1581 in D. Masson Reg. Privy Council Scotl. (1880) 1st Ser. III. 399 They wer nevir in use of setting of new takkis befoir the expyring of the auld.
a1646 T. Hope Minor Practicks (1726) 26 The Executors..are in Use..to protest that [etc.].
1759 W. Robertson Hist. Scotl. (1761) II. 77 The respect, with which the Scots were in use to receive her ministers.
1780 Mirror No. 101 He too had been in use to talk of feeling and of sentiment.
a1805 A. Carlyle Autobiogr. (1860) ii. 44 I was in use of going to my father's on Saturdays.
1829 J. Bentham Justice & Codification Petitions iii. 82 A multitude of distinguishable sources, out of which complexity is in use to arise.
1862 Chambers's Encycl. III. 608/2 The emperors were in use expressly to confer upon the universities the right of appointing doctors of laws.
1907 Sc. Law Reporter 43 152/1 The chips are in use to be cleared away by boys directed by the said foreman.
P11. for use.
a. With or having the aim of providing benefit.
ΚΠ
a1530 T. Lupset Treat. Charitie (1533) sig. 13v Holy scripture forbedeth vs nothynge, that is for vse or profytte.
?1615 G. Chapman tr. Homer Odysses (new ed.) xxi. 296 To take, or touch with surreptitious Or violent hand, what there was left for vse.
1742 E. Young Complaint: Night the Second 13 Since Time was given for Use, not Waste.
1875 Friends' Intelligencer 14 Aug. 390/1 Life is not given for waste... It is given for use.
2005 A. Harris Gender as Soft Assembly (2008) iv. 105 The body is for use, not display.
b. With modifying word. Intended or designed for a specific purpose.
ΚΠ
1585 Abp. E. Sandys Serm. ii. 43 The prince will be but a steward hereof, seasonably to lay it out for publike vse.
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics iii, in tr. Virgil Wks. 110 The Fleece, when drunk with Tyrian Juice, Is dearly sold; but not for needful use . View more context for this quotation
1896 Lucas Cyclealities 117 A small Hold-all for use with handle-bar carriers.
1937 S. F. Armstrong Brit. Grasses (ed. 3) xiv. 285 Haymaking is the traditional method of preserving grass and other fodder crops for winter use.
1968 J. McPhee Pine Barrens iii. 47 They dug the roots of wild indigo for medicinal use (wild indigo is, among other things, a stimulant).
2002 B. L. Fredenberg NIV Comm.: Ezekiel (College Press) 177 Lions inhabited Judah and were often captured to be killed or for recreational use.
P12. to make (also take) (a) use of.
a. To employ; to utilize. Also with modifying word.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > advantage > usefulness > use (made of things) > use or make use of [verb (transitive)]
noteOE
take?a1160
turnc1175
usec1300
to fare witha1340
benote1340
spenda1400
usea1400
weara1400
naitc1400
occupy1423
to put (also set) in work?a1425
practise?c1430
apply1439
employ?1473
to call upon ——1477
help1489
tew1489
handle1509
exercise1526
improvea1529
serve1538
feed1540
enure1549
to make (also take) (a) use of1579
wield1601
adoperate1612
to avail oneself ofa1616
to avail oneself ofa1616
prevail1617
to make practice of1623
ploy1675
occasion1698
to call on ——1721
subserve1811
nuse1851
utilize1860
1579 G. Fenton tr. F. Guicciardini Hist. Guicciardin xix. 1122 The Spaniardes brake vp the water conduit of Poggia Royall, and notwithstanding it was eftsones recouered, yet they coulde make no vse of it without great daunger.
a1642 H. Best Farming & Memorandum Bks. (1984) 37 The most usuall and best way for tythinge of hey is..to make use of reade-weeds for wikes.
1663 B. Gerbier Counsel to Builders 55 Those that mind the making use of Chalk in their walls.
1711 J. Addison Spectator No. 62. ¶5 The Words Fire and Flame are made use of to signify Love.
1774 O. Goldsmith Hist. Earth V. 264 This bird's making use of the bed or nest of another to deposit its own brood in.
1823 M. Wilmot Let. 30 Apr. (1935) 188 My dearest Mother, do you not make use of a Bath Chair?
1862 J. Tyndall Mountaineering in 1861 ii. 16 We made use of all our strength.
1907 Westm. Gaz. 3 May 2/1 Religion would gain greatly if the clergy would make a more sparing use of the blessing-in-disguise argument.
1926 Melody Maker Sept. 7 One popular ‘gig’ band makes use of a nicely printed booklet.
1958 M. L. King Stride toward Freedom 9 The nature of this account causes me to make frequent use of the pronoun ‘I’.
2005 Heritage Mar. 49/1 There's evidence that the conquering Roman army made use of the site.
b. To use as an expedient; to profit from or take advantage of; to exploit (esp. for personal or sexual gain).
ΚΠ
1584 R. Greenham Godlie Exhort. sig. Biiiv Parents hauing fooles, Children not walking either in knowledge or in a good conscience must make some vse of so iust a cause of griefe.
1606 G. Chapman Monsieur D'Oliue i. i At my chamber, where we may take free use of our selves, that is, drinke sack, and talke Satyre.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Two Gentlemen of Verona (1623) ii. iv. 66 Sir Protheus..Made vse, and faire aduantage of his daies.
1675 W. Wycherley Country-wife v. 89 Let us make use of our time, lest they should chance to interrupt us.
1726 D. Defoe Polit. Hist. Devil ii. v. 257 The Devil..makes use of Scoundrels and Rabble, Beggars and Vagabonds.
1797 R. Beilby & T. Bewick Hist. Brit. Birds I. 67 Made use of by artful and designing men.
1848 W. M. Thackeray Vanity Fair xlvi. 411 A member of the house from which old Sedley had seceded was very glad to make use of Mr. Clapp's services.
1897 T. Hardy Well-beloved i. vi. 45 Perhaps she had only made use of him as a convenient aid to her intentions.
1951 G. Heyer Quiet Gentleman xxi. 321 It was Hickling's notion that I should make use of his precious uncle!
1976 A. Brink Instant in Wind (1979) 164 Not content merely to make use of the slave girls at his disposal on the farm.
2004 Prima Nov. 84/2 Make use of every inch of storage space by compartmentalizing cupboards and drawers with organisers and dividers.
†P13. in the use of: making use of. Obsolete. rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > advantage > usefulness > use (made of things) > in use [phrase] > making use of
in the use of1594
1594 Southampton Court Leet Rec. (1906) ii. 296 Robert Russell, william cortney, John grant nowe in the vse of Thomas heths brewary.
P14. to have no use for and variants.
a. To be without need of something.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > hold in contempt [verb (transitive)] > utterly
to set not a cherry, curse, a fly, a haw, a mite, an onion, (etc.) at, by, ofc1374
not to set at a glovec1430
not to care (three skips of) a lousea1592
to have no use for1596
to have no (a lot of, etc.) time for1901
the mind > language > statement > refusal > [verb (transitive)] > reject > as useless or unneeded
to throw awaya1398
to have no use for1596
chuck1821
fling1847
scrap1902
scratch1923
pitch1968
toss1976
1596 T. Nashe Haue with you to Saffron-Walden sig. M A Gentleman..lent him an old veluet saddle, which when he had no vse for,..presently vntrusseth & pelts the out-side from the lining, and..with it he made him a case or couer for a dublet.
1602 T. Lodge tr. Josephus Wks. viii. ii. 201 Hiram hauing visited them, and not wel pleased with them, sent vnto Salomon to certifie him therof, that he had no vse for his cities.
1695 J. Dryden in tr. C. A. Du Fresnoy De Arte Graphica Pref. p. xxxvii Our Author calls them Figures to be lett: because the Picture has no use of them.
1767 W. Duff Ess. Orig. Genius ii. v. 282 An original Poetic Genius, possessing such innate treasure (if we may be allowed an unphilosophical expression) has no use for that which is derived from books.
1849 W. Gammell Hist. Amer. Baptist Missions vi. 48 In regard to your sacred books, his majesty has no use for them.
1882 Congress. Rec. 13 July 6015/1 He told them..that he had no further use for them, and they could go home, ashore, or to Halifax.
1955 W. Ley Salamanders i. 4 The olm is blind, having no use for eyes in the cold dark caves where it normally lives.
1997 Seattle Times (Nexis) 8 June b2 A newer mountain bike whose multiple gears he has little use for.
b. Originally U.S. To have no respect, admiration, or patience for, to dislike.
ΚΠ
1872 Harper's Mag. June 158/2 He was an obstinate fellow..and moreover, he ‘had no use for’ the defendant any way.
1887 Trans. Amer. Philol. Assoc. 17 46 I have no use for him—don't like him.
1896 Harper's Mag. Apr. 771/1 Bülow..spoke his mind freely to his adjutant. ‘I have no use for Bernadotte,’ said he.
a1903 ‘H. S. Merriman’ Last Hope (1904) xl The Marquis had..spoken in French, and the Captain had no use for that language.
1951 R. Harling Paper Balance (1952) 124 He had very little use for the Herald and none at all for the Mirror or the others.
1969 Listener 31 July 151/1 I know lots of Protestants who have small use for Roman Catholics.
1990 N.Y. Woman Apr. 60/3 I have no use for the old buzzards who try to tie me down with their rules and regulations.
P15. to use: (of money) subject to fees of interest; at interest. Chiefly in to put a person's money (out) to use: to lend out a person's money at interest.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > financial dealings > moneylending > [adverb] > at interest
at, to, on, upon usurya1400
to use1598
upon usea1607
at use1609
on rent1609
1598 E. Guilpin Skialetheia sig. B4 As heresie he shuns all merriment, And turn'd good husband, puts forth sighs to vse.
1632 P. Massinger Emperour of East i. ii. sig. C2v I alas Lende out my labouring braines to vse, and sometimes For a drachma in the pound.
1642 D. Rogers Naaman 158 I would not put my mony to use; but that it is against a Common wealth to keepe it.
1680 R. L'Estrange tr. Erasmus 20 Select Colloquies xviii. 235 They Buy, they Sell; they take to use, they put to use.
1700 J. Astry tr. D. de Saavedra Fajardo Royal Politician II. 149 We read, that Pompey put out his Money to Use.
1738 tr. S. Guazzo Art of Conversat. 43 Two Florentine Brethren, who let out their Money to Use.
1785 R. Cumberland Nat. Son v. 82 You are my own son;—you have put my money out to use already.
1835 N. Webster Instructive & Entertaining Lessons for Youth lxv. 202 He puts his money to use, that is, he buys more land, or stock, or lends his money at interest,—in short, he makes his money produce some profit or income.
1851 Gentleman's Mag. Oct. 366/1 They great-grandfather (though a lawyer), was religious and strict,..scrupled putting his money to use, and was of a sober conversation.
1922 H. Ford Life & Work ii. 40 Thus, the speculative financiers delude themselves that they are putting their money out to use.
1993 H. Hughes Hist. Romance vi. 96 A banker whose fortune has come from putting his wife's money to use is portrayed with approval.
P16. Law. use and occupation: the right to occupy a property or land as a tenant; (also) the occupation of a property or land by a person who has no legal entitlement (esp. with the permission of the landowner but without an agreement for lease at a fixed rent). Also in use and occupancy.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > advantage > usefulness > use (made of things) > [noun] > beneficial use > specifically of land
use and occupation1600
usufruction1846
usufruct1898
1600 P. Holland tr. Livy Rom. Hist. xlv. 1209 For his owne part, he could content himselfe with the use and occupation thereof, as a tenant in fee-ferme.
1738 Act 11 Geo. II c. 19 §14 In an Action on the case, for the Use and Occupation of what was so held or enjoyed.
1772 F. Buller Introd. Law Nisi Prius (new ed.) 136 In Case for Use and Occupation of an House by Permission of the Plaintiff.
1808 W. Selwyn Abridgem. Law Nisi Prius II. 1180 Chap. xxxvii.—Use and Occupation.
1918 Nation (N.Y.) 7 Feb. 165/1 A percentage..will be paid on a pro-rata basis for each day of lost use and occupancy.
1960 Internat. Law Rep. 23 849 A subordinate Court directed the appellants to pay to the respondent a certain sum as compensation for the use and occupation of premises in Rangoon.
1991 J. Beatson Use & Abuse Unjust Enrichment (2002) viii. 228 The defendant had been in possession of his former wife's farmhouse and she sought payment for his use and occupation.
†P17. use upon (also on) use: compound interest; (more generally) excessive interest. Also figurative. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > financial dealings > moneylending > [noun] > moneylending at interest > interest > excessive
use upon (also on) usea1618
1605 J. Sylvester tr. G. de S. Du Bartas Deuine Weekes & Wks. i. iii. 91 You Citie-Vipers, that (incestuous) ioyne Vse vpon vse, begetting Coyne of Coyne.]
a1618 W. Bradshaw Medit. Mans Mortalitie (1621) 67 When he comes to make vs glad, hee will pay vs usury, nay, use vpon use.
1647 J. Cleveland Poems in Char. London-diurnall (Wing C4662) 27 No Eccho can improve the Author more, Whose lungs payes use on use to halfe a score.
a1682 Sir T. Browne Christian Morals (1716) i. 8 To famish in Plenty, and live poorly to dye Rich, were a multiplying improvement in Madness, and use upon use in Folly.
1740 S. Richardson Pamela II. 389 I am become a mere Usurer; and want to make Use upon Use.
†P18. upon use: subject to (a specified type of) interest. Cf. use upon use at Phrases 17. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > financial dealings > moneylending > [adverb] > at interest
at, to, on, upon usurya1400
to use1598
upon usea1607
at use1609
on rent1609
a1607 A. Dent Hand-maid of Repentance (1614) sig. B8 (heading) Takers of Mony vpon vse.
1622 J. Mabbe tr. M. Alemán Rogue ii. 251 Let him but take vp so much vpon Vse.
1630 tr. G. Botero Relations Famous Kingdomes World (rev. ed.) 353 Some doe give voluntarily, others doe lend frankly, or upon light use.
1667 Duchess of Newcastle Life Duke of Newcastle ii. 99 The Loss of my Lord's Estate, in plain Rents, as also upon ordinary Use.
P19. at use: (of money) loaned out at interest.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > financial dealings > moneylending > [adverb] > at interest
at, to, on, upon usurya1400
to use1598
upon usea1607
at use1609
on rent1609
1609 G. Markham Famous Whore sig. E A world of Ducats I had forth at vse, For vsurie I thought was no abuse.
1618 P. Holderus tr. J. van Oldenbarneveld Barneuel's Apol. sig. C4v Our last borrowed money is..at vse at sixteene.
1656 Earl of Monmouth tr. T. Boccalini Ragguagli di Parnasso 95 One Menalcas..took up money at use.
1713 J. Swift Part of 7th Epist. Horace Imitated 11 Is your Money out at use?
1784 R. Bage Barham Downs I. 172 I had three hundred pounds at use.
1814 W. Scott Waverley II. xix. 293 If his honour had mair ready siller..he could put it out at use..at great profit. View more context for this quotation
1841 C. H. Hartshorne Salopia Antiqua Gloss. 606 Money out at use.
1967 Michigan Law Rev. 66 111 The minimum annual yield necessary to cover operating costs, taxes and a return on the funds at use.
2000 D. E. Jenkins Market Whys & Human Wherefores (2004) xiii. 211 The nominal sums of money at use and at risk less and less directly related to any real assets.
P20. Originally and chiefly British. to be neither use nor ornament and variants: to serve no purpose; to be useless or ineffectual.
ΚΠ
1713 J. Barker Love Intrigues 53 Learning being neither of Use nor Ornament in our Sex.
1869 J. Vickers Tinker Æsop i. 1 Colonel Armstrong was of opinion, that visionary impractical political writers, like Mill and Carlyle, were of neither use nor ornament to the country.
1929 Great Southern Leader (Narrogin, Austral.) 21 June A slow and jibbing horse on a farm is like an idle pound in the bank—neither use nor ornament.
2005 C. Newbrook Ducks in Row 172 He's left for ‘personal reasons’. Just as well. He was neither use nor ornament.
P21. humorous. for the use of: (following a noun phrase, in imitation of official inventory style) specifically intended for (someone) to use.
ΚΠ
1917 ‘Sapper’ No Man's Land 56 When a man habitually calls an armchair, A chair, arm—officers, for the use of, one—his conversation is apt to become stilted.
1959 R. Postgate Every Man is God xxiii. 218 A Mallaby Deeley was a cheap mass-produced suit invented by a smart M.P. Ex-officers, out of work, for the use of.
1971 D. Francis Bonecrack iv. 44 There was..an armchair of sorts, visitors for the use of.
1995 R. C. Weyman In Love & War 9 I saw his army issue ‘pistol, officers for the use of’, at my stomach.

Compounds

C1.
a. Instrumental.
† use-established adj. Obsolete
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > customs, values, and civilization > customs, values, or beliefs of a society or group > [adjective] > established by custom of society or group
customary1569
naturalized1806
use-established1897
the world > action or operation > behaviour > customary or habitual mode of behaviour > [adjective] > usual or customary > established by usage
useda1500
customary1569
use-established1897
1897 Month Apr. 364 ‘Mass,’ in the honest, use-established sense, means the Roman Mass.
b. Objective.
† use-making n. Obsolete
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > advantage > usefulness > use (made of things) > [noun]
bihofthc1175
use?c1225
usinga1340
notingc1400
usage?c1400
occupationa1425
employment1437
employing1459
usancec1475
occupying1535
trade1552
wear1571
usury1607
adoperation1608
use-making1608
improvement1620
employ1677
exploiting1842
utilization1847
nuse1848
utilizing1864
1608 J. Dod & R. Cleaver Plaine Expos. Prov. ix–x. 15 A profitable use-making of the undeserued favour..shewed unto them.
a1617 S. Hieron Penance for Sinne in Wks. (1620) II. 290 The well vnderstanding and right vse-making of these.
1858 J. Cumming Sabbath Evening Readings i. vi. 144 Profit of those things would interpose to mar that high esteem he ought to have of Christ's satisfaction and suffering, or his right use-making of them.
C2. See also use-man n., use-money n.
† use forge n. Obsolete a forge for manufacturing shaped pieces of iron, steel, etc., for particular applications; cf. sense 19.
ΚΠ
1858 Times 14 May 14/2 A 25 horse-power engine for working a good use forge.
1873 Iron 5 Apr. 356/1 A use forge with a 45-cwt. double-acting Nasmyth's steam hammer.
use immunity n. U.S. Law immunity from the use of a witness's own testimony, or any evidence derived from such testimony, in a future prosecution against the witness.
ΘΚΠ
society > law > administration of justice > court proceedings or procedure > evidence > [noun] > immunity of witness
use immunity1971
1971 Supreme Court Rev. 4 Mr. Justice Black implied that use immunity was sufficient.
1972 New Yorker 25 Mar. 86/3 The suggested revision, known as ‘use immunity’, would prevent anyone who was compelled to testify from being prosecuted on the basis of that testimony.
1976 New Yorker 19 Apr. 42/3 Under use-immunity law, however, people who were compelled to testify could later be prosecuted as long as the government did not base its case against them directly or indirectly, on their own testimony.
2008 Eureka (Calif.) Times Standard (Nexis) 11 Apr. At some point you get to the point where to crack into a group, you have to give something to somebody. So what do you do—you give use immunity.
use inheritance n. Biology the inheritance of acquired characters; Lamarckian inheritance.
ΚΠ
1890 W. P. Ball Effects Use & Disuse 23 The increasing difficulty of complex evolution by natural selection is no proof whatever of use-inheritance. [Note.] I venture to coin this concise term to signify the direct inheritance of the effects of use and disuse in kind.
1922 A. A. Goldenweiser Early Civilization xvi. 397 Modern biology turns a deaf ear to the claims of use inheritance.
2006 Sci. in Context 19 175 Freud's evolutionary theory is..based on just-so stories and a thoroughly discredited evolutionary mechanism, Lamarckian use-inheritance.
use-life n. the period of time in which a thing is viable, active, or valid; active life.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > advantage > usefulness > use (made of things) > [noun] > repeated or continuous use > ability to last in use
useful life1848
use-life1937
pot life1945
1937 Jrnl. Business Univ. Chicago 10 126 Periodic changes would, in such a case, be determined by the cost and the ‘use-life’ of the assets.
1950 Chambers's Jrnl. Mar. 191/2 It is now reported that the magnesium type of dry-cell has a ‘use-life’ of about thirty hours.
1972 Computers & Humanities 7 87 Interactive systems on today's scale are very recent; for the program designer there are obstacles of rapid change, little standardization, and relatively high development expenses in relation to the probable use-life of the programs.
2003 Oxoniensia 67 192 In Oxford, the material appears to have had a use-life which started in the 10th century, and ended some time around the middle of the 11th century.
use plaintiff n. U.S. Law a plaintiff for whom a suit is brought in the name of another; cf. usee n.
ΚΠ
1874 Pennsylvania State Rep. 73 346 F. P. Grow the use-plaintiff testified, that E. R. and F. P. Grow built the buildings and sold the premises to A. F. Snover.
1921 Columbia Law Rev. 21 717 The defendant was sued by the use plaintiff on the bond without consent of the nominal plaintiff and obligee.
1991 Princ. Federal Appropriations Law (U.S. Gen. Accounting Office) (ed. 2) III. xiv. 76 Under the reasoning in United States v. Cohen, it would presumably also apply to a debt asserted against the ‘use plaintiff’.
use tax n. U.S. a tax levied on the use of something; spec. a state tax imposed on goods purchased outside a state and for which sales tax has not been paid.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > fees and taxes > impost, due, or tax > tax > types of tax > [noun] > other taxes
gartie1533
quidrathe1570
primage1606
carriage tax1781
assessed taxes1796
imperialty1799
crime rate1857
primage1888
use tax1910
takeout1939
graduate tax1967
1910 Rep. Dept. Interior I. 40 I have therefore determined to impose upon all the concessionaires, so far as existing contracts will permit, a franchise or use tax, based upon their gross earnings.
1933 Yale Law Jrnl. 42 406 If an interstate operator should bring his own gasoline into a state and there use it in his own business, he would not be subject to a sales tax but would seemingly be subject to a use tax.
2010 S. Florida Sun-Sentinel (Nexis) 22 Apr. Outside of repair work, non-Florida boats can stay here only 90 consecutive days before a use tax..is triggered.
† use-trampler n. Obsolete a person who disregards custom; one who flouts established procedure or law.
ΚΠ
1887 R. Browning Apollo & Fates in Parleyings 61 What if we granted—law flouter, use-trampler—His life at the suit of an upstart?
use value n. Economics (now chiefly in Marxist theory): the value of a product or commodity as determined by its utility to the society in which it exists, as opposed to its value when traded or the quantity of other commodities for which it can be traded. Cf. exchange-value n. at exchange n. Compounds 2.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > advantage > [noun] > an advantage, benefit, or favourable circumstance
advantagec1330
commodity?a1439
strengthc1440
paya1450
purchasec1450
prize1595
profita1616
usefulness1660
use value1844
1844 T. De Quincey Logic Polit. Econ. 99 A glass full of water, taken out of a brook in England to quench a momentary thirst, has only a use value; it stands opposed as a collateral idea..to value in exchange.
1887 tr. K. Marx Capital I. 2 The utility of a thing makes it a use-value.
1887 tr. K. Marx Capital I. 2 Use-values become a reality only by use or consumption.
1968 S. Avineri Social & Polit. Thought K. Marx (1999) iv. 108 The use value of salt is determined by our need for the mineral.
2003 London Rev. Bks. 21 Aug. 26/3 Law came up with the ‘water-diamond paradox’: water has very high use-value, but, times of drought or dysentery aside, almost negligible exchange-value; diamond, by contrast, has almost no use-value, but great exchange-value.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2011; most recently modified version published online December 2022).

usev.

