utile : M-W's Word of the Day

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The Word of the Day for November 19 is:

utile \YOO-til\ adjective
: useful

Example sentence:
Shaker crafts are simple, meticulously constructed, pleasing to the eye, and eminently utile, all at the same time.

Did you know?
For over a hundred years before "useful" entered our language, "utile" served us well on its own. We borrowed "utile" from Middle French in the 15th century. The French derived it from Latin "utilis," meaning "useful," which in turn comes from "uti," meaning "to use." "Uti" (the past participle of which is "usus") is also the source of our "use" and "useful." We've been using "use" since at least the 13th century, but we didn't acquire "useful" until the late 16th century, when William Shakespeare inserted it into _King John_. Needless to say, we've come to prefer "useful" over "utile" since then, though "utile" functions as a very usable synonym. Other handy terms derived from "uti" include "utilize," "usury," "abuse," and "utensil."

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