Usage

How to spell usage

5 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce usage

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does usage mean?

1. nounThe customary or accepted way in which something, especially language, is used.
2. nounThe amount of something that is consumed or used over a period.

Usage in a sentence

• The dictionary records modern usage rather than dictating old rules.

• The app tracks your monthly data usage against the plan limit.

• Common usage now favours the shorter spelling of that term.

• High water usage during the summer pushed the bill up sharply.

Where does usage come from?

Language of origin: French

This word came into English in the 1200s from Old French usage, which was built on us (use) plus the common noun-forming suffix -age. The ultimate source is the Latin verb uti, meaning 'to use or make use of', whose past participle usus gave rise to a whole family of related words. In French the -age ending originally signalled an action or its result, which is why usage carries the sense of an established practice or the manner in which something is employed. English already had 'use' as both a verb and noun, so 'usage' settled into the slightly more abstract roles of habitual practice (especially of language) and the measured amount of something consumed. The spelling trap is the silent gliding of the soft -age ending and the single s: writers sometimes double the s or reach for 'useage', mistakenly keeping the e of 'use'.

How the word is built

• us- (from Latin usus: use)
• -age (noun suffix denoting action, condition, or result)