Brit. /juːz/, U.S. /juz/
Forms:

α. Middle English ouse, Middle English owse, Middle English usy (south-eastern), Middle English uus, Middle English uzi (south-eastern), Middle English vsi (south-eastern and south-west midlands), Middle English vsie (south-western and south-west midlands), Middle English vsy (south-eastern), Middle English vzi (south-eastern), Middle English wse, Middle English–1600s vse, Middle English– use, late Middle English ewse, late Middle English huse, late Middle English huss, late Middle English hvse, late Middle English usie, late Middle English usze, late Middle English yowes, late Middle English yowese, late Middle English–1600s usse, 1500s euse, 1500s iuz, 1500s ivz, 1500s iwz, 1500s vs, 1500s vsse, 1500s youse, 1500s yuz, 1500s yvse, 1500s yvz, 1500s ywze, 1600s vsen (archaic), 1600s yoase, 1800s us (Irish English (northern)); English regional 1800s– ewse (Lincolnshire), 1800s– hewse (Lincolnshire), 1800s– youse (Yorkshire), 1800s– yuse (Cumberland); Scottish pre-1700 euse, pre-1700 hws, pre-1700 iuss- (inflected form), pre-1700 os, pre-1700 ous, pre-1700 ouss, pre-1700 ows, pre-1700 owsse, pre-1700 us, pre-1700 usse, pre-1700 vs, pre-1700 vse, pre-1700 vsie, pre-1700 vsse, pre-1700 vsz, pre-1700 ws, pre-1700 wse, pre-1700 wsse, pre-1700 yous, pre-1700 yus, pre-1700 1700s– use, 1700s eise (north-eastern), 1800s– eese (north-eastern), 1800s– üse, 1900s– oese, 1900s– oose, 1900s– ös (Shetland), 1900s– üz (Shetland), 1900s– yaise, 1900s– yaize, 1900s– yase, 1900s– yeese (north-eastern), 1900s– yuhse, 1900s– yuise, 2000s– yös (Shetland).

β. early Middle English uyse (south-western), Middle English vyse, Middle English wyse, Middle English–1500s vise, late Middle English vese, late Middle English 1600s ves, 1700s ues; Scottish pre-1700 huis, pre-1700 ouys, pre-1700 ues, pre-1700 uis, pre-1700 vis, pre-1700 vys, pre-1700 wis, pre-1700 wys, 1900s– uise, 1900s– uize.

γ. Chiefly northern Middle English oise, Middle English oyse, late Middle English hoyse (south-west midlands); Scottish pre-1700 ois, pre-1700 oise, pre-1700 oiss, pre-1700 oys, pre-1700 oyse, pre-1700 oyss, pre-1700 oysse.

