| 释义 |
▪ I. use, n.|juːs|
Forms: α. 3–5 vs (4–5 vss), 4, 7 Sc. us (3–4 hus, 4–5 uss), 5 ws (5 owse, 5–6 Sc. wss), 5–7 vse (5 vce, Sc. 5–6 wse), 4– use (5 uce, 6 usse). β. Sc. and north. 4 oise, 4–5 oys, oyse, 5 oysse, ois, 6 oiss; 4 vice, 5 vys, 5–6 vyss.
[a. AF. and OF. us, uus, hus m. (also use f.):—L. ūsus, f. the ppl. stem of ūtī to use.]
I. Act of using, or fact of being used.
1. a. The act of employing a thing for any (esp. a profitable) purpose; the fact, state, or condition of being so employed; utilization or employment for or with some aim or purpose, application or conversion to some (esp. good or useful) end.
αa1225Ancr. R. 16 Þis word habbeð muchel on vs & i muðe euch time þet ȝe muwen. 1297R. Glouc. (Rolls) 2211 Ne conne ȝe noȝt lerni þing þat ȝe ne dude neuer er; Change ȝoure hond & to þe vs of suerd & lance is [? read it] do. 1340Ayenb. 55 Ine þe greate bysihede þet hy habbeþ, to porchaci... Efterward, mid grat lost þet hy habbeþ ine þe us. 1382Wyclif 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. c1440Promp. Parv. 335/1 Mesure, in vse of..nedefulle thyngys,..frugalitas. 1558in Feuillerat Revels Q. Mary (1914) 251 To lend me the vse of one of your maskes. 1599B. Jonson Cynthia's Rev. v. i, Denying to the world the precious vse Of hoorded wealth. 1605Verstegan Dec. Intell. i. (1628) 23 The Picards..are said first to haue gotten that name of their great and most accustomed use of pikes. 1646Sir T. Browne Pseud. Ep. i. vii. 26 In..Law and History, there is..a frequent and allowable use of testimony. 1690Locke Hum. Und. iii. x. §1 The obscurity and confusion that is so hard to be avoided in the Use of Words. 1729T. Innes Crit. Essay 444 The ancient use of letters among the Irish. 1753Challoner Cath. Chr. Instr. Pref. p. vi, What the Doctor has alledged against the Use of Incense. 1782F. Burney Cecilia viii. viii, Is the gift of speech only granted us to pervert the use of understanding? 1831Scott Ct. Rob. xi, His excellence in the use of the French language. 1860J. W. Warter Sea-board II. 436 Certainly use and abuse are very different things. 1891Sir A. Wills in Law Times XCI. 232/2 Massey..lent the use of his name to Kensington in order to oblige him.
β1375Barbour Bruce xvii. 252 For in Scotland..The oys of thame [sc. cannon] had nocht beyn sene. c1425Wyntoun Cron. i. 1310 As þe makaris had daynte Off þa bestis and delyte Be freyte or oysse, or be profyte.
b. In legal phr., coupled with occupation (or occupancy).
1738Act 11 Geo. II, c. 19 §14 In an Action on the case, for the Use and Occupation of what was so held or enjoyed. 1772Buller Introd. Law Nisi Prius (1775) 139 In Case for Use and Occupation of an House by Permission of the Plaintiff. 1808W. Selwyn Law Nisi Prius II. 1180 Chap. xxxvii.—Use and Occupation. 1918Nation (N.Y.) 7 Feb. 165/1 A percentage..will be paid on a pro-rata basis for each day of lost use and occupancy.
c. Freq. to make or take (..) use of.