Also past tense. a. 1600s–1700s (1800s– colloquial and regional, in branch IV.) use; English regional (in branch IV.) 1800s– use', 1900s– usted; Scottish pre-1700 uce. b. With negative particle affixed (in branch IV.) 1800s– usedn't, 1800s– usen't, 1900s– usent. Also past participle: 1800s– use (colloquial and regional, in branch IV.); Scottish pre-1700 vse.
Origin: Of multiple origins. Partly a borrowing from French. Partly a borrowing from Latin. Etymons: French user; Latin usare.
Etymology: < (i) Anglo-Norman usere, usser, huser, auser, Anglo-Norman and Old French, Middle French user (French user ) to spend (a period of time) (c1100), to utilize (something), to follow, observe (a law or custom) (first half of the 12th cent.), to exercise, practise (a trade, a skill), to deteriorate, wear out, to eat, consume (food), to become familiar with (something) through habit, (with infinitive) to be accustomed to (all second half of the 12th cent.), to frequent (a place), to perform (an act, a miracle, etc.) (both early 13th cent.), to wear (clothes), to wear (something) out, damage (something) through use, to act in a certain way according to custom, to have sexual intercourse (with) (all second half of the 13th cent.), to speak (late 15th cent. in user de beau langaige , user de grant rhetorique ), and its etymon (ii) post-classical Latin usare (also usuare) to observe (7th cent.), to enjoy (8th cent.), to wear out (9th cent.) < classical Latin ūs- , past participial stem of ūtī to make use of, put to use, to take, consume (food or drink), to wear (clothes), to live or spend time in (a place), to employ (words, language) in speaking, to employ (a person), to manage, handle, control, to engage in, practise, to conduct relations with, treat, to have sexual intercourse with, to experience, undergo, enjoy, in post-classical Latin also to be accustomed to (c1290, c1451 in British sources), of uncertain origin. Compare Catalan usar (1272), Spanish usar (c1200), Portuguese usar (13th cent.), Italian usare (late 13th cent.). Compare use n.That classical Latin ūtī originally had a diphthong in the first syllable is indicated by the forms oeti , oetier for ūtī , and oitile for ūtile in early inscriptions and legal texts, and an Italic origin is indicated by Oscan úittiuf (nominative) use, Paelignian oisa (ablative singular feminine) used. In Middle English prefixed and unprefixed forms of the past participle are attested (see y- prefix). The γ. forms with oi- reflect the falling together in northern Middle English and early Scots of French ü and the reflex of Old English ō (compare e.g. α. forms at soon adv. and see R. Jordan Handb. der mittelenglischen Grammatik (ed. 2, 1934) §230). In the modern period in senses at branch IV. in the collocation used to , the final (voiced) dental of used was assimilated in British English to the initial (unvoiced) dental of to immediately following (compare the spelling form us't to in e.g. 1682 at sense 20a(b)), and subsequent assimilation of the preceding sibilant resulted in the usual current pronunciation in these senses, /ˈjuːstuː/; compare, by a similar process, U.S. English /ˈjuzdu/. Attempts to represent these pronunciations in writing gave rise to use to as a spelling for used to , especially in constructions of the type used + to -infinitive as a quasi-modal auxiliary expressing a habit or state that existed in the past but is now unlikely to recur (see sense 21b). This spelling occurs from at least the late 17th cent. onwards (compare e.g. 1662 and 1668 at sense 21b(e)), although early examples can be difficult to distinguish with certainty from those showing the present tense of the verb in sense 21a(a). Compare sense 21b(e) and useter v. (Compare, conversely, English regional usted to in this sense, which apparently shows reanalysis of *uste as a verb stem, and hence the formation of a new past tense usted : see quot. 1901 at sense 21b(a).) Examples of use to for used to , with unvoiced sibilant and loss of dental, also occur in informal writing and reported speech in the sense ‘accustomed to’ (get used to , be used to , etc.: see sense 20), although apparently more rarely and from a later date (the mid 19th cent. or earlier); compare e.g. quots. 1839, 1864, and 1993 at sense 20c(a), quot. 1997 at sense 20c(b), etc. The pronunciation of used to as /ˈjuːstuː/ in quasi-modal use also gave rise to an infinitive with (in British English) unvoiced /s/ in constructions with did , in emphatic and interrogative use (e.g. I did use to go , Did you use to go? ; see sense 21b(d)) and in negative statements (I didn't use to go ; see sense 21b(c)), etc. Compare also occasional examples of did used to , with both verbs in the past tense (e.g. quot. 21b(f)). Corresponding negative constructions are also formed with not directly modifying use (see 21b(b)), perhaps by analogy with the usual pattern for modal verbs in English (although always with to- infinitive). Beside the full form used not , examples are also found with contraction of not , with the assimilation and loss of dental described above usually represented in the spelling (although usedn't occasionally occurs as well as usen't ) (see 21b(g)).
I. To observe, practise, or engage in.
1.
a. transitive. To celebrate, keep, or observe (a religious rite); spec. to partake of or receive (the Eucharist). Now rare (chiefly historical).
ΘΚΠ
society > faith > worship > observance, ritual > perform rite(s) [verb (transitive)]
workOE
servec1175
usea1250
solemnize1382
exercisea1400
observec1425
solennizec1440
officyc1443
officec1449
execute1450
solemn1483
celebratec1487
solemnizate1538
frequenta1555
to put upa1628
officiate1631
ceremony1635
liturgy1716
the mind > language > speech > agreement > observance > observe [verb (transitive)] > a festival, etc.
usea1250
holda1400
society > faith > worship > sacrament > communion > receive (communion) [verb (transitive)]
thiga864
receivec1350
use?c1450
communicate1554
masticate1651
a1250 Lofsong Lefdi (Nero) in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 207 (MED) Ich halsi þe þet ðu bi-seche him..þurh alle þe oðre sacremenz þet holi chirche foluweð and useð.
1340 Ayenbite (1866) 48 Vor alle þe sacremens of holi cherche me ssel vsi clenliche.
a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1872) IV. 351 Þat manere is ȝit i-used in the chirche of Rome.
1440 R. Repps in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) II. 22 The Duk of Orlyawnce hath made his ooth vpon the sacrement, and vsyd it, neuer for to bere armes ayenst Englond, in the presence of the Kyng.
?c1450 Life St. Cuthbert (1891) l. 7074 Þe sacrement..At þe last he..vsed and toke.
1530 Compend. Olde Treat. sig. A.viii The Lettre of the ceremonyes of the olde lawe sleyth the Iewes, and them that nowe vsen them.
1533 Fabyans Cronycle (new ed.) II. f. xvv No where was vsed masse nor dyuyne seruyce.
c1540 (?a1400) Destr. Troy 9097 Þen ordant was..a fynerall fest, þat frekes þen vset.
1567 Compend. Bk. Godly Songs (1897) 17 Quha vsis it vnworthilie Ressauis deide eternallie.
1665 A. L. Let. to Friend vii. 26 Those who used Mass in divers Languages, and with divers Rites.
1708 G. Garden tr. A. Bourignon Confusion Builders of Babel xvii. 61 Without making any Distinction of the Disposition of Souls, or of the Necessity or Profit of using that Sacrament [sc. Communion].
1771 tr. H. Witsius Oeconomy of Covenants I. Contents p. viii After what manner Christ used the sacraments.
1885 W. E. Addis & T. Arnold Catholic Dict. (ed. 3) at Interdict Persons are interdicted, so as to be debarred from using the sacraments or exercising the functions prohibited, in whatever place they may be.
1987 M. Lienhard in J. Raitt et al. Christian Spirituality: High Middle Ages & Reformation xii. 275 Faith is necessary for one to benefit from hearing the word and using the sacraments.
†b. intransitive. To receive the Eucharist, take communion. Cf. communicate v. 7a. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > faith > worship > sacrament > communion > receive communion [verb (intransitive)]
use1389
communicate1539
commune1550
receive1551
1389 in J. T. Smith & L. T. Smith Eng. Gilds (1870) 14 From þe leuacioun of cristis body sacrid in til þat þe preest haue vsed.
c1390 (?c1350) Joseph of Arimathie (1871) l. 660 (MED) He vsede of Goddes bord & a writ brouhte.
c1450 Trental St. Gregory (Calig.) l. 222 in Erlanger Beiträge zur Englischen Philol. (1889) 3 43 When þe preste hath don his masse And used and his hondes wasche.
?c1450 Life St. Cuthbert (1891) l. 7058 When he [sc. a priest] suld vse, In to þe chalys lokes he.
2.
a. transitive. To observe (a custom, a traditional practice or rule of conduct, etc.); to pursue or follow as a custom or accepted practice. Formerly also: †to comply with, obey (a law). Now archaic.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > carrying out > observance or carrying out a promise, law, etc. > observe or carry out a promise, law, etc. [verb (transitive)]
behold971
i-haldOE
yemec1000
usec1300
observec1391
savea1393
conservec1425
keep1479
the world > action or operation > behaviour > customary or habitual mode of behaviour > do habitually [verb (transitive)]
usec1300
maintain1384
observec1390
custom1392
practic?a1425
practise?c1430
frequent1485
to have in wonea1500
wont1530
trade1550
to make a practice of1722
society > authority > subjection > obedience > obey or be obedient to [verb (transitive)] > act in conformity to a rule or decree
to stand at ——c1300
to stand to ——c1300
usec1300
keep1387
abidea1393
obeya1393
stand?1435
answer1552
trace1649
c1300 St. Thomas Becket (Laud) l. 518 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 121 Customes here weren bi-fore I-vsed... And so muche wrechche nam ich nouȝt þat ich nelle þe lawes holde Þat ovre Auncestres heolden ȝwyle.
c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) 1 Tim. i. 8 Forsoth we witen for the lawe [of Moses] is good, if ony man vse it lawefully.
c1400 (c1378) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Laud 581) (1869) B. xvii. l. 46 (MED) Þo þat lerneth þi lawe wil litel while vsen it.
?c1450 Life St. Cuthbert (1891) l. 2076 Þai vsed customes vnstabill.
?c1450 Life St. Cuthbert (1891) l. 2076 To vse þair reule þai [sc. monks] had na wille.
c1480 (a1400) St. Lucy l. 118 in W. M. Metcalfe Legends Saints Sc. Dial. (1896) II. 390 That scho had tane the Cristine fay Agane thare lawis osyt ilke day.
1504 in I. S. Leadam Select Cases Star Chamber (1911) II. 286 Contrare to ther costomez out of tyme of mynde vsed.
c1592 C. Marlowe Jew of Malta iv. ii Bar. No, 'tis an order which the Fryars vse.
1622 J. Taylor Farewell to Tower-bottles A 2 b So..did Customes change: The Ancient vse, vs'd many yeares before, Was solde.
1625 S. Purchas Pilgrimes II. 1132 The like custom is vsed throughout the Dominions of Mutezuma.
a1648 Ld. Herbert Life Henry VIII (1649) 7 That the Crown might be put on the Kings head, with that solemnity, which in former times was used.
1702 T. Savery Miner's Friend 63 A Custom used in very deep Mines..of raising their Water by several Lifts from Cistern to Cistern.
1765 W. Blackstone Comm. Laws Eng. I. Introd. 76 That it [sc. a custom] have been used so long, that the memory of man runneth not to the contrary.
1810 Classical Jrnl. Dec. 798 [Mr Barrow] perceived the absurdity of applying this reflection to the Romans, who used the same custom.
1876 W. Morris Story of Sigurd in Coll. Wks. (1910–11) XII. ii. 76 And he oftenest used that custom, whereof e'en now I told.
1941 Trans. Royal Hist. Soc. 4th Ser. 23 147 They would say, and in fact did say, that the king was bound by the ancient laws and customs, used and approved in the time of his predecessors.
1992 P. O'Brian Truelove vii. 191 A glare at the congregation that reminded them of the more brutal customs used at sea, such as keel-hauling.
†b. transitive. In passive. To be usual or customary. Frequently with it as subject and to and infinitive or that-clause as complement. Obsolete.
ΚΠ
a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1874) V. 145 It was i-ordeyned þe Lente fastynge of Crist..schulde bygynne and dure as it is now i-used.
c1400 (c1378) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Laud 581) (1869) B. xviii. l. 377 (MED) It is nouȝt vsed in erthe to hangen a feloun Ofter þan ones.
a1425 (?a1350) Gospel of Nicodemus (Galba) (1907) l. 122 Of Emperoures þat are had bene, þis was used [v.r. þis was þe lawe] in þat land..men suld hald in þaire hand þaire armes.
1487 Acts Parl. Scotl. (1814) II. 182/2 Ane vthir to..haue thare feis as wes vsit to be gevin to..changeoures in ald tymes.
a1500 ( J. Yonge tr. Secreta Secret. (Rawl.) (1898) 247 Aftyr the..houre of the day y-custumet or vset.
a1500 in J. Raine Vol. Eng. Misc. N. Counties Eng. (1890) 62 It is usyd yt the sayd Burgese schall chese..two ale tastars.
?1523 J. Fitzherbert Bk. Husbandry f. ixv It is vsed in many countreis husbandes to haue an oxe harrowe..made of .vi. smale peses of tymbre.
1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry VII f. lv It was also vsed that he..shoulde likewise..be..committed to the Bishoppes pryson.
1549 R. Crowley Voyce Laste Trumpet sig. Cvii Thou shalt not fynde that thou maist..leauy a great fyne More then hath bene vsed alwayes.
1577 W. Fulke Answer True Christian 42 in Two Treat. against Papistes From the beginning it was not vsed to praye for the deade.
1582 R. Stanyhurst tr. Virgil First Foure Bookes Æneis i. 10 Of Tyrian virgins too weare thus a quiuer is vsed [L. mos est].
1621 R. Montagu Diatribæ Hist. Tithes 531 It was in old times vsed..for men to shaue themselues.
1642 tr. J. Perkins Profitable Bk. ii. §119. 53 Forasmuch as it is commonly used to write a deed before it be sealed.
1648 T. Gage Eng.-Amer. 88 I thought..of Indians turned into the shape of beasts (which amongst some hath been used).
1650 in W. S. Perry Hist. Coll. Amer. Colonial Church: Virginia (1870) I. 2 It shall be lawful, as it hath been used heretofore, to make Probates of wills..in the Colony.
1698 E. Bellamy tr. J. Huarte Tryal Wits xvii. 274 Whereas if (as it has been used) the Door be open for all without distinction to enter and possess those Posts..the Inconveniences we have noted will happen every day.
3.
a. transitive. To practise (a craft, skill, etc.); to carry on or fulfil the duties of (an occupation or profession); to execute or discharge the functions of (an office). Also in extended use. Now archaic and rare.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > working > [verb (transitive)]
suec1300
usec1300
followa1400
occupy?c1400
playc1410
practise1421
pursuec1485
lie1546
do1703
c1300 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Otho) (1978) l. 12124 Hii vsede þat craft to lokie in þan lufte; þe craft his ihote astronomie.
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 370) (1850) 1 Chron. xxiv. 2 Eleasar vsede [L. functus est] presthode, and Ythamar.
a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) ii. l. 600 (MED) The greteste of Barbarie, Of hem whiche usen marchandie, Sche hath converted.
a1402 J. Trevisa tr. R. Fitzralph Defensio Curatorum (Harl.) (1925) 75 (MED) Hit is nouȝt y-hote to freres noþer hit longeþ to her professioun..forto vse þe office of prechyng.
1487 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (St. John's Cambr.) xii. 414 Men that oysis [1489 Adv. wsys] thai mysteris.
1495 in Acts Lords of Council Civil Causes (1839) I. 415/1 In caise..Alexander haid remanit..nocht within þe said toune nor vsand þe Course of merchandise þerintill.
a1500 (a1450) Generides (Trin. Cambr.) l. 1176 Wherefore they calle vs noo good lauenders, And we haue vsid it thus many yerez.
1542 Reg. Cupar Abbey II. 22 We will at nane hant nor vs the office of brewing, bakin, selling of wyne [etc.].
1585 T. Washington tr. N. de Nicolay Nauigations Turkie ii. viii. 42 [If] she will continue in that occupation, she..may vse it at her pleasure.
1611 Bible (King James) 1 Tim. iii. 10 Then let them vse the office of a Deacon, being found blamelesse. View more context for this quotation
1652 M. Nedham tr. J. Selden Of Dominion of Sea 197 Merchants..using Commerce in the very Sea with the Inhabitants.
1665 Orders Ld. Mayor London in D. Defoe Jrnl. Plague Year (1722) 48 That no Searcher..be permitted to use any publick Work or Employment.
1721 J. Perry Acct. Stopping Daggenham Breach 115 Commanders of Ships, particularly those who use the Southern Trade.
1730 Let. to Sir W. Strickland relating to Coal Trade 16 A Number of Ships crouded into the [Coal] Trade, that did not use it before.
1773 Life N. Frowde 75 An Implement Mr. M'Namara had worn ever since he used the Mediterranean Trade.
1840 H. Russ Headsman ii. ii. 41 Sultan. You have not been here long. Sadak. Not long enough to use my office.
1892 Mrs. H. Ward Hist. David Grieve I. i. vi. 134 All Margaret's belongings had been weavers; but 'Lias..would never allow his wife to use the trade of her youth.
1937 Times 30 June 14/3 A warrant was issued for the apprehension of persons using the trade of gardening in contempt of the Company's charters.
†b. transitive. To follow or pursue (a certain course of life); to lead (a particular kind of life). Obsolete (archaic in later use).
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > behaviour > way of life > follow (a way of life) [verb (transitive)]
followOE
usec1390
c1390 W. Hilton Mixed Life (Vernon) in C. Horstmann Yorkshire Writers (1895) I. 269 Oure lord for to stere sum men to vse þis medled lyf, tok vpon him-self [etc.].
c1400 (c1378) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Laud 581) (1869) B. iii. l. 239 (MED) He..ne vseth nauȝte þe lyf of vsurye.
?c1450 tr. Bk. Knight of La Tour Landry (1906) 12 [She] used the blessed lyf that any woman might.
1483 W. Caxton tr. J. de Voragine Golden Legende f. clxxxxvv/1 Whan she had lyued and vsyd thys lyf fyfty yere.
1578 in J. G. Dalyell Scotish Poems 16th Cent. (1801) II. 125 The wicked life that I did vse.
1628 in B. Cusack Everyday Eng. 1500–1700 298 Shee sayth her husband doth vse a wearie liffe with her.
1821 W. Scott Pirate III. iv. 89 I am determined to turn honest man, and use this life [sc. piracy] no longer.
c. transitive. To spend or pass (a period of time) in a certain way.Now usually understood with an instrumental sense of putting one's time to a particular use, overlapping with senses 10 and 15.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > spending time > spend time or allow time to pass [verb (transitive)]
overdoOE
adreeOE
wreaka1300
to draw forthc1300
dispend1340
pass1340
drivea1375
wastec1381
occupyc1384
overpassa1387
to pass over ——a1393
usec1400
spend1423
contrive?a1475
overdrive1487
consumea1500
to pass forth1509
to drive off1517
lead1523
to ride out1529
to wear out, forth1530
to pass away?1550
to put offc1550
shiftc1562
to tire out1563
wear1567
to drive out1570
entertainc1570
expire1589
tire1589
outwear1590
to see out1590
outrun1592
outgo1595
overshoot1597
to pass out1603
fleeta1616
elapse1654
term1654
trickle1657
to put over1679
absorb1686
spin1696
exercise1711
kill1728
to get through ——1748
to get over ——1751
tickc1870
fill1875
c1400 (?c1380) Cleanness (1920) l. 295 (MED) In þe drede of Dryȝtyn his dayez he usez.
?a1475 (?a1425) tr. R. Higden Polychron. (Harl. 2261) (1865) I. 355 Not vsenge theire lyfe in makenge of clothe of wolle, other elles of lyne or flex, neither in eny kynde of marchandise, neither in eny honde crafte.
1477 Earl Rivers tr. Dictes or Sayengis Philosophhres (Caxton) (1877) lf. 5 He is happy that vsith his dayes in doyng couenable thinges.
c1515 Ld. Berners tr. Bk. Duke Huon of Burdeux (1882–7) lxxxii. 256 In grete doloure & payne I haue vsyd my youth.
a1538 T. Starkey Dial. Pole & Lupset (1989) 17 So now also use your tyme..to the mayntenance..of the same.
1613 Sidney's Arcadia iii. 390 Now me thinks it time To goe vnto the Bride, and vse this day.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Timon of Athens (1623) iii. i. 35 I haue obserued thee alwayes for..one that knowes what belongs to reason; and canst vse the time wel. View more context for this quotation
1665 T. Manley tr. H. Grotius De Rebus Belgicis 243 They who were newly gotten into power, being ignorant how to use the time, nourished discords by variety of evill deeds.
1726 H. Baker 2nd Pt. Orig. Poems 96 O! wisely use the precious Time! For Night comes quickly after once 'tis Noon.
1772 G. A. Stevens Songs Comic & Satyrical xl. 75 Use Time well, 'tis Time we should, We should so, did we time things.
1847 J. A. Eames Budget of Lett. 296 I use the time in writing you a short letter, which is a rare thing for me.
1873 W. Stokes Rapid Writing 43 Use your spare moments in practising Writing.
1918 C. Larkin Second Coming Christ ii. 32 Now if you had known that it would not arrive for half an hour you would have used the time in some other way than ‘waiting’ and ‘watching’.
1943 G. Bruun Clemenceau 13 Students and radicals..planning how best to seize and use the pliant hour which fate had suddenly offered them.
1992 Washington Post 26 June a22/3 The Post diminishes its own story by taking a niggling view of how the mayor uses her time.
†4.
a. transitive. To engage in (a pastime, game, or sport). Also: to take (exercise). Obsolete.Cf. sense 10c and see the note at branch II.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > doing > practice, exercise, or doing > practise or carry on [verb (transitive)] > specifically a game, feat, etc.
usec1330
exercisec1430
c1330 Horn Child l. 44 in J. Hall King Horn (1901) 179 To harpe wele & play at ches, & al gamen þat vsed is.
c1380 Sir Ferumbras (1879) l. 2226 Summe þay vseþ a maner of play to caste wel a spere.
a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1872) IV. 253 (MED) The Grees usede somtyme tornementes and dedes of myȝt and of strengþe at þe foot of þe hil Olympus..and clepede suche dedes and pleies Olympias.
a1450 (?a1390) J. Mirk Instr. Parish Priests (Claud.) (1974) l. 40 (MED) Wrastelynge & schotynge & suche maner game Thow myȝte not vse wythowte blame.
1557 T. North tr. A. de Guevara Diall Princes (1568) i. ii. 163 They agree to their scollers to vse some pastyme.
1581 Southampton Court Leet Rec. (1906) ii. 221 Dennys Edwardes..comenly vssethe vnlawffull games.
1626 F. Bacon Sylua Syluarum §299 Use not Exercise and a Spare Diet;..if much Exercise, then a Plentifull Diet.
c1636 A. Stafford Just Apol. (1860) p. xxxix To shoote in..Cross-Bowes, and to vse diverse other Recreations.
1764 in R. Willis & J. W. Clark Archit. Hist. Univ. Cambr. (1886) III. 539 A..corpulent Man, who lived freely and used no Exercise.
1794 S. Williams Nat. & Civil Hist. Vermont 83 In such a situation, he uses no exercise.
1801 J. Strutt Glig-gamena Angel-ðeod ii. ii. 74 In old time,..wrestling was more used than it has been of later years.
1865 C. Merivale Hist. Romans under Empire (new ed.) VIII. lxiv. 116 Then he uses strong exercise for a considerable space at tennis.
1890 Dr. Chase's 3rd, Last, & Compl. Receipt Bk. & Househ. Physician 271 A bearing down when the patient is using exercise, and occasional discharge of clotted blood.
b. transitive. To fight in (a battle, war, etc.); to have experience of (warfare). Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > war > wage (war) [verb (transitive)] > experience (war)
usec1450
c1450 Alphabet of Tales (1904) I. 76 Alde knyght[is] þat..vsyd batels & cuthe gyff gude cowncell.
1474 W. Caxton tr. Game & Playe of Chesse (1883) ii. iv. 44 He had longe tyme vsid the warre and armes.
1523 Ld. Berners tr. J. Froissart Cronycles I. cclxxv. 167 b/2 He had long tyme vsed the warre, and sene great experience therin.
1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry VIII xiiii. f. c The gentlemen of the countrey shewed theimselfes prickyng, but when they heard the Gunnes they fledde as though they neuer vsed warre.
5.
†a. transitive. To commit (a crime, sin, etc.); to perpetrate (a deception, fraud, or similar act). Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > morality > moral evil > wrong conduct > evildoing or wrongdoing > do wrongfully or amiss [verb (transitive)]
aguiltOE
misdoOE
misworkc1300
sinc1315
usec1330
erra1340
trespass14..
the mind > possession > taking > stealing or theft > defrauding or swindling > perpetrate (a swindle) [verb (transitive)] > defraud or swindle
defraud1362
deceivec1380
plucka1500
lurch1530
defeata1538
souse1545
lick1548
wipe1549
fraud1563
use1564
cozen1573
nick1576
verse1591
rooka1595
trim1600
skelder1602
firk1604
dry-shave1620
fiddle1630
nose1637
foista1640
doa1642
sharka1650
chouse1654
burn1655
bilk1672
under-enter1692
sharp1699
stick1699
finger1709
roguea1714
fling1749
swindle1773
jink1777
queer1778
to do over1781
jump1789
mace1790
chisel1808
slang1812
bucket1819
to clean out1819
give it1819
to put in the hole1819
ramp1819
sting1819
victimize1839
financier1840
gum1840
snakea1861
to take down1865
verneuk1871
bunco1875
rush1875
gyp1879
salt1882
daddle1883
work1884
to have (one) on toast1886
slip1890
to do (a person) in the eye1891
sugar1892
flay1893
to give (someone) the rinky-dink1895
con1896
pad1897
screw1900
short-change1903
to do in1906
window dress1913
ream1914
twist1914
clean1915
rim1918
tweedle1925
hype1926
clip1927
take1927
gazump1928
yentz1930
promote1931
to take (someone) to the cleaners1932
to carve up1933
chizz1948
stiff1950
scam1963
to rip off1969
to stitch up1970
skunk1971
to steal (someone) blind1974
diddle-
c1330 (?a1300) Sir Tristrem (1886) l. 2181 (MED) Þre ȝere he playd stille Wiþ ysonde..Her folies vsen þai ay.
c1330 Seven Sages (Auch.) (1933) l. 2219 (MED) So longe þai vsed [c1475 Egerton dyde] þis errour Þai were richcher þan þemperour.
c1390 Vision St. Paul (Vernon) in C. Horstmann Minor Poems Vernon MS (1892) i. 254 (MED) Þei vseden Ocur and vsuri.
c1450 Alphabet of Tales (1905) II. 353 He vsid robborie, avowtrie, inceste.
1484 W. Caxton tr. G. de la Tour-Landry Bk. Knight of Tower (1971) lvii. 83 He..vsed all euyl dedes, whiche he couthe ymagyne to doo.
1545 H. Brinkelow Lamentacyon (new ed.) (title page) Certayne greate vyces vsed therin [sc. in London].
1553 T. Wilson Arte of Rhetorique f. 96 A naughtie fellowe that vsed muche robbery.
1564 in J. D. Marwick Extracts Rec. Burgh Edinb. (1875) III. 187 Becaus of the manifest fraud quhilk..hes bene vsit in wirking, weving, walking, litting and culloring of clayth.
1640 in H. Paton Dundonald Parish Rec. (1936) 466 If it shall be found that the maister vsses ony fraud to elude the tryall as [etc.].
b. transitive. gen. To carry out or carry on (an action or activity), esp. regularly or habitually; to perform (a gesture, act, etc.). Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > doing > practice, exercise, or doing > practise or carry on [verb (transitive)]
doeOE
followOE
holda1100
found1340
exercec1374
enhaunta1382
usea1398
proceed1399
apply?c1400
practise?c1430
exercise1467
takea1500
plya1513
enure1549
prosecute1567
inurea1577
manage1579
to stand on ——1599
to carry on1638
cultivate1654
α.
a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) II. xviii. xxiv. 1163 Geet..vseþ werk of gendrynge anon to þe laste elde.
c1425 J. Lydgate Troyyes Bk. (Augustus A.iv) i. l. 3856 Þay þat longe han vsed trauayle.
a1500 (?a1390) J. Mirk Festial (Gough) (1905) 182 (MED) Men laftyn such deuocyon and vsut songys and daunsys.
a1549 A. Borde Fyrst Bk. Introd. Knowl. (1870) 217 They be lyght fyngerd and vse pyking.
1573 T. Tusser Fiue Hundreth Points Good Husbandry (new ed.) f. 48 Vse now in thy rye, little raking or none.
1648 T. Gage Eng.-Amer. x. 35 The chiefest Market place, where all the buying and selling was used.
1685 in J. Belknap Hist. New-Hampsh. (1792) I. 511 It shall and may be lawful to and for the English, or any on their behalfs, to apprehend the said Indians, with their wives and children, and to use acts of hostility against them.
1694 Narbrough's Acct. Several Late Voy. 52 They use bathing and stuping those places.
1765–8 J. Erskine Inst. Law Scotl. ii. ix. §4 The superior's consent is presumed, from his not using acts of interruption.
1832 B. St. Leger tr. J. Froissart in Froissart, & his Times II. 272 A man of a threescore year of age, who had greatly used deeds of arms, and knew much of the world.
1873 W. Stokes Rapid Writing 100 The Art of using writing should be..inculcated by all teachers.
1898 L. Binyon Porphyrion 6 Such vain wringing of the hands, as use Men slowly overtaken by despair.
1916 F. S. Betten Anc. World 321 Divine favor could be lost by failure to use precise gestures in a service.
β. ?c1450 Life St. Cuthbert (1891) l. 7008 At his graue he vysit praying.1487 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (St. John's Cambr.) x. 565 I oysit [1489 Adv. wsyt] lang that travalling, So that I can that rod ga richt.1488 (c1478) Hary Actis & Deidis Schir William Wallace (Adv.) (1968–9) vi. l. 899 Sic salusyng I oys till Inglismen.a1500 (c1425) Andrew of Wyntoun Oryg. Cron. Scotl. (Nero) vii. l. 3528 In Ingilwode and Bernnysdaile Þai oyssit al þis tyme þar trawale.
†c. transitive. To allow, permit to be performed. Obsolete. rare.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > lack of subjection > permission > permit [verb (transitive)]
thave835
unneeOE
levec897
forletc900
i-thavec900
i-unneeOE
allowa1393
licensec1400
admit1418
sustainc1425
usea1450
permit1473
permise1481
withganga1500
tolerate1533
intermit?c1550
licentiate1575
'low1587
dispense1646
beholdc1650
warrant1662
a1450–1509 (?a1300) Richard Coer de Lyon (A-version) (1913) l. 4698 (MED) Alle swylke werkes j reffuse, And þou, Sere Kyng, ȝiff þou it vse, þou dedyst nouȝt as j þe bad!
6.
a. transitive. To put (a personal quality or faculty) into action or effect; to take (a particular quality or principle) as a guide for one's actions or behaviour. Formerly also intransitive with of.In quot. a15001 at β. : to endure (sorrow).
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > doing > practice, exercise, or doing > practise or carry on [verb (transitive)] > exercise or put into practice (principle or quality)
kithec1330
usec1330
apply1395
execute14..
in urec1420
exercisea1513
to put into (also in) practice1553
reduce1581
to make practice of1623
exsert1665
exert1682
α.
c1330 (?c1300) Speculum Guy (Auch.) (1898) l. 82 (MED) Wisdom in godes drede Vse wel.
J. Gaytryge Lay Folks' Catech. (York Min.) (1901) l. 57 The seuen vertues that ilk man sal use.
c1390 in C. Brown Relig. Lyrics 14th Cent. (1924) 168 (MED) Þis Marchauns..schuld..vsen trouþe.
?a1400 (a1338) R. Mannyng Chron. (Petyt) ii. 142 (MED) He suld his cheualrie vse in þe holy lond.
c1400 (?c1390) Sir Gawain & Green Knight (1940) l. 2106 He is a mon methles, & mercy non vses.
a1425 (?c1350) Ywain & Gawain (1964) l. 36 For trowth and luf es al bylaft, Men uses now anoþer craft.
c1500 Melusine (1895) 110 (MED) As long that ye shall vse of feythfulnes..ye shall not be dyscomfyted ne ouercome in no faytte of armes.
1547 W. Baldwin Treat. Morall Phylos. f. Nvv To vse vertue is perfecte blessednes.
1589 R. Greene Menaphon sig. K4v Twas a good worlde when such simplicitie was vsed, sayes the old women of our time.
c1616 R. C. Times' Whistle (1871) iv. 1522 All lawyers I cannot heerof accuse, For some there are that doe a conscience vse.
1644 J. Milton Areopagitica 6 The like severity no doubt was us'd.
a1680 S. Butler Genuine Remains (1759) I. 15 She [sc. Nature] affects so much to use Variety, in all she does.
1710 W. King Heathen Gods & Heroes 41 Her other Brother Neptune used the same Freedom with her.
1758 S. Hayward Seventeen Serm. p. xiv It is certainly a minister's duty..to use plainness and faithfulness.
1839 F. A. Kemble Jrnl. Resid. Georgian Plantation (1863) 76 They consider it the lowest degradation in a white to use any exertion.
1884 C. R. Corson tr. P. Janet Elem. Morals xiii. 278 Using discretion in regard to our sentiments, our moral qualities, or our defects.
1928 C. S. Whitehead & C. A. Hoff Ethical Sex Relations (new ed.) i. Introd. 11 You are bidden to ‘Stop, Look Listen’ when crossing a railroad track; why not use the same caution in marriage.
1977 J. Lee Tales Boatmen Told xii. 155 It was necessary to use caution on negotiating the tricky bends which are so numerous on the Delaware.
2000 Dolls House & Miniature Scene Aug. 47/2 Suitable nick-knacks should be spread over the tiers, but use discretion in placement.
β. 1447 O. Bokenham Lives of Saints (Arun.) (1938) l. 5789 (MED) Alle þat hir herdyn awundryd were..for þe facundye wych she oysyd þere.c1480 (a1400) St. Matthias 108 in W. M. Metcalfe Legends Saints Sc. Dial. (1896) I. 225 Quhen na man mycht se, þane wald he oyse sic cruelte.a1500 (c1340) R. Rolle Comm. on Canticles (Univ. Oxf. 64) in Psalter (1884) 497 Oysand sorow for my syn.a1500 Lancelot of Laik (1870) 1701 To mych to oyss familiaritee Contempnyng bryngith one to hie dugre.
b. transitive. To display (a particular kind of behaviour) or act with (a particular quality in one's manner) towards another in a given situation.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > doing > practice, exercise, or doing > practise or carry on [verb (transitive)] > practise or exercise towards others
use?1533
?1533 G. Du Wes Introductorie for to lerne Frenche sig. Uiiiv The rudenesse that I yuel manerd haue vsed toward your hyghnesse.
1542 N. Udall in H. Ellis Orig. Lett. Eminent Lit. Men (1843) 4 It maye please your maistership to use towardes me sum moderacion.
1598 R. Bernard tr. Terence Andria Prol., in Terence in Eng. 4 I pray you..use not parcialitie, and diligently weigh the matter.
1632 P. Massinger & N. Field Fatall Dowry v. sig. K3 Therefore vse a conscience..To me.
1653 H. Holcroft tr. Procopius Gothick Warre i. 6 in tr. Procopius Hist. Warres Justinian The Goths..had used hostitility upon Gratiana.
1656 Earl of Monmouth tr. T. Boccalini Ragguagli di Parnasso i. xv Ingratitude which moral Philosophers were daily seen to use towards their benefactors.
1702 Eng. Theophrastus 124 The violences we commit upon our selves are oftentimes more painful, than those which other people use towards us.
1737 W. Whiston tr. Josephus Antiq. Jews vi. iii, in tr. Josephus Genuine Wks. 160 The ungrateful conduct they have used towards me.
a1822 P. B. Shelley tr. P. Calderon Scenes from Magico Prodigioso in Posthumous Poems (1824) 386 Tell me all, what poisonous power Ye use against me.
1861 Rep. Select Comm. Educ. Destitute Children 166/2 in Parl. Papers VII. 395 The children were greatly influenced by her presence, and by her attending to them and using kindness towards them.
1875 F. M. Cotton Walker Casque & Cowl xii. 143 He appealed to their love of Christ to use gentleness towards him.
1905 Times 17 Nov. 9/3 They were acting from political motives, and threatened to use violence against all who hesitated to obey their orders.
1995 Yorks. Evening Press 20 May 5/3 He was also charged with using threatening behaviour towards Andrew Durant which he committed a week later.
†7.
a. transitive. To enforce (a law). Also in passive: (of a law) to be in force. Obsolete.
ΚΠ
a1375 (c1350) William of Palerne (1867) l. 5240 Alle luþer lawes þat long hadde ben vsed.
c1390 Castle of Love (Vernon) (1967) l. 240 (MED) In þe kynges court ȝit vche day, Me vseþ þulke selue lay.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 9478 (MED) Þis es bot lagh..Vsed in curth þis ilk dai.
a1456 tr. Secreta Secret. (Marmaduke, Ashm. 59) (1977) 214 (MED) It longeþe to a gret lorde þat he vse his lawe with-oute any vanyte.
1609 J. Skene tr. Regiam Majestatem 3 Al Barons sall receaue, and vse the lawes, as they are vsed in the Kings court.
b. transitive. To exercise or bring to bear (a binding authority, judgement, right, etc.); to wield (power or authority). Obsolete.In quot. a1387: to invoke (the power of religion).
ΚΠ
a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1879) VII. 17 (MED) He wolde have i-used þe strengþe of religioun, but þe cruelte of Gascoyns wolde nouȝt suffre it.
c1400 in J. P. Genet Four Eng. Polit. Tracts (1977) 16 Þo secund cursynge of men þat apostilis usiden was to take men to Sathanas for synne þat þai haden done.
a1425 (c1395) Bible (Wycliffite, L.V.) (Royal) (1850) Matt. xx. 25 Thei that ben gretter, vsen power on hem.
a1475 J. Fortescue Governance of Eng. (Laud) (1885) 111 (MED) Nembroth subdued to hym the peple with myght..vsing vppon thaim the lordshippe that is callid dominium regale tantum.
a1500 tr. A. Chartier Traité de l'Esperance (Rawl.) (1974) 54 Neuirthelesse ye vse it [sc. auctorite humayne] othirwise, for ye make therof a violent bruyte and mesprision to Almighty God.
II. To put to practical or effective use; to make use of, employ, esp. habitually.From the 20th cent. some senses in Branches I. and III. (e.g. senses 3c, 6, and 16) have increasingly been understood instrumentally as implying particular ends or purposes, even when there is no explicit context of that kind; as a result these uses have converged on the senses in this branch, esp. sense 10. Cf. also senses 4a and 10c.
8.
a. transitive. To put (an instrument, implement, etc.) to practical use; esp. to make use of (a device designed for the purpose) in accomplishing a task.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > advantage > usefulness > use (made of things) > use or make use of [verb (transitive)]
noteOE
take?a1160
turnc1175
usec1300
to fare witha1340
benote1340
spenda1400
usea1400
weara1400
naitc1400
occupy1423
to put (also set) in work?a1425
practise?c1430
apply1439
employ?1473
to call upon ——1477
help1489
tew1489
handle1509
exercise1526
improvea1529
serve1538
feed1540
enure1549
to make (also take) (a) use of1579
wield1601
adoperate1612
to avail oneself ofa1616
to avail oneself ofa1616
prevail1617
to make practice of1623
ploy1675
occasion1698
to call on ——1721
subserve1811
nuse1851
utilize1860
c1300 All Souls (Harl.) l. 185 in C. D'Evelyn & A. J. Mill S. Eng. Legendary (1956) 470 (MED) Hi come wiþ wepne him to helpe..Euerech wiþ such maner wepne as we vsieþ [c1300 Laud huy uyseden] alyue: Plouȝ man wiþ his aker staf, schutere wiþ bowe & knyue.
a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) I. v. xxviii. 223 Þe olyphaunt vsiþ a strong nose and long in stede of hondes.
c1400 (?a1300) Kyng Alisaunder (Laud) (1952) l. 5247 (MED) Þe glevmen vseden her tunge—Þe wode aqueiȝtte, so hij sunge.
c1450 J. Capgrave Solace of Pilgrims (Bodl. 423) (1911) 9 (MED) This ȝate is not now used but sperd up.
c1450 ( Nightingale (Calig.) l. 305 in O. Glauning Minor Poems J. Lydgate (1900) 12 The fende..Leying hys lynes and with mony a bayte Wsynge his hokes.
1582 N. Lichefield tr. F. L. de Castanheda 1st Bk. Hist. Discouerie E. Indias i. iii. 8 b The people..using the selfe same sorte of darts.
1600 W. Shakespeare Merchant of Venice ii. ii. 5 Good Launcelet Iobbe, vse your legges,..runne away. View more context for this quotation
1611 Bible (King James) Jer. xxiii. 31 I am against the prophets..that vse their tongues. View more context for this quotation
1613 S. Purchas Pilgrimage 62 In their festiuals they vsed..musical instruments.
1669 G. Miege Relation of Three Embassies 412 Engins, such as are used frequently in the quenching of great fires.
1731 J. Tull New Horse-houghing Husbandry 124 A Farmer who uses this Plough, may Till in all Weathers.
1762 A. Dickson Treat. Agric. ii. iii. 140 Of the instruments used in tillage.
1828 W. Scott Fair Maid of Perth ii, in Chron. Canongate 2nd Ser. I. 70 While I form armour and weapons for others, I cannot myself withstand the temptation of using them.
1859 Ld. Tennyson Enid in Idylls of King 93 [I have] wrought too long with delegated hands, Not used mine own.
1880 Encycl. Brit. XI. 504/2 In these investigations he..used a perspicillum or simple lens.
1910 Pop. Mech. Apr. 23/1 (advt.) The Doran Self Heating Iron does it all. Will do complete ironing for less than 1c. Once tried always used.
1946 J. Thurber Let. 10 Apr. (2002) 386 A scene which happens to every man who uses a safety razor but which, so far as I know, has not been presented in a movie.
1991 Acta Metallurgica et Materialia 39 2555/1 All the microhardness testing was done using a Micromet microhardness tester.
b. transitive. With to and infinitive, expressing the end or purpose of the use. Formerly also intransitive with of.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > advantage > usefulness > use (made of things) > use or make use of [verb (transitive)] > use for specific purpose
bestowc1315
lay1340
putc1390
apply1395
usea1398
applicate?a1425
deputec1425
explay1552
employ1553
consecrate1555
implya1625
sacrate1653
consign1700
devote1703
to give up1885
a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) II. xix. cxxxi. 1389 Men in olde tyme vsede trompes in bataile to fere and to affraye here enemyes, and to conforte here owne knightes and fightynge men.
c1450 (?a1400) Wars Alexander (Ashm.) l. 3594 Olyfauntis..As ilkane vsyd with in ynde vmquile with to fiȝte.
1539 Bible (Great) Num. x. 2 That thou mayst vse them [sc. trumpets] to call ye congregacion together.
1563 T. Gale Certaine Wks. Chirurg. iv. i. x. f. 6 Medicines which are to be vsed to cicatrize an vlcer.
1605 B. Jonson Sejanus ii. sig. D2 Lady, you should Vse of the Dentifrice, I prescrib'd you, too, To cleare your teeth.
c1625 T. Heywood tr. Ovid De Arte Amandi i. 22 Vse not hot irons to crispe and curle thy haire.
1661 R. Lovell Πανζωορυκτολογια, sive Panzoologicomineralogia 518 Potions,..used to evacuate humours, that doe not resist the trahent medicine.
1704 J. Harris Lexicon Technicum I. at Hydraulo-Pneumatical A Description of the Common Hydraulick Engine used to Quench Fire.
1780 W. Falconer Universal Dict. Marine They are used to strengthen the deck where it is weakened by those breaches, but particularly to support it when the mast leans against it.
1875 E. H. Knight Amer. Mech. Dict. III. 2621/1 The tangles are used to catch small, delicate, or spinaceous forms of marine life.
1910 Encycl. Brit. IV. 521/2 After the bolster and club hammer have removed the portion of the brick, the scutch, really a small axe, is used to hack off the rough parts.
1996 F. McCourt Angela's Ashes (1997) x. 289 She lifts the pot to the table, spoons out the potatoes one each and uses a fork to lift out the corned beef.
c. transitive. To handle (a tool, implement, etc.) or operate (a machine) successfully or competently.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > ability > skill or skilfulness > be skilled or versed in [verb (transitive)] > handle or treat with skill
use1545
manipulate1856
society > occupation and work > industry > working with tools or equipment > work with tools or equipment [verb (transitive)] > master use of tool
use1545
to get the hang of1845
1545 R. Ascham Toxophilus To Gentlem. Eng. sig. a.ii The one knoweth like a fletcher how to make it, the other knoweth lyke an archer howe to vse it.
1553 T. Wilson Arte of Rhetorique f. 83v What shoulde a man do with a weapon that knoweth not howe to vse it?
1600 J. Pory tr. J. Leo Africanus Geogr. Hist. Afr. ii. 57 There is no man among them which knoweth how to vse the needle.
1669 S. Sturmy Mariners Mag. ii. xiii. 80 How to use the Cross-Staff. Set the end of the Cross-Staff to the..Eye [etc.].
1753 J. Hanway Hist. Acct. Brit. Trade Caspian Sea I. iii. xl. 264 Being ignorant also how to use the screw barrils, he offered to return them.
1788 Ann. Agric. 9 629 I was tempted to step out of the chaise..to try with what facility a novice might learn to use the instrument.
1834 D. Crockett Narr. Life iv. 32 My wife had a good wheel [sc. a spinning wheel], and knowed exactly how to use it.
1867 D. G. Mitchell Rural Stud. 121 Every man who can use a hoe or a pitchfork is supposed to be a competent tailsman for the plow.
1888 B. Lowsley Gloss. Berks. Words & Phrases 164 Tit-tat-toe, the first game taught to children when they can use a slate pencil.
1943 O. F. G. Smith Rehabilit., Re-educ. & Remedial Exercises i. 9 When the patient has learnt to use the appliance,..some personal responsibility should be put on him to continue the work in his own time.
1989 Mod. Maturity Aug. 9/2 The organization develops sites around the country where seniors can learn to use computers.
2005 C. Feehan Night Game xix. 441 I can use a gun. I've been hunting all my life.
9.
a. transitive. To consume by eating or drinking, esp. regularly or habitually; to eat; to drink; (in early use) spec. to partake of (Christ's flesh and blood) in the Eucharist (cf. sense 1). Also figurative.In modern examples referring to alcoholic drinks often overlapping with and difficult to distinguish from sense 9c on account of a growing tendency to regard alcohol as a drug.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > consumption of food or drink > [verb (transitive)]
brookc950
abiteOE
haveOE
afangOE
takec1175
notea1200
usec1300
spendc1380
consumec1400
partake1602
pree1680
discuss1751
tuck1784
to put down1795
to be (also go) at the ——1796
go1830
kill1833
to put away1839
down1852
to put over1880
to wrap (oneself) (a)round1880
shift1896
c1300 St. Edmund Rich (Harl.) l. 276 in C. D'Evelyn & A. J. Mill S. Eng. Legendary (1956) 501 (MED) He vsede oure Louerdes flesch & in his mouþe toc.
1340 Ayenbite (1866) 55 Ethe metes byeþ guode to guode and to ham þet be scele and be mesure his vseþ and hise nimeþ mid þe sause of þe drede of oure lhorde.
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1959) Exod. xxx. 38 Eche man þat doþ lyke þing, þat he full vse [L. perfruatur] þe smell [a1425 L.V. odour] of it: he schall perysch from his puplis.
a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) vi. l. 657 For who that useth that [food] he knoweth, Ful selden seknesse on him groweth.
c1400 (?c1380) Cleanness (1920) l. 11 Þay teen vnto his temmple & temen to hym seluen,..Þay hondel þer his aune body & vsen hit boþe.
a1450 (?a1390) J. Mirk Instr. Parish Priests (Claud.) (1974) l. 1828 Ȝef any flye, gnat, or coppe Doun in-to þe chalys droppe..Vse hyt hol alle I-fere.
a1500 R. Henryson tr. Æsop Fables: Lion & Mouse l. 1490 in Poems (1981) 59 Quhilk vsis daylie meittis delitious.
1542 A. Borde Compend. Regyment Helth xxvi. sig. L.iiv And vse these thynges Cowe mylke, Almon mylke, yolkes of rere egges.
1585 T. Washington tr. N. de Nicolay Nauigations Turkie iv. xix. 134 [In] Lent they doe fast.., vsing none other food, then..hearbs, frutes, and certaine leane pottages.
1613 S. Purchas Pilgrimage 483 They drinke not wine, nor vse vinegar, but onely water.
1632 W. Lithgow Totall Disc. Trav. iii. 102 Lemmons..the Turkes vse at their meate, as we doe the Verges.
1659 S. Clarke Medulla Theologiæ xxvii. 253 Drunkennesse, and immoderate drinking, using wine, and strong drink unseasonably.
1730 M. Tindal Christianity as Old as Creation I. x. 128 Abstaining from, or using, certain Meats and Drinks at stated times.
1775 J. Adair Hist. Amer. Indians 117 That evil habit of using spirituous liquors intemperately, which they have been taught by the Europeans.
1808 Farmer's Mag. June 247 The season of using potatoes was so nearly passed by.
1859 Ld. Tennyson Merlin & Vivien 462 in Idylls of King Yea! Love..carves A portion from the solid present, eats And uses, careless of the rest.
1902 R. Kipling Traffics & Discov. (1904) 15 I don't use rum as a rule, but I did then, because I needed it.
1921 J. Buchan Path of King xiv. 276 It's curious that a man who don't use tobacco or whisky should be such mighty good company.
1996 R. Allsopp Dict. Caribbean Eng. Usage 579/2 [Barbados] Now he says he is a Muslim, so he doesn't use pork or alcohol.
b. transitive. To ingest or consume (a medicine) or avail oneself of (a treatment) in order to gain benefit. Formerly also intransitive with of.
ΚΠ
a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1872) IV. 303 (MED) Þere comyn medicyns þat me useþ mowe not helpe, þey [sc. physicians] assayeþ medicyns þat beeþ contrarie.
c1475 ( Surg. Treat. in MS Wellcome 564 f. 82 (MED) Make of hem trosisci..and ȝeue iij of hem in þe woke at sondri tymes..þou schalt late him vsen of þilke symple medicyns or compouned.
1522 in B. Cusack Everyday Eng. 1500–1700 (1998) 229 And vse it [sc. the medicine] furst at morne colde And warme at evyn at euery tyme ix sponfull... And soo vse it tyll ye haue cause to leve it.
1675 E. Wilson Spadacrene Dunelmensis 83 You must..use some hydragogical Medicine.
1799 Med. & Physical Jrnl. 1 184 He began to use the medicine on the day after he had many fits.
1843 Eclectic Mag. 492/1 If their ailment is not very terrible, one might almost envy those patients who are obliged to use the remedy.
1881 Therapeutic Gaz. 15 Jan. 2/2 It is now more than one year since he ceased to use the medicine and there has been no return of the trouble.
1967 Canad. Med. Assoc. Jrnl. 5 Aug. 306/2 They [sc. the public] could use the drug for earache, sore throat, cough with spit, yellow discharge from the nose or painful redness of the skin.
1993 U.S. News & World Rep. 10 May 86/2 Patients could begin using rifabutin, a newly approved drug that fights fever, night sweats and weight loss.
2001 N. Jones Rough Guide Trav. Health i. 110 Using a drug called norethisterone, available on prescription only, can delay your period.
c. transitive. Originally: to smoke, chew, or otherwise take (tobacco), esp. habitually. Now chiefly: to take (a drug, esp. an illegal one) regularly or habitually.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > drink > thirst > excess in drinking > [verb (intransitive)] > drink habitually
drinka1275
to blow (in) a bowlc1500
use1600
the world > physical sensation > use of drugs and poison > take drugs [verb (transitive)] > take regularly or habitually
use1906
1600 B. Jonson Every Man out of his Humor v. i. sig. Oiiv Sog. But shall I not vse Tabacco at all? Mac. O, by no meanes, 'twill but make your breath suspected. View more context for this quotation
1673 R. Head Canting Acad. 160 Q. How may a man use Tobacco that it may do him good? A. He must keep a Tobacco-shop and sell it.
1731 A. Dobbs Ess. Trade Ireland II. 36 No person using Tobacco or Snuff should be allow'd to buy from any Whole-sale Merchant.
1797 N.-Y. Mag. May 228 (heading) Humorous observations on the different modes of using tobacco.
1834 Thomsonian Recorder 16 Aug. 363/1 Let a healthy man, who has never used tobacco, take a piece the size of a bean into his mouth, and in a short time he will be seized with faintness, dizziness, and vomiting.
1852 W. M. Thackeray Henry Esmond II. ii. xi. 198 Do you not use tobacco? Of all the weeds grown on earth, sure the nicotian is the most soothing and salutary.
1906 W. Churchill Coniston i. ix. 104 Unlike Jethro, he ‘used’ tobacco.
1929 D. Hammett Dain Curse xiv. 149 He..picked up the morphine paper... ‘What do you suppose this is doing here?’ he asked. ‘She uses it.’
1962 J. H. Burn Drugs, Med. & Man x. 106 The best known drugs of addiction are morphine, heroin and cocaine. Somewhat less well known are cannabis..and pethidine. These are the main drugs, other than alcohol, which are used by addicts.
1985 ‘J. Higgins’ Confessional (1986) vi. 99 Devlin..offered her a cigarette. ‘Do you use these things?’ ‘No.’
2008 Independent on Sunday 15 Apr. (New Review) 15/1 I started a relationship with a boy who used heroin and began to smoke it myself.
d. intransitive. slang. To take a drug, esp. an illegal one, on a regular or habitual basis; to be a drug user or addict. Also: to take a dose of a drug, esp. a narcotic, to which one is addicted. Cf. user n.1 1c.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > use of drugs and poison > take drugs [verb (intransitive)]
sleigh-ride1845
drug1893
dope1909
to hit the gong, gow, stuff1933
use1951
to get down1952
to turn on1954
goof1962
joy-pop1962
to drop acid1966
1951 W. S. Burroughs Let. 5 May (1993) 86 I still think like I always did, if someone wants to use that is his business.
1953 W. S. Burroughs Junkie x. 104 The reason it is practically impossible to stop using and cure yourself is that the sickness lasts five to eight days. Twelve hours of it would be easy, twenty-four possible, but five to eight days is too long.
1960 C. L. Cooper Scene 15 Why don't you bust a cap with me? It's choice. I used this morning and I'm still nice.
1977 M. Torres in R. P. Rettig et al. Manny ii. 53/2 I had scag, man, and as long as you have scag, you use. That's the formula.
1998 B. J. Thompson in D. M. Aronstein & B. J. Thompson HIV & Social Work ii. 86 (questionnaire) When did you last use?
2005 W. Wall This is Country 113 There is something crazy in his eye that I have only seen in Max. I wonder if he uses.
10.
a. To make use or take advantage of (a quality, condition, idea, or other immaterial thing) as a means of accomplishing or achieving something. †Formerly also intransitive with of, (occasionally) with.
(a) transitive. With the end or purpose generally understood, or specifically implied by the context.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > advantage > usefulness > use (made of things) > use or make use of [verb (transitive)] > specifically an immaterial thing
use1340
the world > action or operation > advantage > usefulness > use (made of things) > use or control > [verb (transitive)]
wind993
wieldOE
aweldc1175
bewieldc1200
demeanc1300
use1340
plya1393
governc1405
exercite1475
apply1531
manage1590
sway1609
manipulate1834
wage1836
α.
1340 Ayenbite (1866) 115 Þine greate guodnesses þet ich habbe eche daye onderuonge, huyche ich habbe kueadliche yvzed.
c1350 (a1333) William of Shoreham Poems (1902) 20 Wel bet may god to oure prou Dyuerse formes vsy.
c1400 Life St. Alexius (Laud 622) (1878) l. 672 (MED) I graunt wel þat it be so, þine bedes ȝif þou wilt ouse.
?c1400 (c1380) G. Chaucer tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. (BL Add. 10340) (1868) v. pr. iv. l. 4802 [Intelligence] knoweþ þe vniuersite of resoun and þe figure of þe ymaginacioun, and þe sensible material conseiued..by wit; ne it ne vseþ nat nor of resoun ne of ymaginacioun ne of wit wiþ oute forþe but it byholdeþ alle þinges..by a strok of þouȝt formely.
?a1425 (a1415) Lanterne of Liȝt (Harl.) (1917) 132 Alle þoo þat trowen þat helpe may cum of vsing Goddis word.
1463–5 Rolls of Parl.: Edward IV (Electronic ed.) Parl. Apr. 1463 §49. m. 39 The preferment of labour and occupacion, such as hath been used by the makyng of the said cloth.
c1480 (a1400) St. Andrew 946 in W. M. Metcalfe Legends Saints Sc. Dial. (1896) I. 90 Vndir ȝour proteccione to luf in contemplacione, and warldly thingis to refuse, and hewinly thing sine to wse.