1591Shakes. Two Gent. ii. iv. 67 Sir Protheus..Made vse, and faire aduantage of his daies. 1606Chapman M. D'Olive i. i, At my chamber, where we may take free use of our selves, that is, drinke sack, and talke Satyre. 1663Gerbier Counsel 55 Those that mind the making use of Chalk in their walls. 1711Addison Spect. No. 62 ⁋5 The Words Fire and Flame are made use of to signify Love. 1774Goldsm. Nat. Hist. (1776) V. 264 This bird's making use of the bed or nest of another to deposit its own brood in. 1823P. Nicholson Pract. Build. 420 Plate-glass is the most beautiful glass made use of. 1862Tyndall Mountaineer. ii. 16 We made use of all our strength. 1897T. Hardy Well-Beloved i. vi, Perhaps she had only made use of him as a convenient aid to her intentions.
†d. your (their, etc.) use, = use of you (them, etc.). Obs.
1596Shakes. 1 Hen. IV, i. iii. 21 When we need Your vse and counsell, we shall send for you. 1667Milton P.L. ix. 750 Thy praise hee also who forbids thy use, Conceales not from us. 1691T. H[ale] Acc. New Invent. 37 The Ingredients..being Forraign, such has sometimes been the scarcity thereof here, (even when their use has been most wanted).
2. a. In various prepositional phrases (with in, to, into, out of, for, of).
(a)a1340Hampole Psalter cxviii. 48 For of mykil thynk⁓ynge of þe comandmentis cumys in oyse goed werke. c1400Lanfranc's Chirurg. 306 Þe .i. instrument þat is comoun & moost in vss, is clepid nodulum. 1558–9Act 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. 1568Grafton Chron. II. 345 Gonnes were first in vse, which were inuented by one of Germany. 1631Gouge God's Arrows iv. Ded. p. v, I remember a Proverbiall speech in use among the Iewes. 1691T. H[ale] Acc. New Invent. 5 To apply themselves forthwith to the putting in use this Invention upon some of his own Ships. 1711Steele Spect. No. 36 ⁋8 All the fashionable Phrases and Compliments now in use. 1755Johnson, To Quarry,..to prey upon. A low word not in use. 1801Med. Jrnl. XXI. 83 Every plan of cure at present in use. 1885Manch. Exam. 10 July 5/2 Those [lamps] now in use. 1890Sir N. Lindley in Law Times Rep. LXIII. 690 These two forms of order..are in constant use in the Chancery Division.
(b)1388Wyclif Neh. x. 31 The puplis..that bryngen in thingis set to sale, and alle thingis to vss. a1425tr. Arderne's Treat. Fistula, etc. 89 Be it kept to vse in ane erþen potte. c1460Fortescue Abs. & Lim. Mon. vi. (1885) 120 It nedith þat ther be lyvelode asseigned ffor the payment therof; wich lyvelode be in no wyse putte to no other vse. 1552–3in Feuillerat Revels Edw. VI (1914) 112 By him bought and prouided and spent to the vse aforesaid. 1570Billingsley Euclid ii. prop. ii. 63 Which oftentimes serueth to great vse in working. 1590Shakes. Com. Err. iii. ii. 97, I know not what vse to put her too. 1628–a 1700 [see put v.1 18]. 1748Chesterfield Let. 16 Feb., Every moment may be put to some use. 1893Nat. Observer 7 Oct. 536/1 The gallows were put to real use.
(c)c1444Pecock Donet 51 Or ellis he takiþ into vse alle kyndis of hem [sc. goods]. 1688Miége Gt. Fr. Dict. ii. s.v., To put a Thing into Use. 1728North Mem. Music (1846) 55 Instruments..invented, and brought into common use. 1835Penny Cycl. IV. 398/1 At what time..bills of exchange were first brought into use is a matter..not..satisfactorily ascertained. 1879M. J. Guest Lect. Hist. Eng. I. 508 Two wonderful instruments had lately come into use. 1890Sat. Rev. 8 Feb. 175/2 This word came into use to express [etc.].
(d)1538Elyot, Exoletus, he that is passed growynge..olde, or out of vse. 1579E. K. Spenser's Sheph. Cal. Epist., Such good and naturall English words, as haue ben long time out of vse. 1603G. Owen Pembrokeshire iii. (1891) 36 And soe was the English growne out of use..and used only amonge the basest sorte of people. a1700Evelyn Diary 18 March 1649, The blessed Sacrament, now wholly out of use in the Parish Churches. 1710Steele Tatler No. 174 ⁋3 A broken Limb will recover its Strength by the sole Benefit of being out of Use. 1892Monthly Packet Oct. 430 The name..had in some way gone out of use.