a1500 (?c1440) J. Lydgate Horse, Goose & Sheep (Lansd.) l. 507 in Minor Poems (1934) ii. 560 Vse her yiftes & her prerogatives To that eende.
1506 Thordynarye of Crysten Men (new ed.) iv. xxi. sig. Xvi He ought Justely to vse with his puyssaunce and not in abusynge.
1569 R. Grafton Chron. II. 52 He so vsed the matter with Adrian the fourth,..that he was by him dispensed of his aforesayde othe.
1592 Arden of Feversham i. i. 256 As sharpe witted Poets..Vse humble promise to their sacred Muse.
1614 J. Davies in W. Browne Shepheards Pipe sig. G6 I nill vsen any skill so mytch..as this so nice, and free.
1660 Bp. J. Taylor Ductor Dubitantium I. i. ii. 59 How that can be done without using our reason in the inquiries of Religion is not yet discovered.
1671 J. Milton Paradise Regain'd ii. 380 And who withholds my pow'r that right to use ? View more context for this quotation
1732 G. Berkeley Alciphron I. v. xxxv. 347 Freedom is either a Blessing or a Curse as Men use it.
1766 O. Goldsmith Vicar of Wakefield II. ii. 39 [He] judged it highly expedient to use dispatch.
1819 P. B. Shelley Cenci i. i. 8 The third of my possessions! I must use Close husbandry, or gold..Falls from my withered hand.
1877 W. Sparrow Serm. xiv. 183 The blessings of this life generally, he says, the good man uses but does not serve.
1901 ‘M. Field’ Race of Leaves i. p. xviii They bade me seek you out In secret, praying you would use your beauty, Your power, your arts.
1956 H. L. Mencken Minority Rep. 241 With power in their hands, they used it idiotically.
1990 P. Ackroyd Dickens v. 106 He was not one to be bowed down by misfortune, but to use and to conquer each calamity as it arose.
β. c1440 in C. Horstmann Yorkshire Writers (1895) I. 261 Þan awe it maste of alle othire Orysouns to be Oysede in all-haly kyrke.c1480 (a1400) St. Nicholas 730 in W. M. Metcalfe Legends Saints Sc. Dial. (1896) I. 502 I pray ȝou..þat ȝe wil oysit [sc. the legend] dewotly.a1500 (c1340) R. Rolle Psalter (Univ. Oxf. 64) (1884) Prol. 4 He spekis of crist..in þat at he oises þe voice of his seruantes.1513 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid xii. xiv. 110 Oys furth thy chance: quhat nedis proces mar?
(b) transitive. With infinitive, expressing the end or purpose. †Formerly also with to and noun.
ΚΠ
c1400 (c1378) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Laud 581) (1869) B. x. l. 129 Þo þat vseth þis hauelounes to blende mennes wittes.
1486 Bk. St. Albans c v That an hauke use hir craft all the seson to flye or lefe.
1551 in A. Feuillerat Documents Office of Revels Edward VI (1914) 56 In the meane tyme to vse soche dilligence to his furnyture, as shall seme to you expedyent.
1578 T. Tymme tr. J. Calvin Comm. Genesis 109 Sacrifices were used of the holy fathers, to celebrate the benefits of God.
1645 Directory Publique Worship 67 Endeavours ought to be used to convince him.
1704 N. N. tr. T. Boccalini Advts. from Parnassus II. 171 He us'd of all the Rhetorick he had, to praise that Vice.
1728 J. Veneer tr. Compan. Sincere Penitent Pref. p. x The emperor was obliged to use all his authority to make him leave Antioch.
1798 S. Lee Young Lady's Tale in H. Lee Canterbury Tales II. 3 The arguments used by Lady Lettingham to detain her brother.
1821 W. Scott Kenilworth III. xiii. 262 Until she had used her own efforts to have her rights acknowledged by him.
1874 J. R. Green Short Hist. Eng. People vii. §6. 409 Elizabeth used the daring blow to back her negotiations for peace.
1935 ‘A. Bridge’ Illyrian Spring viii. 92 She uses her cleverness to do Mother down, now and again.
1995 H. G. Brown War, Revol., & Bureaucratic State viii. 222 These generals..used this freedom from the meddling of Parisian pékins to build clienteles amongst the officer corps.
b. transitive. To employ (a weight, measure, or other abstract system) as a standard.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > advantage > usefulness > use (made of things) > use or make use of [verb (transitive)] > specifically a standard, type, etc.
usea1387
a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1865) I. 37 Þe Iewes..haueþ a ȝere of apperynge þat þey vseþ in calculynge and in cronicle.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 28437 Again þe lagh..Haf i wysed fals weght and mette.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 27274 (MED) Vsand oþer weght or mette Again þe lagh in land es sett.
a1500 Tracts Eng. Weights & Meas. 14 in Camden Misc. (1929) XV The dim. nayle ys the lest part of the yard, and it is not gretly usyd, but yf it be in ryght hye price clothe.
1563 J. Shute First Groundes Archit. sig. Biv Afterwardes vsing then the measures of the forsayde Pillours.
1662 E. Stillingfleet Origines Sacræ i. i. §20 They might use the form of the Phœnician Letters.
1706 Act 6 Anne c. 11 §17 That..the same Weights and Measures shall be used throughout the United Kingdom.
?1795 Dict. Literary Conversat. 73 The natives of Peru use decimal progression; they count from one to ten.
1827 J. Veitch Tables Weights & Measures Berwickshire 7 The weight used for Hay..contains 22 pounds..in the Stone.
1883 Times 9 Mar. 4/6 Out of 65 towns selling by measure, only 35 used the Imperial quarter, the others selling by coombs, sacks, loads, bolls, etc.
1907 Athenæum 9 Nov. 589/1 The Elamites appear also to have used a decimal system of notation.
1966 R. Webster Pract. Gemmol. (ed. 4) v. 36 In practice it is usual to use the metric carat weights, or the gramme weights of the metric system.
1995 Daily Tel. 25 Sept. 16/3 I may have learnt metric as a pupil..but, as most of working Britain was still using imperial, I soon forgot it.
c. transitive. To follow (a particular system of exercise) as a means of improving or maintaining health and fitness. Cf. sense 4a.
ΚΠ
1975 G. Yanker & J. M. White Improving Yourself v. 92 One of her friends used yoga every day and looked fifteen years younger than most women her age.
1999 N.Y. Times Mag. 10 Oct. 12/4 I read, I discuss, I pray, I meditate and use yoga, I exercise, I invest only in green companies and I'm kind to children.
2005 D. Lyon Compl. Bk. Pilates for Men i. 8 Athletes, actors, businessmen, and dancers all over the world have used Pilates for decades.
†11. intransitive and transitive (in passive). With in. To meditate on, ponder. Obsolete.In quots. translating the future passive of post-classical Latin exercere in the Vulgate (cf. sense 14a and exercise v. 2a). The King James Bible and the New English Bible both have meditate in all cases (usually with on).
ΚΠ
c1350 Psalter (BL Add. 17376) in K. D. Bülbring Earliest Compl. Eng. Prose Psalter (1891) lxxvi. 12 (MED) Y shal þenchen in alle þyne werkes, and y shal vse [L. exercebor] in alle þy fundynges.
a1500 (c1340) R. Rolle Psalter (Univ. Oxf. 64) (1884) cxviii. §15. 412 In þi comaundmentis i sall be oysid, and i sall be halde þi wayes.
a1500 (c1340) R. Rolle Psalter (Univ. Oxf. 64) (1884) cxviii. §48. 417 In þi rightwisyngis i sall be oysid.
12. transitive. To consume, expend (a commodity, a resource, etc.); (from the late 17th cent.) esp. to take or consume (an amount of something) from a limited supply. Also: to exhaust, wear out. Cf. to use up 1a at Phrasal verbs, to use up 2 at Phrasal verbs.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > advantage > usefulness > use (made of things) > using up, expending, or consuming > use up, expend, or consume [verb (transitive)]
spend1297
usea1382
costa1400
consumea1527
to make a hole (in anything)1591
absorb1686
to use up1712
expend1745
to use off1812
to get through ——1833
to go through ——1949
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1969) Isa. lxv. 22 Þe werkis of þer hondis my chosen vn to ful elde shal vsen [L. opera manuum eorum inveterabunt].
Promptorium Parvulorum (Harl. 221) 522/2 Weryn, or vson, as clothys and other thyngys, vetero.
a1450 tr. Bk. Tribulation (Bodl.) (1983) 78 (MED) Sory may he be that the candel of his knowing vseth al and dispendeth in othres vsage and in his owne dispendith noon.
a1500 tr. A. Chartier Quadrilogue (Rawl.) (1974) 146 The seid mantell..was so vsid [c1475 Univ. Oxf. worne] in waste and in distructione by foor [read soor] strokis, drawyng and halyng that in diuerse placis the ground of the same mantell apperid vncouerid.
1631 B. Jonson Staple of Newes ii. v. 32 in Wks. II You are neere as wretched as my selfe, You dare not vse your money, and I haue none.
1660 F. Brooke tr. V. Le Blanc World Surveyed i. vi. 19 In many great Towns they use much of it; where by reason of their greate heats they distill, or melt the juice out of the canes, and drink it.
1686 R. Plot Nat. Hist. Staffs. iii. 128 For burning a Clamp of 16000 bricks, they use about 7 Tunns of coal.
1699 A. Boyer Royal Dict. at User They use, waste or burn a great deal of Wood in that House.
1747 H. Glasse Art of Cookery To Rdr. p. ii A Cook that used six Pounds of Butter to fry twelve Eggs.
1791 R. Mylne 2nd Rep. Navigation Thames 11 The Millers..were using all the Water as fast as possible.
1849 A. Soyer Mod. Housewife 357 [As] the cream..rises in a froth,..place it on the sieve; continue till all is used.
1876 S. C. J. Ingham White Cross xxxvii I will use all these ill-gotten gains in doing good, while I live poorly myself.
1920 P. J. Fryer Insect Pests & Fungus Dis. Fruit & Hops xii. 127 Sticky-band the trees attacked, using plenty of material; then shake the caterpillars off on to the ground.
1949 Our Industry (Anglo-Iranian Oil Co.) (ed. 2) x. 258 The flexibility possible by varying the amount of oil used and the amount of coke to be gasified.
1992 A. Gray Poor Things (1993) xx. 197 Give me work which uses me utterly!
2007 Independent 24 May 7/3 Electrical appliances left on stand-by use about 7 per cent of all the electricity used in UK homes.
13.
a. transitive. To wear as an item of clothing.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > wearing clothing > [verb (transitive)]
wearc893
weighc897
beareOE
haveOE
usea1382
to get on1679
sport1778
to stand up in1823
take1868
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1959) Exod. xxix. 29 Þe holy cloþ þat aaron schall vse [L. utetur], the sonnes of hym schull han after hym.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Fairf. 14) l. 2048 (MED) Na breke was vsed þan in lande.
a1450 (?a1390) J. Mirk Instr. Parish Priests (Claud.) (1974) l. 1032 Hast þou ben prowde of any gyse, Of any þynge þat þou dedust vse, Of party hosen, of pykede schone.
c1480 (a1400) St. James Less 59 in W. M. Metcalfe Legends Saints Sc. Dial. (1896) I. 151 Na claþs of sylk he wald nocht were, bot lenyne clath he oysit ay.
1537 Irish Act Hen. VIII c. 15 Or use or weare any shirt, smock..mocket, or linnen cappe, coloured or dyed with Saffron.
a1593 C. Marlowe Hero & Leander (1598) i. sig. Aivv Buskins of shels all siluered, vsed she.
1603 R. Knolles Gen. Hist. Turkes 529 The common souldiours vsed thrumd caps.
a1660 Aphorismical Discov. in J. T. Gilbert Contemp. Hist. Ireland (1879) I. 183 How the Councell ussed vizards.
1753 J. Hanway Hist. Acct. Brit. Trade Caspian Sea I. xlii. 286 They also use scull-caps of paper, or a cabbage-leaf under their hats.
a1779 D. Garrick Poet. Wks. (1785) II. lvii. 233 That coat on your back you have bought, and may use it.
1857 R. M. Ballantyne Coral Island iv As they [sc. boots] fitted his large limbs and feet, he consented at last to use them.
1889 J. M. D. Meiklejohn New Hist. Eng. i. 11 Many noble Britons assumed and used the Roman toga.
1941 C. F. Kirkus Let's go Climbing! vi. 96 Scarpetti—rope soled shoes used in the Dolomites—are coming into favour in this country.
1994 Star Tribune (Minneapolis) (Nexis) 1 Aug. 10 a I couldn't even bring myself to wear only briefs—I used boxer shorts.
b. transitive. To exhibit or present (a particular facial expression or appearance); = wear v.1 7.
ΚΠ
1567 G. Fenton tr. M. Bandello Certaine Tragicall Disc. f. 164 I vsed an indifferente countenaunce, exposing no great argument of famylyaritie on their behalfes.
a1614 J. Melville Autobiogr. & Diary (1842) 414 He that is for the King's cause may use what countenance, gesture, and langage he pleis.
1680 Earl of Rochester et al. Poems 137 Strait thy threaten hard (using bad Faces for frowns), To revenge on the Flesh, the default of the Bones.
1763 H. Dean Whole Art of Legerdemain (ed. 7) 98 You must ever remember to use words, countenance and posture, such a grace as may give a grace to the action.
1827 G. Griffin Tales Munster Festivals III. 101 An impatient glance or gesture which he used on every trifling pause made by his companions.
1898 Scribner's Mag. Dec. 690 It was her regular smile, the one she used every evening.
1904 Sunset Aug. 389 If the world seems upside down, Use a smile.
1947 D. Baker in Penguin New Writing 31 66 The same anxious frown she used for the father when he was in one of his tantrums.
2000 B. Lovka Cats Rule! 59 Use a look of innocent surprise when the dish or glass you wanted to knock off the kitchen counter does fall and break.
14.
a. transitive. To employ or put to use (a person, animal, etc.) in some function or capacity. Also in extended use.In early use frequently reflexive in spiritual contexts (cf. sense 11).
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > advantage > usefulness > use (made of things) > use or make use of [verb (transitive)] > specifically a person or animal
usec1384
c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) 2 Macc. iv. 40 Lysymacus almest three thousand aarmyd wickid hondis bygan for to vse [L. uti].
a1425 (?a1400) Benjamin Minor (Harl. 674) in P. Hodgson Deonise hid Diuinite (1955) 45 (MED) Þan schalt þou use þee in þis maner: Þou schalt clepe togeders þi þouȝtes & þi desires.
c1454 R. Pecock Folewer to Donet 89 (MED) If a man vse him silf oft in deedis of meeknesse..þer schal be gendrid in his wil a disposicioun inclynyng þe wil forto do likyngli.
1488 (c1478) Hary Actis & Deidis Schir William Wallace (Adv.) (1968–9) v. l. 27 In Gyllis-land thar was that brachell brede, Sekyr off sent to folow thaim at flede. So was scho vsyt on Esk.
1526 W. Bonde Rosary sig. Aiiiv Vpon the asse, whiche of no man before had been vsed ne exercised.
1541 T. Wyatt Declar. in K. Muir Life & Lett. (1963) 182 I vsed Welden and Swerder..to be spies ouer Brauncetor.
1598 J. Florio Worlde of Wordes The carriers..driue mules, and vse them to carrie.
1602 W. Watson Decacordon Ten Quodlibeticall Questions 214 He had better haue vsed his friend in another matter.
a1627 T. Middleton & W. Rowley Old Law (1656) i. 9 If you want money, to morrow use me.
1671 J. Milton Samson Agonistes 1499 Were not his purpose To use him further yet in some great service. View more context for this quotation
1706 Act 6 Anne c. 16 §6 If any Person..shall keep or use any Greyhounds..to kill and destroy the Game.
1760 tr. A. J. de Salas Barbadillo Lucky Idiot (new ed.) i. 9 She..consented she should use her as his Pleasure, and let him lye at Rack and Manger.
1802 C. James New Mil. Dict. (at cited word) He used his choicest troops on that decisive day.
1875 B. Jowett in tr. Plato Dialogues (ed. 2) V. 54 They used and honoured all the talent which they could find.
1937 G. Heyer They found him Dead xiii. 265 He was picking up a living doing odd jobs for any firm that would use him.
1949 Oxf. Classical Dict. 313/1 The Romans first encountered elephants (‘Lucanian oxen’) in Pyrrhus' army, but seldom used them in battle.
1983 L. R. Miller & K. Gilman Horses at Work 140 Herb told him that, except for a two year stint in the fifties, he had always used horses to farm.
2001 M. Blake 24 Karat Schmooze xiii. 139 Cut a long story short, I helped him out and I reckon he'll want to use me again.
b. transitive. To have sexual intercourse with. In early use also: †to keep (a concubine) (obsolete). Cf. Phrases 1, use n. 1c. Now colloquial (usually with the implication of exploitation).
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sexual relations > sexual activity > engage in sexual activity with [verb (transitive)] > have sexual intercourse with
mingeOE
haveOE
knowc1175
ofliec1275
to lie with (or by)a1300
knowledgec1300
meetc1330
beliea1350
yknowc1350
touchc1384
deala1387
dightc1386
usea1387
takec1390
commona1400
to meet witha1400
servea1400
occupy?a1475
engender1483
jangle1488
to be busy with1525
to come in1530
visitc1540
niggle1567
mow1568
to mix one's thigh with1593
do1594
grind1598
pepper1600
yark1600
tumble1603
to taste of1607
compressc1611
jumble1611
mix?1614
consort?1615
tastea1616
bumfiddle1630
ingressa1631
sheet1637
carnal1643
night-work1654
bump1669
bumble1680
frig?c1680
fuck1707
stick1707
screw1719
soil1722
to do over1730
shag1770
hump1785
subagitatec1830
diddle1879
to give (someone) onec1882
charver1889
fuckeec1890
plugc1890
dick1892
to make a baby1911
to know (a person) in the biblical sense1912
jazz1920
rock1922
yentz1924
roll1926
to make love1927
shtupa1934
to give (or get) a tumble1934
shack1935
bang1937
to have it off1937
rump1937
tom1949
to hop into bed (with)1951
ball1955
to make it1957
plank1958
score1960
naughty1961
pull1965
pleasurea1967
to have away1968
to have off1968
dork1970
shaft1970
bonk1975
knob1984
boink1985
fand-
a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1879) VII. 417 Kyng William..usede lemmans [?a1475 anon. tr. usynge..concubynes] alwey, and deide wiþ oute children.
c1400 (?c1390) Sir Gawain & Green Knight (1940) l. 2426 Alle þay were bi-wyled With wymmen þat þay vsed.
a1450 (c1412) T. Hoccleve De Regimine Principum (Harl. 4866) (1897) l. 1583 Ffor þise causes thow hire vse muste; And for non othir.
a1450 (a1397) Prol. Old Test. (Harl. 1666) in Bible (Wycliffite, L.V.) (1850) 6 Thei that han..newly weddid a wyf, and not vsid hir.
1541 Act 33 Hen. VIII c. 21 If the queene or wife of the prince..stirre any person..to vse or haue carnal knowledge with them.
1565 in F. J. Furnivall Child-marriages, Divorces, & Ratifications Diocese Chester (1897) 201 Hit hath bene told this deponent, that they have vsid either other at bed and board, as man and wief.
1584 R. Scot Discouerie Witchcraft iv. v. 80 Manie are so bewitched, that they cannot vse their owne wiues.
1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Accommoder vne femme, to vse a woman.
1650 J. Bulwer Anthropometamorphosis 197 Bels of gold,..which they put in when they are of age to use Women.
1889 E. Peacock Gloss. Words Manley & Corringham, Lincs. (ed. 2) 590 To use women, to commit fornication or adultery.
1934 H. Miller Tropic of Cancer 34 Nobody gives a fuck about her except to use her.
1970 R. Allen Skinhead vi. 60 Cherry fought. She didn't mind the act itself but she objected to being used in plain sight of these animals.
1996 Grenada Court Rec. in R. Allsopp Dict. Caribbean Eng. Usage 579/2 Joe a big man like you have Pauline under the house using her.
c. transitive. To exploit (a person); to treat (a person) as a means to an end; to manipulate.
ΚΠ
1863 Cornhill Mag. Jan. 115 Though I try to forgive you, I cannot help feeling indignant at the way in which I have been used.
1869 Harper's Mag. Feb. 357/1 I did not say a word. I was sure my aunt was using me.
1977 Rolling Stone 5 May 54/1 I realize that I've been used.
2006 Washington Post 2 Nov. (Home ed.) b3/2 He used her to make money for himself... He shopped her out to friends, family and even strangers.
15.
a. transitive. To put to practical or effective use, esp. as a material or resource; to utilize.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > advantage > usefulness > use (made of things) > use or make use of [verb (transitive)]
noteOE
take?a1160
turnc1175
usec1300
to fare witha1340
benote1340
spenda1400
usea1400
weara1400
naitc1400
occupy1423
to put (also set) in work?a1425
practise?c1430
apply1439
employ?1473
to call upon ——1477
help1489
tew1489
handle1509
exercise1526
improvea1529
serve1538
feed1540
enure1549
to make (also take) (a) use of1579
wield1601
adoperate1612
to avail oneself ofa1616
to avail oneself ofa1616
prevail1617
to make practice of1623
ploy1675
occasion1698
to call on ——1721
subserve1811
nuse1851
utilize1860
a1400 (c1303) R. Mannyng Handlyng Synne (Harl.) l. 2391 Ȝyf þe be leyde a borde to wedde..ȝyf þou hyt vse aȝens hys wylle, holy cherche seyþ þat þou dost ylle.
a1400 Cato's Distichs (Fairf.) l. 152 in R. Morris Cursor Mundi (1878) III. App. iv. 1671 Þat þou has gitin to þe vse hit in honeste. & be noȝt calde niþing.
?c1450 Life St. Cuthbert (1891) l. 1098 In swete mylk sethe floure of wheete, And vyse it whils it hase þe heete.
1486 Bk. St. Albans e iv b At holyrode day he gooth to Ryde, And vsith the bit When he may gete hit.
a1500 (c1340) R. Rolle Psalter (Univ. Oxf. 64) (1884) Prol. 4 Þis boke of all haly writ is mast oysed in halykyrke seruys.
1556 in W. Mackay & H. C. Boyd Rec. Inverness (1911) I. 2 The serwandis quha wes wyrkand and wssand the bot on the loch.
1585 T. Washington tr. N. de Nicolay Nauigations Turkie i. xviii. 21 Vpon high places they vse cesternes, but vppon the plaine..they haue many welles.
1590 T. Lodge Rosalynde: Euphues Golden Legacie f. 52v Playing like the inhabitants of the Ilande Tenerifa , who when they haue gathered the sweete spices, vse the trees for fuel.
1680 J. Moxon Mech. Exercises I. x. 187 When the Wheel is used, its Edge stands athwart the Cheeks of the Lathe.
1696 J. F. Merchant's Ware-house 33 These sorts are indifferent fine, and are..much used for Shifts and Shirts.
1736 N. Bailey Dict. Domesticum at Acorns Both the Acorn and husk, are us'd in many astringent medicines.
1767 Philos. Trans. 1766 (Royal Soc.) 56 96 The heat used in making the spiritous extract.
1833 J. Holland Treat. Manuf. Metal II. 36 In the manufacture of surgeons' instruments.., the very best steel..should be exclusively used.
1876 Encycl. Brit. IV. 367/1 In the old method of bronze-casting, known as the cire perdue, wax is first used for the thickness of the statue..and is melted and run off before the metal is poured in.
1900 Longman's Mag. Mar. 435 I received for answer that the first flower used felt cooler than the second one.
1946 Nature 3 Aug. 150/1 They can be used in darkness as well as daylight, in thick fog or other obscuring atmospheric conditions.
1979 B. Tudor Drawn from New Eng. viii. 62/1 My mother always insisted on using her pretty china and serving tastily cooked food.
2007 J. L. Gould & C. G. Gould Animal Architects iv. 92 Some [wasps] still use paper for both comb and container.
b. transitive. To work, till, occupy, or otherwise make use of (land, ground, etc.).
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > cultivate or till [verb (transitive)]
begoc890
workOE
tillc1200
exercise1382
dightc1400
labourc1400
manure1416
cultive?1483
tilth1496
culture1510
trim1517
dress1526
subdue1535
toil1552
use1558
farm1570
cultivate1588
tame1601
husbandize1625
culturate1631
to take in1845
1558–9 Act 1 Eliz. c. 19 §2 Any the Demean Landes commonly used or occupyed with any suche Mansion or Dwelling House.
1573 T. Tusser Fiue Hundreth Points Good Husbandry (new ed.) f. 6v To get good plot to occupy, and store & vse it husbandly.
1604 E. Grimeston tr. J. de Acosta Nat. & Morall Hist. Indies iv. 209 Although there be..many mines..as at the Indies, yet they vse none but those of gold and silver.
1641 Aldeburgh Rec. in Notes & Queries 12th Ser. 9 146/2 Of Robt. Fowler for a yeeres fearme for the shopp he useth.
1641 Aldeburgh Rec. in Notes & Queries 12th Ser. 9 146/2 Recvd: of Henry Lawrence for usinge the Towne ground.
1736 S. Pegge Alphabet of Kenticisms (E.D.S.) 54 He uses it [sc. land for farming] himself.
1798 J. Sinclair Statist. Acct. Scotl. XX. 72 All that the tenant, in justice to himself, ought to do, is, to labour and use the land to the best advantage.
1802 W. Woodfall Law of Landlord & Tenant x. §2 240 A covenant to use the land in a husbandmanlike manner and to deliver it up in like condition.
1881 Times 26 Feb. 6 Their preaching men must revert to commercial principles and use the land in the way which was found the most profitable.
1909 C. B. Fillebrown ABC of Taxation (ed. 2) ii. vi. 80 As they are fixed to the land, whoever uses the land must use them.
1999 M. Shoard Right to Roam iii. 119 What is more, Locke maintained that ownership should be restricted to the amount of land that an individual could use himself.
III. Senses relating to the actions, behaviour, and habits involved in social interaction.
16.
a. transitive. To speak (a language); to converse, communicate, or write in. Also in extended use.
ΚΠ
c1300 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Otho) (1963) l. 5021 Þorh þe ilke wifmen þat þare wonede longe, þat folk gan to vsi [c1275 Calig. spelien] Yrlondes speche.
c1330 (?a1300) Arthour & Merlin (Auch.) (1973) l. 23 Freynsche vse þis gentil man, Ac euerich Inglische Inglische can.
a1522 G. Douglas in tr. Virgil Æneid (1957) i. Prol. 117 So me behufyt..Sum bastard Latyn, French or Inglys oys.
a1549 A. Borde Fyrst Bk. Introd. Knowl. (1870) i. 120 In England is vsed all maner of languages and speches of alyens in diuers Cities.
1568 Interlud Droichis Part Play 103 in W. T. Ritchie Bannatyne MS (1928) II. 319 Ffor nevir in land quhair Eriche was vsit To dwell had I dellyte.
1668 Bp. J. Wilkins Ess. Real Char. 3 The Language used in Denmark.
1673 J. Milton At Vacation Exercise in Poems (new ed.) 64 Hail native Language,..Here I salute thee and thy pardon ask, That now I use thee in my latter task.
1781 H. Downman tr. Voltaire Mariamne iv. in tr. Voltaire Dramatic Wks. I. 207 What language shall I use? How to thine ear Unfold the rest?
1819 W. Scott Ivanhoe I. ii. 31 The Prior..using the lingua Franca, or mixed language, in which [etc.].
1821 W. Scott Kenilworth III. xi. 211 Can falsehood use thus boldly the language of truth?
1888 A. Jessopp Visitations Diocese of Norwich p. xxxix [He] should be able to use Latin, not merely to understand it.
1911 Encycl. Brit. XIX. 379/2 The Gurkhalis and western tribes use Khas [sc. a language].
1956 Publ. Amer. Dial. Soc. xxvi. 34 In Cuba the practitioners of a religion known as Santeria use a variety of African language called Lucumí in their religious services.
2005 Skin & Ink Feb. 64/2 I started to observe old languages, the old dialects from Mexico, the Nahuatl language, used throughout the Central Valley there.
b. transitive. To utter (a word, a phrase, etc.); to say; (also) to speak with (a particular tone of voice, or a particular style or manner of speech).In cases where the use is not habitual (e.g. quot. 1929), overlapping with branch II.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > speech > speak, say, or utter [verb (transitive)]
speakc825
queatheOE
forthdoc900
i-seggenc900
sayeOE
speak971
meleOE
quidOE
spella1000
forthbringc1000
givec1175
warpa1225
mootc1225
i-schirea1250
upbringa1250
outsay?c1250
spilec1275
talec1275
wisea1300
crackc1315
nevena1325
cast1330
rehearsec1330
roundc1330
spend1362
carpa1375
sermona1382
to speak outc1384
usea1387
minc1390
pronouncea1393
lancec1400
mellc1400
nurnc1400
slingc1400
tellc1400
wordc1400
yelpc1400
worka1425
utterc1444
outspeakc1449
yielda1450
arecchec1460
roose?a1475
cutc1525
to come forth with1532
bubble1536
prolate1542
report1548
prolocute1570
bespeak1579
wield1581
upbraid1587
up with (also mid) ——1594
name1595
upbrayc1600
discoursea1616
tonguea1616
to bring out1665
voice1665
emit1753
lip1789
to out with1802
pitch1811
go1836
to open one's head1843
vocabulize1861
shoot1915
verbal1920
be1982
a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1869) II. 159 (MED) In meny, þe contray longage is apayred and som vseþ strong wlafferynge.
a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) iii. l. 35 (MED) Bot I untrewe wordes use, I mai me noght therof excuse.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Trin. Cambr.) l. 12050 Teche him..Blessyng to vse & not to ban.
1484 W. Caxton tr. Subtyl Historyes & Fables Esope i. Pref. Esope..techeth also to be humble and for to vse wordes.
a1500 (c1340) R. Rolle Psalter (Univ. Oxf. 64) (1884) lxxiii. §23. 267 Na wise man oysis gret athis, in þe whilke werid men vpbraydis god of his mercy.
a1500 Consail & Teiching Vys Man (Cambr. Kk.1.5) in R. Girvan Ratis Raving & Other Early Scots Poems (1939) 74 Oys fare langage in alkyne thinge.
1539 Bible (Great) Ecclus. xxiii. 11 A man yt vseth moch swearing.
1596 J. Harington New Disc. Aiax sig. C2 [When] such phrases..are vsed to ribauldrie.
1621 R. Montagu Diatribæ Hist. Tithes 14 Euery where, either directly, or indirectly, you doe, to use your owne phrase, Cry downe that right.
1655 T. Stanley Hist. Philos. I. i. 56 Using speeches, the effect whereof, he afterwards thus exprest in verse.
a1697 J. Aubrey Brief Lives (1898) II. 26 Dr. Kettle, when he scolded at the idle young boies of his colledge, he used these names,..Rascal-Jacks, Blindcinques, Scobberlotchers.
1728 E. Chambers Cycl. at Viscera This Word is also frequently used singularly, Viscus, to express some particular part of the Entrails.
1793 T. Martyn Lang. Bot. sig. L4 For the same reason, if we use leaf, we must not use foliole.
1817 W. Scott Harold ii. vii. 51 Stern accents made his pleasure known, Though then he used his gentlest tone.
1820 P. B. Shelley Orpheus 100 Nature must lend me words ne'er used before.
1838 E. Bulwer-Lytton Leila ii. i. 64 Thou usest plain language, my friend.
1875 W. S. Jevons Money (1878) 250 We use a great many words with a total disregard of logical precision.
1929 S. Lewis Dodsworth xv. 161 I do not think it's too gracious of you to take the word ‘gigolo’, which I taught you in the first place..and use it against me, my dear polylingual Sam!
1964 E. Palmer tr. A. Martinet Elements Gen. Linguistics iii. 68 In the case of the actor who ‘rolls’ his r's on the stage but uses the ‘throaty’ pronunciation elsewhere, we may rather speak of ‘optional’ variants.
1976 Amer. Speech 48 302 It would be interesting to know how widely it is used.
1991 R. R. McCammon Boy's Life i. i. 17 It hit me what kind of girl used bad words, and what kind of place this was.
c. transitive. To adopt, go by, or assume (a title or specific name).
ΚΠ
1560 J. Daus tr. J. Sleidane Commentaries ii. f. xxvv The archbyshop of Mentz pronounceth that the Bishop of Rome approuynge his Creation; doeth commaunde him hereafter to vse the name of Cesar.
1579 G. Fenton tr. F. Guicciardini Hist. Guicciardin xv. 877 The kinges of Englande dyd not leaue for all that to continue and vse the title of King of Fraunce.
1614 J. Selden Titles of Honor i. ii. 20 Nor hee, nor others long after him, vsed the title of King in their Letters, Commissions, Embassages, nor otherwise but alwaies Emperor.
1732 Gentleman's Mag. Dec. 491/2 Letters Decretal, containing Reprimands against them both, for allowing the Infant Don Carlos to use the Title of Great Prince, by which he forfeits the Feudality.
1759 S. Fielding Hist. Countess of Dellwyn II. viii. 226 Lady Dellwyn had been in some Doubt, whether to assume a feigned Name, or continue to use the Title which Courtesy gave her.
1825 W. O. Russell & E. Ryan Crown Cases Index 562 Such person would equally have taken the bill had the prisoner used his real name.
1881 Daily Kennebec Jrnl. (Augusta, Maine) 28 June She used her maiden name and recently engaged herself to marry.
1921 Dentists Act (11 & 12 Geo. V, c. 21) §4 A person registered..shall be..entitled to take and use the description of dentist or dental practitioner.
1934 Sci. News Let. 3 Mar. 133/2 Mme. Joliot in her scientific work uses her maiden name.
1972 E. Sanders Family iii. 68 Manson used to hang out on the Sunset Strip using the name Chuck Summers.
2006 Hoosier Times (Bloomington, Indiana) 30 Apr. (Herald-Times ed.) f1/2 Ever wonder why auctioneers sometimes use the honorary title ‘Colonel’?
17. With adverb or adverbial phrase.
a. transitive. To treat in a specified manner, esp. to behave or act towards (another person) in a particular way. Now somewhat archaic.Especially common from the mid 16th to the mid 18th centuries.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > behaviour > follow (a course of behaviour) [verb (transitive)] > behave towards
ateec1000
leadc1175
makec1175
farec1230
beleadc1275
dightc1275
beseec1300
servec1300
treatc1374
usea1382
proceeda1393
demean1393
to deal witha1400
treatc1400
to do to ——a1425
entreat?a1425
handc1440
ferea1450
entertain1490
ray1509
to do unto ——?1523
tract1548
deal1573
to carry a strict (also severe, etc.) hand over (also upon, to)c1591
play1597
to comport with1675
to behave towards or to1754
usen1814
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1959) Gen. xii. 16 Þe womman was taken into þe house of pharao; Abram forsoþe þey wele vsiden [L. bene usi sunt] for here, & þer wern to hym schepe & oxen.
1484 W. Caxton tr. G. de la Tour-Landry Bk. Knight of Tower (1971) lxxx. 110 They wold vse her of an enorme and ouer foule faytte.
1542 N. Udall tr. Erasmus Apophthegmes f. 171 Many noble menne vsen their frendes none other wyse.
1569 R. Grafton Chron. II. 804 Then he that tolde him the tale vsed him with good wordes.
a1593 C. Marlowe Edward II (1594) sig. K3v Vse Edmund friendly, as if all were well.
1639 in F. P. Verney & M. M. Verney Mem. Verney Family 17th Cent. (1907) I. 106 My Collonel useth me with very greate courtesy.
1680 T. Otway Orphan ii. 17 But use me gently like a loving Brother.
1709 R. Steele Tatler No. 11. ⁋4 I am used by some People as if Isaac Bickerstaff..was no Body.
1768 L. Sterne Sentimental Journey I. 181 'Tis..using him worse than a German.
1789 E. Sheridan Let. in Betsy Sheridan's Jrnl. (1986) vii. 169 I saw Miss Cholmondeley there in very bad preservation. Time has used her..scurvily.
1859 Ld. Tennyson Merlin & Vivien 534 in Idylls of King So used as I, My daily wonder is, I love at all.
1863 A. W. Kinglake Invasion of Crimea I. 311 They won France. They used her hard.
1888 ‘J. S. Winter’ Bootle's Children iv. 26 I didn't use poor Bill any too well.
1928 Amer. Mercury Oct. 202/2 Hard work had used her beauty badly.
1986 S. Penman Here be Dragons (1991) (U.K. ed.) ii. v. 619 But he is also a decent young man, would never use you ill.
†b. intransitive. = sense 17c. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > behaviour > behave, conduct, or bear oneself [verb (intransitive)]
i-bereeOE
workeOE
makeOE
fere1154
walka1200
steera1250
to take onc1275
fare1340
to fare with oneself1340
containa1375
to let latesa1400
usea1400
dealc1400
rulea1425
act1593
comport1616
carry1650
deport1667
demean1678
behave1721
conduct1754
to carry on1828
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Fairf. 14) l. 24931 Bot now men vsis on oþer-wise, þer is mare of hir seruise.
a1400 Ancrene Riwle (Pepys) (1976) 45 Now stodie, now bidde, now wirche..vse as þise verses seien & þan may þou wel queme god.
1481 F. Makintosche in H. Rose & L. Shaw Geneal. Deduction Family of Rose of Kilravock (1848) 145 To stand, ouys and byid at the consall off the said Huchone Rois..in all actionis lesome.
1523 Ld. Berners tr. J. Froissart Cronycles I. xv. 15 Kyng Edward..and ye quene his mother..vsed moche after ye counsell of syr Thomas Wage.
1579 L. Tomson tr. J. Calvin Serm. Epist. S. Paule to Timothie & Titus 181/1 And therfore we haue to vse of our selues modestly.
c. transitive (reflexive). To act, behave, or conduct one's affairs in a specified manner.Especially common in the 16th cent.; becoming much less common after the mid 18th cent. In later use often overlapping with sense 14a, in reference to applying oneself to a particular job, role, or task.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > behaviour > behave or conduct oneself [verb (reflexive)]
wieldOE
leadc1175
bear?c1225
steera1250
to take onc1275
contain1297
to shift one's handa1300
demeanc1320
guyc1325
govern1340
keep1362
havec1390
rulec1390
guide14..
conceivea1425
maintain?a1425
maynea1425
behavec1440
disporta1450
orderc1487
use1497
handle?1529
convey1530
gesture1542
treat1568
carry1584
deport1598
bestow1606
comport1616
mienc1680
conduct1706
1497 Rolls of Parl.: Henry VII (Electronic ed.) Parl. Jan. 1497 §10. m. 4 Every persone frely to use theym self to his moost avauntage, withoute exaccion.
a1513 H. Bradshaw Lyfe St. Werburge (1521) i. xxi. sig. h.i He folowed, saynt Werburge counsell Vsynge hym after, her swete ghostly doctryne.
1547 A. Borde Breuiary of Helthe i. f. lxxxiiiiv Thus vsinge my selfe I thanke god I did make my self whole.
1590 Southampton Court Leet Rec. (1906) ii. 285 Being called before vs, [they] vsed themselves contemtuously.
1621 M. Wroth Countesse of Mountgomeries Urania 307 Who comming to my fathers house, vsed himselfe..insolently.
a1648 Ld. Herbert Life Henry VIII (1649) 267 Hee used himself more like a Fellow to your Highnesse, than like a Subject.
1653 tr. F. Carmeni Nissena 108 Excusing himself for that he had not before used himself with such obsequiousness towards them as he ought.
1739 J. Miller Hosp. for Fools 10 As a jealous Husband uses a Woman ill himself, so a tame one is the cause of a Woman's using herself ill.
1748 S. Richardson Clarissa III. vi. 53 She loves to use herself hardily.
1860 C. M. Yonge Hopes & Fears I. 387 Her eyes were on the alert to judge how he had been using himself in the last half-year.
1920 F. S. Fitzgerald This Side of Paradise i. iv. 154 You're implying that I haven't used myself very well?
2002 J. Caspi & W. J. Reid Educ. Supervision in Social Work v. 128 Supervisors change how they behave (or use themselves) with different supervisees and according to individual skill development.
18.
a. transitive. To visit (a place, now esp. a public house) frequently or habitually; to frequent; to haunt. Also: to inhabit, dwell in.
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabiting temporarily > haunting or resorting > haunt [verb (transitive)]
hauntc1290
usea1382
resortc1450
enhaunt1530
practise1553
frequent1555
dog1600
habituate1872
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(1)) (1850) Isa. xxii. 2 Thou steȝedist vp..in to the rooues, ful of cry, myche vsid cite [a1425 L.V. a citee of myche puple; L. urbs frequens], cite ful out ioȝende? thi slayne not slayn with swerd.
?a1425 (c1400) Mandeville's Trav. (Titus C.xvi) (1919) 204 Ȝif the marchauntes vseden als moche þat contre as þei don Cathay, it wolde ben better þan Cathay in a schort while.
Promptorium Parvulorum (Harl. 221) 512/2 Vsyn, or hawntyn, frequento.
1528 in I. S. Leadam Select Cases Star Chamber (1911) II. 175 All iiij [have] eusyd & occupyd the market and inhaunsyd the pryse of grayne.
1535 Bible (Coverdale) Jer. ii. 23 Like a wilde Asse, that vseth the wildernesse.
1611 in B. Camm Benedictine Martyr in Eng. (1897) 268 The other was Mr. Somers, alias Wilson, who used London altogether.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Measure for Measure (1623) iii. i. 476 [I am] Not of this Countrie, though my chance is now To vse it for my time. View more context for this quotation
1657 A. Cokayne Obstinate Lady i. i. 5 Use the Tavern once or twice a day.
1686 tr. J. Chardin Coronation Solyman 143 in Trav. Persia Forty large Barques, such as use the Caspian Sea.
1708 London Gaz. No. 4427/16 He useth the Queen's-head Ale-house.
1725 H. Sloane Voy. Islands II. 320 It uses more the low sandy inland parts than the plovers, snipes, &c.
1847 W. M. Thackeray Vanity Fair (1848) xxxviii. 342 He did not fail to tell everybody who ‘used the room’.
1884 Good Words June 399/2 Your ordinary thief..may..lord it in the public-houses he ‘uses’.
1927 Amer. Speech 2 366 Groundhogs use those rocks.
1938 F. Chester Shot Full xxv. 285 I used to frequent a number of public-houses, used by ‘the boys’, as criminals are known among the English.
1982 Times 10 Nov. 18/5 The intention to use the house or the practice of using the house throughout the year was not essential to the building being a dwelling house.
1997 D. Lessing Walking in Shade (1998) 48 She had been in the pub used by Louis MacNeice and George Barker, near the BBC.
b. intransitive. To go habitually or frequently to a place or (occasionally) a person, a service, etc.; = repair v.1 3a. Also with into and adverbs, as thither, where, etc. Now English regional and rare.
ΚΠ
a1470 T. Malory Morte Darthur (Winch. Coll.) 1105 I am a jantill-woman that usyth here in this foreyste huntynge.
1488 (c1478) Hary Actis & Deidis Schir William Wallace (Adv.) (1968–9) i. l. 209 In-to the toun he vsyt everilk day.
1488 (c1478) Hary Actis & Deidis Schir William Wallace (Adv.) (1968–9) ii. l. 290 He wsyt offt to that religious place.
c1576 T. Whythorne Autobiogr. (1961) 96 Sum who ywzed to her hows sumtyms to shew such frendship.
1590 in Publ. Catholic Rec. Soc. (1908) 5 181 [They] be good witnesses..howe many severall persons have vsed to the saienge of masses.
1592 in J. Morris Troubles Catholic Forefathers (1875) (modernized text) 2nd Ser. 54 Cotton did use thither divers times.
1615 T. Overbury et al. New & Choise Characters with Wife (6th impr.) sig. M Shee vses to Cunning women to know how many husbands shee shall haue.
1653 H. Holcroft tr. Procopius Persian Wars ii. 51 in tr. Procopius Hist. Warres Justinian Then shall you by our Countrey have the conveniencie of using to Roman Seas.
1699 B. E. New Dict. Canting Crew Flash-ken, a House where Thieves use.
1861 H. Mayhew London Labour (new ed.) II. 475/2 The master of the hotel or the gents that uses there.
1888 F. T. Elworthy W. Somerset Word-bk. 794 They zess how he do use in to Green Dragon purty much.
c. intransitive. To stay, dwell, reside; to be present in or go to a place (or occasionally a person) habitually or frequently; to frequent or haunt a place. Also figurative. Now chiefly U.S. regional (southern and south Midland).In later use chiefly of groups of animals.In quot. 14882 transitive (reflexive) with intransitive meaning.
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > [verb (intransitive)]
wonc725
erdec893
siteOE
liveeOE
to make one's woningc960
through-wonOE
bigc1175
walkc1225
inwonea1300
lenda1300
lenga1300
lingera1300
erthec1300
stallc1315
lasta1325
lodge1362
habit?a1366
breeda1375
inhabitc1374
indwella1382
to have one's mansionc1385
to take (up) one's inn (or inns)a1400
keepc1400
repairc1400
to have (also hold, keep, make) one's residencec1405
to hold (also keep, make, take, etc.) one's mansiona1425
winc1425
to make (one's) residence1433
resort1453
abidec1475
use1488
remaina1500
demur1523
to keep one's house1523
occupy1523
reside1523
enerdc1540
kennel1552
bower1596
to have (also hold, keep, make) residence1597
subsist1618
mansiona1638
tenant1650
fastena1657
hospitate1681
wont1692
stay1754
to hang out1811
home1832
habitate1866
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabiting temporarily > haunting or resorting > haunt or resort [verb (intransitive)]
floatc1315
haunta1375
repaira1393
resort1432
abraid?a1439
accustomc1475
use1488
frequent1577
howff1808
1488 (c1478) Hary Actis & Deidis Schir William Wallace (Adv.) (1968–9) i. l. 345 Schyrreff he was and wsyt thaim amang.
1488 (c1478) Hary Actis & Deidis Schir William Wallace (Adv.) (1968–9) xii. l. 1031 Ȝhe haiff so lang her oysyt ȝow allane Quhill witt tharoff is in-till Ingland gane.
a1572 J. Knox Hist. Reformation Scotl. in Wks. (1846) I. 127 Hie preached commonlie at the kirk of Gaston and used much in the Barr.
1597 A. Montgomerie Cherrie & Slae 97 Muisses that vses, at fountaine Helicon.
1599 Sir R. Wrothe in H. Ellis Orig. Lett. Eng. Hist. (1827) 2nd Ser. III. 181 Sertaine lewde fellowes..doe frequente and use aboute Layton heath.
1602 N. Breton Mothers Blessing sig. B3 Presumptuous fooles, and irreligious Iewes, Emong the Nobler sort should neuer vse.
?1610 J. Fletcher Faithfull Shepheardesse iii. sig. F4 I will giue thee for thy food, No Fish that vseth in the mudd.
a1618 J. Sylvester tr. Battail of Yvry in tr. G. de S. Du Bartas Diuine Weekes & Wks. (1621) 1101 Even as a Galley, in smooth Sea subdues The tallest Ship that in The Straights doth vse.
1628 T. May tr. Virgil Georgicks iii. 93 Snakes, that use within the house for shade, Securely lurk.
1638 J. Milton Lycidas in Obsequies 24 in Justa Edouardo King Ye valleys low, where the mild whispers use Of shades and wanton winds.
1663 in Extracts State Papers (Friends' Hist. Soc.) (1911) 2nd Ser. 168 When he is in London he vseth frequently at Mr. Lawries howse.
1707 H. Sloane Voy. Islands I. p. xviii Care must be taken they [sc. fish] be not poysonous, this is known by the places where they use.
1770 G. Washington Diary (1925) I. 424 On this Creek many Buffaloes use.
1834 J. Hall Kentucky II. 40 ‘But you seem acquainted with these woods.’ ‘Yes, I use about here some.’
1884 ‘M. Twain’ Adventures Huckleberry Finn vi. 45 If he didn't quit using around there she would make trouble for him.
1888 F. T. Elworthy W. Somerset Word-bk. 794 The rabbits do use here ter'ble.
1930 W. Faulkner As I lay Dying 173 We'll use in the shed yonder. I know it's an imposition on you.
1949 H. Hornsby Lonesome Valley 269 Cattle used somewhere around here.
†19.
a. intransitive. To associate or have dealings with. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > social relations > have social communication with [verb (transitive)]
intercommunec1374
dealc1380
usec1384
intercommonc1430
resort?1518
minglea1593
use1594
intercoursea1604
sociate1635
to keep termsa1673
shoulder1851
tangle1928
society > inhabiting and dwelling > [verb (intransitive)] > together
usec1384
hive1600
cohabit1601
cohabitate1624
co-inhabit1624
roof1636
to move in1850
to live in each other's pockets1934
shack1935
to live together1961
society > society and the community > social relations > association, fellowship, or companionship > associate with [verb (transitive)]
seeOE
drawc1275
mella1300
meeta1325
fellow1340
usec1384
conjoinc1386
joinc1390
knitc1400
accompany1461
enfellowship1470
frequent1477
haunt1477
mixa1513
encompanya1533
combinea1535
contract1548
to take with ——1562
associate1581
to have a saying toa1593
cope1594
sort1594
to take in1597
consort1600
herd1606
factionate1611
to keep company (with)a1616
accost1633
solder1641
converse1649
walk1650
consociate1653
coalite1734
to get with ——a1772
forgather1786
unionize1810
to go rounda1867
to mix in1870
cop1940
society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > marriage or wedlock > types of marriage custom or practice > [verb (transitive)] > cohabit with
usec1384
to live with ——1661
c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) John iv. 9 Jewis vsen [L. coutuntur] not with Samaritans.
1559 W. Barker Nobility of Women (1904) 141 The daughters of lot, wch vsed carnallye wth their ffather.
1566 T. Sternhold & J. Hopkins Whole Bk. Psalms xxvi. 4 I do not lust to haunt or vse, with men whose deeds are vayne.
b. transitive. To associate with (a person). Cf. Phrases 1. Obsolete. rare.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > social relations > have social communication with [verb (transitive)]
intercommunec1374
dealc1380
usec1384
intercommonc1430
resort?1518
minglea1593
use1594
intercoursea1604
sociate1635
to keep termsa1673
shoulder1851
tangle1928
1594 in Publ. Catholic Rec. Soc. (1908) 5 262 At my being there I could not heare or perceyue he used any Inglishman much.
IV. To accustom; to be accustomed to.
20.
a. To make (a person, animal, etc.) accustomed to something by habit, practice, or exposure; to habituate, accustom, familiarize; to inure.
†(a) transitive. With in. In early use: spec. to train in a craft, skill, etc. Obsolete (Scottish and archaic after early 17th cent.).
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > behaviour > customary or habitual mode of behaviour > do habitually [verb (transitive)] > accustom (a person)
weanc960
wonc1175
to teach to1297
usec1300
usec1405
accustom1422
wontc1440
custom?c1450
enure1489
inure1489
induce1490
habituate1530
ure1530
usage1530
trade1539
to trade up1556
exercise1558
flesh1591
habit?1615
habitate1621
occasion1684
usen1715
usen1861
ethize1876
c1300 St. Edmund Rich (Harl.) l. 81 in C. D'Evelyn & A. J. Mill S. Eng. Legendary (1956) 495 In penance he was so wel yused & þeron ȝung ibroȝt Þat..hit negreuede him riȝt noȝt.
a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1876) VI. 289 (MED) He þat was idel..meoveþ hym to batayle þat is i-used in dedes of armes.
a1425 (?a1400) Bk. Priue Counseling in P. Hodgson Cloud of Unknowing (1944) 172 Þou arte not used in þis werk, & þerfore it is more peynful to þee.
1489 W. Caxton tr. C. de Pisan Bk. Fayttes of Armes i. viii. B ij b To see his men vsed & wel taught in the said art and fait of armes.
a1500 (c1340) R. Rolle Psalter (Univ. Oxf. 64) (1884) cxviii. 71 It is profetabil till me þat þou oysid me in sere temptaciouns.
a1525 Eng. Conquest Ireland (Trin. Dublin) (1896) 22 Throgh kynd of ffraunce, we ben vsed in wepene.
1534 in I. S. Leadam Select Cases Star Chamber (1911) II. 211 Compleynaunt hathe vseyd hymselfe in exercysyng the fete of bakyng.
1606 G. Chapman Gentleman Vsher v. sig. H4v Vsing thy husband in those vertuous gifts: For which, thou first didst choose him.
a1826 in F. J. Child Eng. & Sc. Pop. Ballads (1890) IV. 98/1 She took my gay lord frae my side, And used him in her company.
(b) transitive. With to (formerly also occasionally with †of, †till). Frequently reflexive. Now somewhat archaic except as preserved in sense 20d.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > behaviour > customary or habitual mode of behaviour > do habitually [verb (reflexive)] > accustom oneself
wonc1175
usec1300
enhaunt1549
familiarize1593
wont1603
acclimatize1853
to play in1894
c1300 St. Edmund Rich (Harl.) l. 47 in C. D'Evelyn & A. J. Mill S. Eng. Legendary (1956) 494 Þis children..werede here here þrie a wyke oþer tueye atte leste; So longe hi hem vsede [c1300 Laud woneden] þerto þat hi hem nome oftere mo.
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(1)) (1850) Ecclus. xxiii. 9 To swering vse not thi mouth.
a1438 Bk. Margery Kempe (1940) i. 91 (MED) Sche had been vsed to swech tokenys a-bowt xxv ȝer at þe writyng of þis boke.
?c1450 tr. Bk. Knight of La Tour Landry (1906) 9 Suche lyff as ye will contynue use you to in youre youthe.
1484 W. Caxton tr. G. de la Tour-Landry Bk. Knight of Tower (1971) lv. 79 So were the seuen Cytees brenned..by cause that they were moche vsed of the fylthe & ordure of lechery.
a1500 R. Henryson tr. Æsop Fables: Two Mice l. 220 in Poems (1981) 12 To tender meit my stomok is ay vsit, For quhy I fair alsweill as ony lord.
1535 Bible (Coverdale) Ecclus. xxiii. 13 Vse not thy mouth to vnhonest and fylthye talkynge.
1555 R. Eden tr. Peter Martyr of Angleria Decades of Newe Worlde i. x. f. 49 Such as haue byn vsed to owr breade made of wheate.
1607 E. Topsell Hist. Foure-footed Beastes 80 It is requisite that they bee alwaie vsed to hand.
1615 J. Loiseau de Tourval tr. H. de Feynes Exact Surv. E. Indies 39 Those who have us'd themselves to Tobacco.
a1648 Ld. Herbert Life (1976) 35 You shall doe well also to vse your horse to swimming.
1682 tr. J. Goedaert Of Insects 54 The Catterpillar..as soon as it perceives any thing it is not us't to.
1719 D. Defoe Life Robinson Crusoe 247 Using himself to them [sc. garments], at length he took to them very well.
1740 Ld. Chesterfield Let. 29 July (1827) I. 106 To use your ear a little to English verse.
1769 O. Goldsmith Rom. Hist. I. 402 Having used his body much to antidotes, the poison had but little effect.
a1818 M. G. Lewis Jrnl. W. India Proprietor (1834) 296 Mithridates used himself to poisons.
1850 H. C. Watson Camp-fires Revol. 183 I 've seen men use themselves to going without sleep for three or four days at a time.
1877 Mrs. Lear tr. Fenelon Spiritual Lett. 240 God deprives you of it so as to wean you like a child, and use you to dry bread instead of milk.
1914 Govt. Belgian Refugees Comm.: Minutes of Evid. 123/1 in Parl. Papers 1914–16 (Cd. 7779) VII. 539 Men who have been used to this [sc. the manufacture of glass for laboratories].
1926 J. Devanny Butcher Shop i. 11 He could never use himself to the torment of the animals.
1948 M. Carbery & E. Grey Herts. Heritage 149 Th' mare aint never carried a lady: we'll ev to use 'er to it.
1987 I. Sinclair White Chappell Scarlet Tracings xviii. 140 Nothing uses me to it.
(c) transitive. With to and infinitive. Now only in passive in past tense, semantically approaching sense 21a. Now regional and rare.Some passive examples in the late 18th and 19th centuries show a transition towards sense 20c(b).
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > behaviour > customary or habitual mode of behaviour > do habitually [verb (transitive)] > accustom (a person)
weanc960
wonc1175
to teach to1297
usec1300
usec1405
accustom1422
wontc1440
custom?c1450
enure1489
inure1489
induce1490
habituate1530
ure1530
usage1530
trade1539
to trade up1556
exercise1558
flesh1591
habit?1615
habitate1621
occasion1684
usen1715
usen1861
ethize1876
c1405 (c1390) G. Chaucer Parson's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) §171 For to vsen a man to doon goode werkes.
a1464 J. Capgrave Abbreuiacion of Cron. (Cambr. Gg.4.12) (1983) 26 Mount Athlans..took his name of þis king; for he was mech vsed to dwelle in þat hil.
1526 W. Bonde Pylgrimage of Perfection iii. sig. aviv Wherby man..be accustomed & vsed to chose..ye thyng yt is of lesse goodnesse.
1560 J. Daus tr. J. Sleidane Commentaries f. ccxxxjv That they do eschew all..Idle talke, and vse their familie to do lykewyse.
a1568 R. Ascham Scholemaster (1570) ii. f. 31 For translating, vse you your selfe..to chose out, some Epistle..of Tullie.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Coriolanus (1623) iii. iii. 25 He hath bene vs'd Euer to conquer. View more context for this quotation
1645 J. Howell Epistolæ Ho-elianæ i. xxiv. 66 This City was us'd to fetch all those Spices.
1688 T. Shadwell Squire of Alsatia ii. i. 29 Some moderate skill in it will use a man to reason closely.
1720 B. Mandeville Free Thoughts 248 St. Poinct..was used to ask, whether the Farce..was ready to be acted.
1783 J. O. Justamond tr. G. T. F. Raynal Philos. Hist. Europeans in Indies (new ed.) VII. 91 It is not..surprising that the seal..should use her little ones to live under water.
1796 F. Burney Camilla IV. viii. vii. 329 I'm not used to be used in this manner!
1814 W. Scott Waverley III. vii. 94 He wanted to use her by degrees to live without meat. View more context for this quotation
a1866 J. Keble Lett. Spiritual Counsel & Guidance (1870) 104 Using themselves when they wake in the night to rise and say the fifty-first Psalm.
1886 D. C. Murray Aunt Rachel i. 14 Her was used to say the gell's heart was fixed on somebody at Heydon Hay.
1888 ‘J. S. Winter’ Bootle's Children xi. 86 Which..had stirred Terry's heart just as it had been used to stir it years and years ago.
1972 M. Townshend in A. J. Seymour New Writing in Caribbean 264 Mammy, you forget me used was to cut me own gun outa wood same way.
(d) transitive. With with. Scottish in later use (now only as preserved in sense 20c).
ΚΠ
a1450 ( tr. Vegetius De Re Militari (Douce) (1988) 99 (MED) Þey moste also ben vsed wiþ dartes and speres to caste att þe stake þat standiþ for a mark, as it were an enemy.
a1500 Ratis Raving (Cambr. Kk.1.5) l. 224 in R. Girvan Ratis Raving & Other Early Scots Poems (1939) 7 With wordis of lawte vs thy twnge.
1564 T. Becon New Catech. in Wks. 320 This verye selfe same bodye..whiche vseth it selfe here with the soule in all maner of good workes.
1587 R. Holinshed et al. Hist. Scotl. (new ed.) 391/2 in Holinshed's Chron. (new ed.) II This man had accesse unto the queene to plaie at cards, and to use hir with other courtlie pastimes.
1682 G. Keith Truths Def. viii. 125 A help to their weakness, who were much used with outward Signs.
1711 J. Anderson Countrey-man's Let. to Curat 85 Many..had been used with the English Liturgie..at London.
1758 in J. G. Dunlop Dunlop Papers (1953) III. 103 I am so little used with bad health.
1835 D. Webster Orig. Sc. Rhymes 115 I had little been used wi' sic resolute foes.
b. transitive (in passive). In the past tense, with to be. = sense 21b. Now rare.
ΚΠ
1598 R. Grenewey tr. Tacitus Annales i. vii. 11 These bands were of extraordinary choise men, and stronger then any other were vsed to be.
1650 J. Bulwer Anthropometamorphosis App. 259 The Waste (as one notes) is now come to the Knee; for the Points that were used to be about the Middle, are now dangling there.
a1680 S. Butler Mercurius Menippeus (1682) 6 You would think the Church as well as Religion were invers'd, and the Anticks, which were used to be without, were removed into the Pulpit.
1780 F. Burney Let. May in Early Jrnls. & Lett. (2003) IV. 114 She was used to be my constant Elbow Companion, & most smiling Greeter.
1820 P. Sebright Coincidence II. vi. 224 You are more melancholy and silent, Sandwich, than was used to be your custom.
1863 ‘G. Eliot’ Romola II. ii. xvi. 27 A sister whose eyelids were used to be bent and whose lips were used to move in silent iteration.
2004 J. Stockton Chicago's Best Dive Bars 117 I was looking for a polka lounge and found a used-car lot where the lounge was used to be.
c. transitive (in passive). With to. Also (Scottish) with with. Frequently in to get used to.
(a) To be familiar or comfortable with something; to have come to accept a particular state of affairs.
ΚΠ
a1794 E. Gibbon Crit. Observ. 6th Bk. Æneid in Misc. Wks. (1796) II. 520 Those who are used to the laboured happiness of all Horace's expressions will readily allow [etc.].
1799 T. R. Malthus Diary 12 June (1966) 60 The Norwegians who are used to the flad brod made of oatmeal always find the rye bread disagree with them.
1804 C. B. Brown tr. C. F. de Volney View Soil & Climate U.S.A. 405 ‘At first,’ said he, ‘they seemed to confine my limbs; then I got used to them; and as they are a defence against the heat and the cold, I now like them.’
1815 W. Scott Guy Mannering III. xvi. 314 The like o' them's used wi' graves and ghaists.
1832 B. Disraeli Contarini Fleming IV. vi. vi. 179 The friar smiled, and was evidently used to this raillery.
1839 T. Hook Gurney Married ii. 155 I suppose we shall both mend as we get use to it.
1864 A. B. Longstreet Master William Mitten 122 His new clothes ‘scratched him mightily at first, but he had got use to them,’ as he wrote to his mother.
1872 ‘G. Eliot’ Middlemarch IV. viii. lxxiv. 211 She needed time to get used to her maimed consciousness, her poor lopped life.
1920 D. Lindsay Voy. Arcturus i. 2 He was used to such receptions at the hands of the sex.
1954 Bulletin (Glasgow) 12 Feb. 7 I heard no complaints about noise at all. ‘Ye get used wi' it,’ they said.
1975 B. Dylan If you see her, say Hello in Lyrics 1962–85 (1985) 369 I've never gotten used to it, I've just learned to turn it off.
1992 Playboy Dec. 223/3 She's used to it. Even in the beginning she was never jealous.
1993 Pop. Mech. Aug. 6/3 As a female reader, I've gotten use to the ‘babes’ in the boats with very little clothing on.
2006 Ace Tennis Oct. 38/4 They had time..to get their eye in and get used to the courts, balls and surroundings.
(b) With a gerund. To have come to expect a particular course of events to unfold; to have grown familiar with a given action, procedure, or situation. Cf. sense 20a(c).Active reflexive examples with the gerund are occasionally found in the 19th cent.: see quot. 1850 at sense 20a(b).
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > behaviour > customary or habitual mode of behaviour > do habitually [verb (transitive)] > accustom (a person) > adapt to circumstances > become accustomed to
use1807
to shake down into1861
1807 Parl. Reg. (1st Session 3rd Parl.) II. 25 The general principle of the honourable gentleman was, that because Hampshire was used to being wronged, its wrongs should never be redressed.
1841 C. M. Sawyer Merchant's Widow ii. 44 I am used to having everything my own way.
1869 Sci. Amer. 18 Sept. 182/2 It requires a little practice to get used to working the bow.
1875 H. James Roderick Hudson ii. 48 No one..was used to offering hollow welcomes or telling polite fibs.
1887 R. L. Stevenson Underwoods ii. x. 112 Less used wi' guidin' horse-shoe airn Than steerin' crowdie.
1922 T. E. Lawrence Let. 1 Sept. (1938) 365 I'll have got used to being a dog's body.
1938 A. Berkeley Not to be Taken iv. 84 I am not used to bandying words with maids.
1962 D. St. Clair tr. C. M. de Jesus Child of Dark 151 I told him that I'd never get use to riding in a caravan.
1997 R. Elliot Painless Grammar 175 We are so use to seeing and hearing certain words and phrases misused that we often don't even notice them when we proofread.
1999 in D. Bolger Ladies' Night at Finbar's Hotel 76 She was well used to entertaining herself.
2007 Ecologist July 72/1 In our throwaway culture we've got used to binning things when they're broken or unwanted.
d. intransitive. Scottish. To become accustomed or inured to something. Also with with. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > behaviour > customary or habitual mode of behaviour > act habitually [verb (intransitive)] > become accustomed
inure1598
want1627
use1836
to shake down1864
1836 T. Carlyle Let. in Atlantic Monthly Sept. (1898) 295/1 ‘You will use, you will use,’ and get hefted to the place, as all creatures do.
1842 J. W. Carlyle Lett. (1883) I. 158 If I do not use to the noise.
1894 S. R. Crockett Raiders 284 So soon does one use to the sight.
a1917 E. C. Smith Braid Haaick (1927) 23 Ee can uize wui a nail up eer fit, mun!
21. intransitive. With to-infinitive (formerly also †for to and infinitive; also occasionally (chiefly Irish English) with bare infinitive). To be accustomed or wont to do something. Also with to be and other verbs indicating a state, condition, form, place, etc. (in early use frequently of inanimate objects). Now usually in past tense (see sense 21b).
a. In uses not referring to past actions. Now Caribbean (chiefly in Trinidad and Tobago).Obsolete in standard British and American English by the mid 19th cent.
(a) In affirmative contexts without do-construction.Formerly also in infinitive with modal auxiliaries, in imperative, and in present participle.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > behaviour > customary or habitual mode of behaviour > act habitually [verb (intransitive)] > be accustomed to do something > of things
to do or be…gladlyc1385
use1547
α.
1340 Ayenbite (1866) 113 (MED) Vor ine al his lyue..he ne miȝte naȝt do uoluellinde penonce of one dyadliche zenne yef god wolde usy to yelde dom.
a1400 (c1303) R. Mannyng Handlyng Synne (Harl.) l. 2661 Sum vse for curtesye To speke nobly, and ȝyt wyl lye.
a1400 (c1303) R. Mannyng Handlyng Synne (Harl.) l. 691 (MED) Ryche men vse comunly Sweryn grete oþys grysly.
a1500 (?a1450) Gesta Romanorum (Harl. 7333) (1879) 12 His modir vsith euery day gretly to sorowe.
1542 N. Udall tr. Erasmus Apophthegmes f. 43 Such as the beggerye philosophiers..usen to weare.
1542 N. Udall tr. Erasmus Apophthegmes f. 44 For in the same solemnitees menne usen of a coustome..to bee gayly & trymmely apparelled.
1547 Certain Serm. or Homilies Salvation iii. ⁋7 Therfore scripture vseth to saie, that faithe without woorkes dooth iustifie.
?1573 L. Lloyd Pilgrimage of Princes f. 117 Euery man ranne naked, to this ende, that they might vse to be swift.
1589 J. Chilton in R. Hakluyt Princ. Navigations iii. 588 Where the ships vse to ride, made fast to ye said wal, with their cables.
1612 J. Webster White Divel i. ii. 202 Your silke-worme useth to fast every third day.
1625 J. King Davids Strait 15 in Bp. H. King & J. King 2 Serm. As we vse to maligne a Bayliue.
1670 J. Milton Hist. Brit. vi. 304 The English then useing to let grow on thir upper-lip large Mustachio's.
1684 T. Manley Νομοθετης: Cowell's Interpreter (ed. 2) Sichetum.., a Sich or small Current of Water that uses to be dry in the Summer.
1726 G. Leoni Alcuni Disegni di Edificj: Some Designs for Buildings 5 b In that Season of the Year when the Water uses to be lowest.
1758 S. Hayes Let. 16 Oct. in Beekman Mercantile Papers (1956) II. 661 You Charge me Six pence more in a Dozen moffeteas then I use to pay.
1779 S. Johnson Let. 11 Nov. (1992) III. 214 Your letter had no date of time or place... Use to date fully.
1819 C. Lamb Adventures of Ulysses (new ed.) x. 142 All delights which use to crown princely banquetings.
1959 in L. Winer Dict. Eng./Creole Trinidad & Tobago (2009) 929/1 How she uses to dress when going to praise.
1982 in L. Winer Dict. Eng./Creole Trinidad & Tobago (2009) 929/1 If they used to visit here a little more often, they would be aware of the appalling conditions that we are faced with.
β. a1400 (?c1300) Lay Folks Mass Bk. (Royal) (1879) l. 401 A litel belle men oyse to ryng.1488 (c1478) Hary Actis & Deidis Schir William Wallace (Adv.) (1968–9) v. l. 760 Now thow sall feyll how I oys to lat blude.a1500 (c1425) Andrew of Wyntoun Oryg. Cron. Scotl. (Nero) i. l. 1265 Tebany þai oysse to calle In to Grece þe Thebis all.
†(b) In affirmative contexts with do-construction. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > behaviour > customary or habitual mode of behaviour > act habitually [verb (intransitive)] > be accustomed to do something
willeOE
wonc1000
haunta1400
customc1450
accustomc1475
use1533
wonta1547
practise1582
want1627
observea1629
1533 T. More Apologye xxix. f. 172 They both secretely and openly to, do vse & accustome to pray.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Julius Caesar (1623) i. ii. 76 Were I a common Laughter, or did vse To stale with ordinary Oathes my loue To euery new Protester..then hold me dangerous. View more context for this quotation
a1616 W. Shakespeare Twelfth Night (1623) ii. iv. 45 The free maides that weaue their thred with bones, Do vse to chaunt it. View more context for this quotation
1697 J. Vanbrugh Relapse iv. 84 I do use to appear a little more degage.
†(c) In negative contexts with do-construction. Obsolete.
ΚΠ
1573 T. Cartwright Replye to Answere Whitgifte 12 Men do not vse to call oppressors, liberall or bountifull Lordes.
1632 W. Lithgow Totall Disc. Trav. iii. 88 [They] doe not use to come empty handed.
1662 E. Stillingfleet Origines Sacræ i. i. §6 Jewels do not use to lie upon the surface of the earth.
1753 S. Richardson Hist. Sir Charles Grandison II. vii. 112 Miss Gr. ‘Shall I give it you in plain English?’ Mr. Gr. ‘You don't use to mince it.’
1775 R. B. Sheridan Rivals v. i. 86 Folks don't use to meet for amusement with fire-arms.
†(d) In negative contexts without do-construction. Obsolete.
ΚΠ
1584 W. Barrett in R. Hakluyt Princ. Navigations (1589) i. 216 In Goa they vse not to abate any tare of any goods, except of sacks or wraps.
1606 Bp. J. Hall Arte Diuine Medit. xxii. 111 Kings vse not to dwell in Cottages of clay.
1670 A. Martindale Let. 2 Dec. in H. Oldenburg Corr. (1970) VII. 298 Some use not to salt it in the presse, but in stead there of to lay it either in naturall or artificiall brine.
a1734 R. North Examen (1740) i. ii. §48 54 Corruptions by the Way, use not to be entered up upon Record.
1823 W. Scott Quentin Durward I. viii. 213 The noble Duke uses not to inquire of witches.
b. In uses referring to the past. Usually with the sense that the action described was formerly habitual but has been discontinued; in South Asian and Caribbean English applied also to events in the recent past and to continuing activities. used to could: see can v.1 Forms 7.
(a) In affirmative contexts in past tense form (used to).In quot. 1957 uses is a past tense form.
ΚΠ
a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1876) VI. 53 Englische men used [L. moris erat] for to goo into abbayes of Fraunce.
1423 Petition in Fenland Notes & Queries (1907–9) 7 307 (MED) Sum of the tenaunts of the said maner used to mowe and to shere the lords cornes and gyrse certen days the whiche er callyd Werkys and beendays.
c1430 (c1386) G. Chaucer Legend Good Women (Cambr. Gg.4.27) (1879) l. 787 For olde payenys that Idolys heryed Vsedyn tho in feldys to ben beryed.
1445 tr. Claudian's De Consulatu Stilichonis in Anglia (1905) 28 267 Al goddesses..Haue ioyned her dauncys within thi breste which vsid hem to receive.
a1513 R. Fabyan New Cronycles Eng. & Fraunce (1516) II. f. lxixv The woddes..wherin beforetymes they vsed to hyde theym as a Cony doth in his claper.
1566 Ordour & Doctr. Gen. Faste sig. E.9 Because that this exercise is extraordinary, the tyme thereof wolde be somewhat longer then it vsed to be in the accustomed Assemblies.
1605 R. Verstegan Restit. Decayed Intelligence ii. 45 The Germans vsed to take their new born children and to dyue them in riuers.
1606 J. Carpenter Schelomonocham ii. f. 8 He vsed to be gladsome and merily conceited.
1664 in B. D. Hicks Rec. N. & S. Hempstead, Long Island (1896) I. 156 Thomas hickes Is..to have the weages that the Clarcke yoast to have.
1712 J. Arbuthnot Law is Bottomless-pit ii. 7 He had acquir'd immense Riches, which he used to squander away at Back-Sword, Quarter-Staff, and Cudgell-Play.
1764 Dial. between Uncle & his Kinsman iv. 17 I used to think myself not guilty of the breach of that command.
1837 J. G. Lockhart Mem. Life Scott I. iv. 122 He used to get all the copies of these ballads he could.
1884 W. C. Smith Kildrostan 53 You used to be a leal, true-hearted girl.
1901 E. G. Hayden Trav. round Village 50 Ther' usted to be two on 'um.
1909 P. A. Sheehan Blindness Dr. Gray x. 100 I was only saying my ancestors used go out to sea in their great ships by night.
1957 S. Selvon Ways of Sunlight 162 I uses to play in firstclass [sic] matches, and most of the boys I know accustom to a real good game with strong opposition.
1960 L. Hellman Toys in Attic ii. 35 Mama used to say you could sleep through anything.
2008 Daily Tel. 18 Nov. 21/2 I used to go to yoga, Pilates and circuit training and have given all those up.
(b) In negative contexts in past tense form without do-construction (used not to). Now somewhat formal.
ΚΠ
a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1879) VII. 375 In þat tyme, men usede nouȝt to bulde no bostful buldnes.
a1425 (c1395) Bible (Wycliffite, L.V.) (Royal) (1850) John iv. 9 Jewis vsiden not to dele with Samaritans.
1577 W. Harrison Hist. Descr. Islande Brit. i. viii. f. 15v/2, in R. Holinshed Chron. I The people of this Isle vsed not to seuerall their groundes.
1678 J. Locke Jrnl. 15 July in K. Dewhurst John Locke (1963) 131 A pill of tachamahaca..gave him in the night a nocturnal pollution, which he used not to have, but took away the other hysterical symptoms.
1768 D. Hume Let. 24 May (1932) II. 177 She used not formerly to be over-partial in his favour.
1839 F. A. Kemble Jrnl. Resid. Georgian Plantation (1863) 245 It is now..the rule, though it used not to be so formerly.
1852 W. M. Thackeray Henry Esmond I. iv. 93 My lady used not to spare Colonel Esmond in talking of him.
1930 E. Waugh Labels iii. 70 A little Arab girl..used not to bother about the conjuring at all.
2004 F. Lawrence Not on Label iii. 84 We used not to get caulis in winter.
(c) In negative contexts in base form with do-construction (did not use to).
ΚΠ
1548 N. Udall et al. tr. Erasmus Paraphr. Newe Test. I. Luke f. clivv Vnpleasaunte euen to the lorde selfe, who did not vse to acknowlage suche hyghe prayses.
1689 Full Answer Depositions Birth Prince of Wales 7 Query, Whether she did not use to provide a Wet-Nurse, at her other Deliveries.
1709 T. Hearne Remarks & Coll. 13 Mar. (1886) II. 176 You did not use to write in Post-Hast.
1778 Hist. Eliza Warwick I. 260 Alas! his absence..did not use thus to affect me!
1833 Imperial Mag. Jan. 54/2 John, your horse didn't use to look like that—what's the matter?
1857 C. M. Yonge in Monthly Packet Jan. 34 ‘Things didn't use to be so stupid when Ned was there!’ sobbed Gilbert.
1912 K. L. Bosher Man in Lonely Land xvii. 137 Young folks didn't use to show their legs in those days.
2001 A. Gurnah By Sea (2002) ii. 54 It didn't use to be like this.
(d) In affirmative, interrogative, and emphatic use in base form with do-construction (did use to).
ΚΠ
1624 J. Ussher Answer to Challenge by Iesuite 327 In whose language..the Church also did use to speake.
1672 J. Eachard Mr. Hobbs's State Nature Considered 103 How did they use to take such a demonstration? and what did thy [sic] use to say again?
1736 Disc. Witchcraft 12 It is certain that Oraclers, when they pronounced their Oracles, did use to counterfeit strange Kinds of Voices.
1767 P. Gibbes Woman of Fashion II. 26 How did we all use to admire her!
1848 W. M. Thackeray Vanity Fair lviii. 526 Lord bless us, how she did use to worret us at Sunday-school.
1873 C. M. Yonge Pillars of House II. xvi. 105 Did Alda use to be nice, or is it love?
1935 E. Farjeon Nursery in Nineties iii. i. 124 Mama, did you use to be a flirt?
1963 V. Nabokov Gift ii. 117 And now I continually ask myself what did he use to think about in the solitary night.
1974 Radio Times 28 Feb. 25 I suppose I did use to be a prophet of doom.
2004 Voice 14 June (24Seven section) 7/2 I did use to be a wild guy, but I've grown up now.
†(e) In affirmative contexts, in base form (use to). Obsolete.
ΚΠ
1653 D. Osborne Lett. to Sir W. Temple (2002) 116 I am not soe much at liesure as I use to bee.
1662 J. Sparrow tr. J. Böhme 1st Apologie to B. Tylcken 13 in tr. J. Böhme Remainder of Bks. Though heat seaven Times hotter then formerly it use to be.
1668 D. Lloyd Memoires 332 As some Noble mens Sons use to do formerly in the House of Lords.
1672 Duke of Buckingham Rehearsal i. 2 Smi. How dost thou pass thy time? Johns. Well, as I use to do.
1728 J. Gay Beggar's Opera ii. iv. 24 You are not so fond of me, Jenny, as you use [sic; 1737 (7th ed.) used] to be.
a1764 R. Lloyd Cobbler Tessington My predecessors often use To coble verse as well as shoes.
(f) In negative, interrogative, and emphatic use, with do-construction and past tense form (did (not) used to).
ΚΠ
1782 E. Blower George Bateman II. 111 ‘Dad’, (said the glassman..pulling out his pocket-handkerchief) ‘I didn't used to be so melch-hearted.’
1878 E. V. Kenealy Trial Sir Roger Tichborne V. 52/2 I did not used to speak to him often, but still I used to speak to him.
1925 S. Lewis Martin Arrowsmith xviii. 192 Didn't we used to have fun.
1927 E. Hemingway Men without Women 154 He certainly did used to make the fellows he fought hate boxing.
1993 C. Shields Stone Diaries viii. 270 Her aunt didn't used to burble on like this.
2004 D. Abrahams 25 Cushions to Knit 116 Mathematics was never my strong point at school, but I did used to enjoy geometry.
(g) In base form with contracted negative (usen't to).Occasionally in past tense form, as usedn't to.
ΚΠ
1822 Scrapbk. 459 Such heavy washes—usen't to be so, Till you came down to live at Prospect-Row.
1827 W. L. Rede Wedded Wanderer xlix. 540 If I heard her name usedn't the blood to mantle in my cheek?
1862 W. M. Thackeray Adventures of Philip I. xi. 194 I usedn' t to believe him, no more than a man in a play.
c1863 T. Taylor in M. R. Booth Eng. Plays of 19th Cent. (1969) II. 96 I usen't to mind unkind looks and words much once.
1907 G. B. Shaw Major Barbara iii. in John Bull's Other Island 255 That is a new accomplishment of Andrew's, by the way. He usent to drink.
1929 H. H. Richardson Fortunes Richard Mahony III. iii. v. 279 Usen't Richard to say that it was etiquette in the profession to treat a patient's relatives..as so many cretins?
1939 J. Joyce Finnegans Wake i. 200 Usedn't she make her a simp or sign to slip inside by the sullyport?
1965 Times 6 Apr. 14/7 We usen't to meet no one, not if we was lucky.
2000 Irish Times (Nexis) 13 Sept. 65 She stops and smells the roses now. She usen't to know what colour roses were.
c. In perfect tenses. Now chiefly in past perfect.
(a) In affirmative contexts.Common in 16th and 17th centuries.
ΚΠ
1433 Rolls of Parl. IV. 449/2 Aliens..by the name of Broccours have used and excercised to make many bargeins and chevysaunces of usurie.
1444 in J. A. Kingdon Arch. Worshipful Company of Grocers (1886) I. 124 (MED) Dyuers personis of the same Feleshepe haue ewsyd aforetyme to bye and paye for diuers sortes of wares.
1463–5 Rolls of Parl.: Edward IV (Electronic ed.) Parl. Apr. 1463 §50. m. 40 Dyvers persones have gretely used to shippe woll..oute of this reame.
1529 T. More Dialogue Heresyes iv, in Wks. 279/2 Mammolukes and Genisaries about ye Turk and Sowdan, haue vsed to christen their children of purpose.
1550 Southampton Court Leet Rec. (1905) i. 14 Thomas Casberd hathe vsid to sett his carte in the streate.
1605 F. Bacon Of Aduancem. Learning i. sig. G2 Men haue vsed to infect their meditations, opinions, and doctrines with some conceits which they haue most admired. View more context for this quotation
1680 V. Alsop Mischief Impositions iv. 27 Some may come [to their own Parish-church] out of custom, because they have used to trundle thither down the hill.
a1718 in J. Keble Life T. Wilson: Pt. I (1863) vi. 199 The Ordinary hath used to send for aid unto the Constable of the Castle, or of the Peel.
1753 Elegy on Blackbird in Adventurer No. 37 222/2 O! had he chose some other game, Or shot as he had us'd to do!
1827 T. Carlyle tr. J. P. F. Richter in German Romance III. 156 To get the sooner done with it, he had used to begin his devotion..before leaving that place.
1870 Universe 21 May 2/4 We had used to say they were ignorant, but now when we see a..monk-taught boy we fiddle another tune.
1955 P. Highsmith Talented Mr. Ripley x. 71 He had used to tell wildly funny stories about his sessions.
1988 T. Dangarembga Nerv. Conditions (1993) iv. 61 ‘Not even the Whites,’ he had used to carol in an impressionable descant, ‘not even the Whites themselves could afford it!’
(b) In negative contexts.
ΚΠ
?1459 M. Paston in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) I. 257 He hath not vsyd to geve [a] rekenyng nothyre of bred nor alle tyll at the wekys end.
1533 tr. Erasmus Enchiridion Militis Christiani xxxviii. sig. S.iiiiv Only he can gyue them, whiche he hath not vsed to do vnto cruell & furyous persons.
1693 Let. conc. S. Johnson's Late Bk. 8 Our Gentlemen here have not used to trouble their Heads much with humane Laws.
1733 I. Maddox Vindic. Govt. Church of Eng. App. 343 That I have not used to make the Cross in the Administration of Baptism.
1832 Missionary Reg. Apr. 162/1 She frequently regretted that the necessary care of her body took up so much of her thoughts; and would say, ‘It had not used to be so.’
1935 ‘R. West’ Harsh Voice 153 She hadn't used to be that sort, but you never can tell.
2000 M. Arnold Year Full Moons ii. 28 She hadn't used to be this way.
d. In passive with the object of the complementary infinitive as subject and the complementary infinitive also in the passive. Chiefly in the past tense, esp. in later use. Now chiefly South Asian.
ΚΠ
?1523 J. Fitzherbert Bk. Husbandry f. xliiv If a tree be heeded and vsed to be lopped & cropped.
1569 R. Grafton Chron. II. 121 At thys tyme was vsed to be coyned that standard and finenesse that was called sterling money.
a1648 Ld. Herbert Life Henry VIII (1649) 371 As concerning Annates used to be payd to Rome by Arch-Bishops.
1670 New Additions to Art Husbandry 7 in J. Blagrave Epitome Art of Husbandry (new ed.) Taper-Hasle or Dogwood benders, such as are used to be set in Springes for Wood-cocks.
a1706 J. Evelyn Hist. Relig. (1850) I. vii. 402 Nor were they used of old to be read in churches.
1737 D. Waterland Rev. Doctr. Eucharist 393 Prayer was then used to be offered up for that Purpose.
1788 London Mag. 399 The Tuilleries, where boats were used to be found.
1841 Dublin Univ. Mag. Apr. 470/2 Just as provision was used to be made for any of the other eleemosynary institutions of the country.
1927 G. V. Tagare in J. E. Abbott tr. Life Eknath Introd. p. xxiv Such sane advice was used to be given to newly married girls in our houses.
1992 S. Das Fabric Art viii. 103 Phulkāris were used to be made regularly.
22. intransitive. To do a thing customarily; to be in the habit of acting in a particular way; to be wont to do some specified thing. Also occasionally of an inanimate object: to react or behave in a predictable, characteristic way. Chiefly elliptically for sense 21b in clauses introduced by as. Now rare.From the mid 18th cent., chiefly in the past tense; cf. sense 21b.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > behaviour > customary or habitual mode of behaviour > act habitually [verb (intransitive)]
use?a1425
practise1686
usen1890
?a1425 (c1400) Mandeville's Trav. (Titus C.xvi) (1919) 24 Clothed..in the Sarazines guyse & as the sarazins vsen.
1473 in C. Rogers Rental Bk. Cupar-Angus (1879) I. 182 Tha sal tak iijxx of fuderis of petis quhar thair oysit befor.
1533 in I. S. Leadam Select Cases Star Chamber (1911) II. 205 The boucher..grevyd shall signifie..the name..of any such person..that so vsith.
a1599 E. Spenser View State Ireland 58 in J. Ware Two Hist. Ireland (1633) To manure and husband it as good farmours use.
1616 J. Lane Contin. Squire's Tale x. 388 This familiar Dove twixt yond twoe kinges went boldlie to and fro, as vsen frendes.
1656 tr. T. White Peripateticall Inst. 152 It varies its figure with every motion as fire uses.
1663 S. Butler Hudibras: First Pt. i. i. 48 We should, as learned Poets use, Invoke th' assistance of some Muse.
1720 J. Ozell tr. R. A. de Vertot Hist. Revol. Rom. Republic (1740) II. xii. 237 In the sight of all the Citizens, as the Censors use, when they [etc.].
1748 tr. P. Lozano True Relation Earthquake Lima ii. 161 To kill animals in the same Manner as they always had used.
1816 W. Wordsworth Little Onward 30 To push forth His arms, as swimmers use, and plunge..into the ‘abrupt abyss’.
1856 C. M. Yonge Daisy Chain ii. v. 47 Now, Ethel, do oblige me, do write another, as we used in old times.
1875 R. Browning Aristophanes' Apol. 365 Die at good old age as grand men use.
1932 E. Le Gallienne & F. Friebus Alice in Wonderland i. 20 I can't remember things as I used, and I don't keep the same size for ten minutes together.

Phrasal verbs

With adverbs in specialized senses.† to use off
Obsolete.
transitive. = to use up 1a at Phrasal verbs.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > advantage > usefulness > use (made of things) > using up, expending, or consuming > use up, expend, or consume [verb (transitive)]
spend1297
usea1382
costa1400
consumea1527
to make a hole (in anything)1591
absorb1686
to use up1712
expend1745
to use off1812
to get through ——1833
to go through ——1949
1812 S. T. Coleridge in R. Southey Omniana II. clxxi. 2 An obscure..periodical publication, which has long since been used off as ‘winding sheets for herrings’.
1859 Dental Cosmos Dec. 244 By continuing the cork for a little while after the above-named powders have been used off, we avoid the use of the Scotch-stone.
1888 Photogr. Times 18 May 232/1 As the fluid is used off, replenish with water until the hypo is exhausted.
 to use out
rare.
transitive. = to use up 1a at Phrasal verbs.
ΚΠ
1826 New Eng. Farmer 31 Mar. 284/2 I made the water warm, and soaked the corn full 48 hours before planting, putting in corn and copperas as we used it out.
1841 S. Crowther Jrnl. 31 Oct. in Jrnls. James Frederick Schön & Samuel Crowther (1842) ii. iii. 343 They must write only three lines in the week, to save pencils; as he has no prospect of getting more, when those short ones are used out.
1856 E. B. Browning Aurora Leigh iv. 144 We've used out many nights, And worn the yellow daylight into shreds.
1907 L. L. Williams & F. E. Rogers New Compl. Bookkeeping 185 The shortage on inventory of merchandise is accounted for by some having been used out.
2006 Z. Williams Evergreen 140 As the wind stays in place They have used out Their useful days.
 to use up
1. transitive.
a. To consume or deplete (a stock or supply of something); to exhaust (a resource or reserve).
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > advantage > usefulness > use (made of things) > using up, expending, or consuming > use up, expend, or consume [verb (transitive)]
spend1297
usea1382
costa1400
consumea1527
to make a hole (in anything)1591
absorb1686
to use up1712
expend1745
to use off1812
to get through ——1833
to go through ——1949
1712 Bibliotheca Anatomica II. 356/2 When it was all us'd up, they fasten'd another to its End.
1766 L. Carter Diary 20 Aug. (1965) I. 326 The quantity of butter weighed in 4 pots..is 167½ pounds—48 pounds. Weight of the pots leaves 119½ pounds—21 pounds used up in peck butter makes 140½.
1797 J. Woodforde Diary 4 Mar. (1931) V. 16 She is only to take the Pills she has by her & use up the present Bottle of Embrocation.
1811 Ld. Brougham in J. Bentham Wks. (1843) X. 462 I cannot possibly better use up (as the housewives say) this little credit.
1847 Illustr. London News 10 July 27/3 To see if there were anything there that had not yet been used up.
1895 Argosy Sept. 529/1 We may have to use up all our cartridges on him.
1933 R. L. Sutton Arctic Safari 43 I think that we did not use up more than three packs of film.
1976 Conservation of Resources (Chem. Soc.) 20 So far we have used up some 16% of total possible recoverable oil reserves, and only about 4% in the case of coal.
2000 D. Adebayo My Once upon Time (2001) x. 239 Do they let Barber continue and use up his complement of ten overs or..save his barrage for the dread task of the finish?
2008 Independent 18 Apr. 17/5 Organic LEDs that use up less electricity because they don't have to be backlit.
†b. In passive (of troops, etc.) to be expended; to be killed or severely disabled so as to be able to take no further part in a conflict. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > defeat > suffer defeat [verb (transitive)] > lose (soldiers)
losec1275
to use up1785
1785 F. Grose Classical Dict. Vulgar Tongue Used up, killed; a military saying, originating from a message sent by the late general Guise, on the expedition to Carthagena, where he desired the commander in chief, to order him up some more grenadiers, for those he had were all used up.
1809 J. Bristed Hints on National Bankruptcy Brit. iii. vii. 466 A total of two millions eight hundred and fifty thousand men used up in warfare alone, independent of the civil massacres of the revolution, in the course of nineteen years.
1875 C. Merivale Gen. Hist. Rome li. 406 The genuine Roman race must have been almost used up in the desperate warfare.
c. colloquial (chiefly U.S.). To kill.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > death > killing > kill [verb (transitive)]
swevec725
quelmeOE
slayc893
quelleOE
of-falleOE
ofslayeOE
aquellc950
ayeteeOE
spillc950
beliveOE
to bring (also do) of (one's) life-dayOE
fordoa1000
forfarea1000
asweveOE
drepeOE
forleseOE
martyrOE
to do (also i-do, draw) of lifeOE
bringc1175
off-quellc1175
quenchc1175
forswelta1225
adeadc1225
to bring of daysc1225
to do to deathc1225
to draw (a person) to deathc1225
murder?c1225
aslayc1275
forferec1275
to lay to ground, to earth (Sc. at eird)c1275
martyrc1300
strangle1303
destroya1325
misdoa1325
killc1330
tailc1330
to take the life of (also fro)c1330
enda1340
to kill to (into, unto) death1362
brittena1375
deadc1374
to ding to deathc1380
mortifya1382
perisha1387
to dight to death1393
colea1400
fella1400
kill out (away, down, up)a1400
to slay up or downa1400
swelta1400
voida1400
deliverc1400
starvec1425
jugylc1440
morta1450
to bring to, on, or upon (one's) bierc1480
to put offc1485
to-slaya1500
to make away with1502
to put (a person or thing) to silencec1503
rida1513
to put downa1525
to hang out of the way1528
dispatch?1529
strikea1535
occidea1538
to firk to death, (out) of lifec1540
to fling to deathc1540
extinct1548
to make out of the way1551
to fet offa1556
to cut offc1565
to make away?1566
occise1575
spoil1578
senda1586
to put away1588
exanimate1593
unmortalize1593
speed1594
unlive1594
execute1597
dislive1598
extinguish1598
to lay along1599
to make hence1605
conclude1606
kill off1607
disanimate1609
feeze1609
to smite, stab in, under the fifth rib1611
to kill dead1615
transporta1616
spatch1616
to take off1619
mactate1623
to make meat of1632
to turn up1642
inanimate1647
pop1649
enecate1657
cadaverate1658
expedite1678
to make dog's meat of1679
to make mincemeat of1709
sluice1749
finisha1753
royna1770
still1778
do1780
deaden1807
deathifyc1810
to lay out1829
cool1833
to use up1833
puckeroo1840
to rub out1840
cadaverize1841
to put under the sod1847
suicide1852
outkill1860
to fix1875
to put under1879
corpse1884
stiffen1888
tip1891
to do away with1899
to take out1900
stretch1902
red-light1906
huff1919
to knock rotten1919
skittle1919
liquidate1924
clip1927
to set over1931
creasea1935
ice1941
lose1942
to put to sleep1942
zap1942
hit1955
to take down1967
wax1968
trash1973
ace1975
1833 J. Hall Legends of West 38 It's a mercy, Miss, that the cowardly varments hadn't used you up body-aciously.
1840 Daily Picayune (New Orleans) 9 Aug. 2/4 Henry McCann, found used up on the levee.
1863 in Southern Hist. Soc. Papers (1884) XII. 220 If you advance..on them in front while I attack them in flank I think we can use them up.
1877 Scribner's Monthly Nov. 41/1 We'll use them up like the pilgrim fathers did the British on Bunker Hill that fourth of July.
1900 H. Garland Eagle's Heart 64 I used up Clint Slocum because I had to.
1937 D. Runyon in Collier's 16 Jan. 9/4 Nicely-Nicely's life is insured for five thousand dollars..if he gets used up by accident.
1994 G. C. Rhea Battle of Wilderness i. 35 Using up Lee, however, was going to take a lot more than simple numbers.
2. transitive. colloquial. To tire out or exhaust (a person, animal, etc.); to make weary or debilitated, esp. through overexertion.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sleeping and waking > weariness or exhaustion > weary or exhaust [verb (transitive)]
wearyc897
tirea1000
travailc1300
forwearya1325
taryc1375
tarc1440
matec1450
break1483
labour1496
overwearya1500
wear?1507
to wear out, forth1525
fatigate1535
stress1540
overtire1558
forwaste1563
to tire out1563
overwear1578
spend1582
out-tire1596
outwear1596
outweary1596
overspend1596
to toil out1596
attediate1603
bejade1620
lassate1623
harassa1626
overtask1628
tax1672
hag1674
trash1685
hatter1687
overtax1692
fatigue1693
to knock up1740
tire to death1740
overfatigue1741
fag1774
outdo1776
to do over1789
to use up1790
jade1798
overdo1817
frazzlea1825
worry1828
to sew up1837
to wear to death1840
to take it (also a lot, too much, etc.) out of (a person)1847
gruel1850
to stump up1853
exhaust1860
finish1864
peter1869
knacker1886
grind1887
tew1893
crease1925
poop1931
raddle1951
1790 C. Dibdin Coll. Songs I. 100 Grown aged, used up, and turn'd out of the stud.
1845 S. Smith Jack Downing's Lett. (new ed.) 29 It has used me up worse than building forty rods of stone wall.
1850 F. E. Smedley Frank Fairlegh x. 101 I saw you were getting used up.
1884 ‘E. Lyall’ We Two I. v. 111 Even if it should use me up, what then?
1934 D. Hammett Brother's Keeper in Collier's 17 Feb. 10/2 I'll handle you right, build you up, not use you up, and you'll be good for a long trip.
1972 R. Angell Summer Game 267 The last two pitches floating up to the plate with so little zing that it was suddenly plain that Siebert had used up his arm.
1995 T. Brooks Witches' Brew (1996) 132 Rydall's champion is stealing his strength. He's using him up!
†3. transitive. U.S. colloquial. To discuss (a person) in an exhaustively critical way; to present or expound a thoroughgoing criticism of. Obsolete.
ΚΠ
1837 Russellville (Kentucky) Advt. 27 Oct. 3/1 The way they ‘use up’ an Ex-Governor of the Buck Eye State.
1848 E. A. Poe J. R. Lowell in Wks. (1895) VIII. 5 The various criticisms, in which we have been amused (rather ill-naturedly) at seeing Mr. Lowell ‘used up’.
1855 P. T. Barnum Life 358 The summary and effectual manner in which the argument is put and his opponent ‘used up’.

Phrases

†P1. to use a person's company (also to use company with a person): to associate with a person; (euphemistic) to have sexual intercourse with a person. Cf. sense 19. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > social relations > have social communication with [verb (transitive)] > frequent (another's company)
to use a person's companyc1450
c1450 (a1425) Metrical Paraphr. Old Test. (Selden) l. 13632 (MED) Kyng Ioas..lyfed in mawmentry, All wroyȝt on þat same wyse þat vsed hys cumpany.
?1520 J. Rastell Nature .iiii. Element sig. B.iiv Yf ye knewe hym as well as I ye wolde not vse his company Nor loue hym in no wyse.
1564 in F. J. Furnivall Child-marriages, Divorces, & Ratifications Diocese Chester (1897) 101 As report is, she hath vsid the evill Companie of William Gallimour.
1580 J. Hester tr. L. Fioravanti Short Disc. Chirurg. sig. F.iv The fourth cause is certein fluxes of Vrine caused of some kinde of the Pockes, as ye may see by those that vse company with euil women and take harme, for presently this burning commeth.
1599 R. Barnfield in W. Shakespeare et al. Passionate Pilgrime (new ed.) sig. D7v They that fawnd on him before Vse his company no more.
1615 T. Cooper Christians Daily Sacrifice (rev. ed.) To Rdr. sig. 2 Therefore art thou also taught how to choose and vse company, that so thou maist not returne vnto them, but cause them to returne vnto thee.
1698 W. Caton tr. Eusebius Abridgm. Eccl. Hist (ed. 2) 29 She said that it was thence forth unlawful for her to use company at Bed and Board with that Man.
1782 F. Burney Cecilia II. iv . x. 253 He has been the best son in the world, madam, and used nothing but the best company.
1825 tr. J. W. von Goethe Faustus iii. i. 38 Had I a jot of reason, I'd not use The devil's company.
1869 Ladies' Repository Nov. 347/2 If he had known before that he would have done so, he would never have used his company so familiarly.
P2. to use the sea (also †seas): to earn one's living at sea; to be a sailor or seaman. Cf. to follow the sea (also river) at follow v. Phrases 3. Now somewhat archaic.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > seafaring life > practice the calling of a sailor [verb (intransitive)]
to use the sea (also seas)1545
serve1672
1545 R. Ascham Toxophilus f. 33 He that wyll at all aduentures vse the seas knowinge no more what is to be done in a tempest than in a caulme, shall soone becumme a marchaunt of Eele skinnes.
1595 R. Wilson Pedlers Prophecie sig. C I am a Marriner by Science and Art, And haue vsed the seas a long space.
1651 H. Isaackson in T. Fuller Abel Redevivus sig. * His Father (having most part of his life used the Seas).
1681 R. Knox Hist. Relation Ceylon 124 These many years..have I used the seas.
1728 J. Morgan Compl. Hist. Algiers I. ii. 223 Rais was then about thirty, and had used the Sea full ten years.
1773 Life N. Frowde 24 His Name was George White,..who had used the Seas from my own Age.
1791 J. Smeaton Narr. Edystone Lighthouse §314 John..continued for some time to use the sea.
1842 T. E. Hook Peregrine Bunce I. iv. 67 I am a man in years, and have used the sea all my life,..but I mean to go no more.
1894 Pall Mall Mag. Sept. 4 He had used the sea for above thirty years, had built, owned and commanded ships.
1939 Times 28 Nov. 7/5 Do the actual layers of the mines realize that their efforts on behalf of Hitler have brought upon them the scorn of all who use the sea?
1977 P. O'Brian Mauritius Command ii. 36 The last draft had been made up entirely of quota-men from Bedfordshire, odd misfits, petty criminals and vagrants, not one of whom had ever used the sea.
P3. to use one's head (also brains, loaf, etc.): to use one's intelligence, common sense, or imagination; to think sensibly or constructively. Frequently in imperative.
ΚΠ
1642 D. Rogers Matrimoniall Honovr xiii. 292 A wise housewife will contrive and dispose as well by sitting still, and using her brayne, as some other by bending the force both of soule & body.
1645 R. Harris True Relig. 26 Use your heads too, set your wits awork this way, cast about and contrive as well as you can how the necessities of people may be supplied in some measure.
1742 T. Brewster tr. Persius Satires III & IV sig. D Sir, use your Mind—I've said.
1828 W. Scott Fair Maid of Perth vii, in Chron. Canongate 2nd Ser. III. 176 He that cannot right himself by the hand, must use his head.
1865 Baily's Mag. Dec. 78 If you are too indolent or too inactive to use your heels, use your head, if you have one, instead.
1912 Leaves of Healing 3 Aug. 280/1 Brush the cobwebs away and get the rust off, and go to work and use your brains.
1938 ‘J. Curtis’ They drive by Night xiv. 155 Bloody seconds counted in a job like this. You certainly had to use your loaf.
1998 N. Jones Hollyoaks (Mersey TV transmission script) (O.E.D. Archive) Episode 256. 44 Cindy. What are we doing here, anyway? Paul. Doh! Use your head, eh? Cindy. Oh I'm Sorry, I must be thick or something.
2007 J. Elam & S. Yohn Monday Night Jihad 171 The kid's a hero, and you let him sit there thinking he's going to prison. That's using the old noggin.
P4. colloquial. he, etc. could use: he, etc., needs, wants, or would benefit from, or would be improved by. Also occasionally in the present tense.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > non-possession > not have [verb (transitive)] > lack > something salutary (but not desired)
want1488
he, etc. could use1876
1876 Rep. Canal Investigating Comm. (N.Y. State) 1358 Q. In your judgment was not the allowance of 280 yards of embankment ample?..A. I don't think it was sufficient. Q. Locate any place where you could use a yard? A. In the rear of the vertical wall.
1915 Cent. Mag. Nov. 72/1 I could use a pint of them!
?1940 D. Thomas Coll. Lett. (1987) 948 Would you like to use this poem? If you would, I could use a guinea.
1946 S. J. Perelman Keep it Crisp 23 A flabby hombre..whose jowl could have used a shave.
1961 R. Godden China Court 258/1 ‘I could use a gin,’ said Bella.
1976 Ulverston (Cumbria) News 3 Dec. 1/6 The tarn is the most beautiful part of the village and The Landings can use some cleaning up.
1994 Theatrum Sept. 45/3 It could definitely use an edit and polish before it's remounted.
2009 ‘R. Keeland’ tr. S. Larsson Girl who played with Fire xxiii. 382 I don't know what to do, but she probably could use a friend in her corner.
P5. use it or lose it.
a. In imperative. Used as an admonition.
ΚΠ
1887 M. E. Gates in Independent (U.S.) 30 June 18 God's law holds everywhere, of property and of personal power of every kind. ‘Use it, or lose it!’
1896 M. L. Woods Wild Justice 51 Here's your instrument: Use it or lose it.
1911 O. S. Marden Pushing to Front (rev. ed.) II. 402 Everything which you do not use is constantly slipping away from you. Use it or lose it. The secret of power is use.
1977 R. A. Mullen & B. Schlesinger in B. Schlesinger Sexual Behaviour in Canada 69 All of this provides a receptive base for elderly couples who are faced with Reuben's frank admonition, ‘Use it or lose it.’
2004 BusinessWeek 22 Nov. 178/1 Use it or lose it. That's the mantra those with flexible spending accounts..should be repeating.
b. attributive. Involving or causing the loss of something that is not used.
ΚΠ
1952 Washington Post 24 July 21/1 Some such system may be worked out for other Federal employes because of the use-it-or-lose-it annual leave rider [to the policy].
1961 Univ. Pennsylvania Law Rev. 109 315 The desirable expedient of issuing a temporary certificate on a ‘use it or lose it’ basis.
2005 Daily Tel. 19 Sept. 16/2 Advocates of fashionable ‘braintenance’ regimes—which operate on the ‘use it or lose it’ principle—would have older people learning languages, making new friends and doing puzzles to increase the flow of blood to the brain.

Compounds

use-by date n. a date marked on a perishable product, esp. a foodstuff, indicating the recommended date by which it should be used or consumed; also figurative; cf. best before date n. at best adj., n.1, and adv. Phrases 4i, sell-by date n. at sell v. Compounds 2.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > duration > [noun] > time-limit > for using perishable items
pull-date1969
sell-by date1973
use-by date1974
the world > food and drink > food > qualities of food > [noun] > decay or deterioration of food > date after which food decays
best before date1974
use-by date1974
1974 Hartford (Connecticut) Courant 7 Dec. 13/2 Any company using ‘open dating’ on meat and poultry processed in a federally inspected plant must include an explanatory phrase: ‘packing date’, ‘sellby date’ or ‘use-by date’.
1989 Which? June 288/3 The ‘use by’ date on a pack of film indicates the useful life of the film under normal storage conditions.
2010 N.Z. Herald (Nexis) 23 Jan. But just when does Roger Federer reach his use-by date?
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2011; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
<
n.?c1225v.a1250
随便看

　

英语词典包含1132095条英英释义在线翻译词条，基本涵盖了全部常用单词的英英翻译及用法，是英语学习的有利工具。

　

Copyright © 2004-2022 Newdu.com All Rights Reserved
更新时间：2025/2/24 12:14:46