(e)1548Elyot, Vsualis,..vsuall, that serueth for our vse. a1648Digby Chym. Secr. ii. (1684) 195 Make it up into Balls..and keep them for Use. 1697Dryden Virg. Georg. iii. 480 The Fleece, when drunk with Tyrian Juice, Is dearly sold; but not for needful use. 1742Young Nt. Th. ii. 154 Since Time was giv'n for use, not waste. 1807Crabbe Par. Reg. i. 81 There pious works for Sunday's use are found. 1896Lucas Cyclealities 117 A small Hold-all for use with handle-bar carriers.
(f)1611Bible Transl. Pref. ⁋1 Thus it is apparent, that these things..are of most necessary vse. 1648Sanderson Serm. (1653) 6 Words..of very frequent use in the New Testament. 1833Holland Manuf. Metal II. 285 Articles of such universal use and importance. 1839F. A. Kemble Resid. in Georgia (1863) 18 Implements..of household use. 1880J. Britten Old Words p. xiv, Others [sc. words] apparently of general use.
†b. in the use of, making use of. Obs.
1594Southampton Court Leet Rec. (1906) ii. 296 Robert Russell, william cortney, John grant nowe in the vse of Thomas heths brewary.
†c. of use, used, employed. Obs.—1
1634Sir T. Herbert Trav. 183 [The jacks] boyld giue food no lesse pleasant..then doe the Date-stones of vse in Persia.
3. In special senses:
a. The act of using or fact of being used as food, etc.; consumption.
1586Day Eng. Secretorie i. (1595) 27 A kind of graine growing in great cods, whereby we sometimes obtaine (though not the naturall) yet some vse of bread. 1588Kyd Househ. Philos. Wks. (1901) 259 The Nurses shoulde not be so narrowly forbidde the often vse of wynes. 1697Dryden Virg. Georg. iv. 231 They..hoard, for Winter's Use, the Summer's Gain. 1708Ockley Saracens I. Table, Sawik, a sort of Food in Use among the Arabians. 1725N. Robinson Th. Physick 290 The Patient should be exhorted not to leave off the Use of the Bark too soon. 1772W. Buchan Dom. Med. (ed. 2) 255 Wholesome food, and a moderate use of generous liquors. 1836A. Combe Physiol. Digestion (ed. 2) 319 Many persons imagine that spirits..cannot be injurious, because they feel no immediate bad effects from their use. 1862Chambers'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.
b. Employment or maintenance for sexual purposes. (See also quot. 1841.) Cf. use v. 10 b.
1565Cooper Thes. s.v. Fruor, He hath the vse of hir, &c. 1607Tourneur Rev. Trag. ii. ii, I cannot honor her [ante my mother],..Her tongue has turnd my sister into vse. 1647A. Ross Mystag. Poet. viii. (1675) 176 His step-mother desired the use of his body. Ibid. ix. 225 [Ixion] began to fall in love with Juno, desiring the use of her body. 1676R. Dixon Two Testaments 551 A wife, not a Concubine, might be taken by use; for a whole un-interrupted year without usurpation. 1748Earthquake Peru 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. 1841Hartshorne Salop. Ant. Gloss. 606 A mare is said to be ‘in use’ when she is under the influence of certain appetites or affections. 1894Nature's Method in Evol. Life iii. 45 The bulls [are] put to use about twelve months old. Ibid., Stallions are commonly in use long before they are full grown.
4. Law.
a. The act or fact of using, holding, or possessing land or other property so as to derive revenue, profit, or other benefit from such.
1535–6Act 27 Hen. VIII, c. 10 §6 Concernyng such right, title, use, interest, or possession as they..have clayme or pretende to have. 1579Rastell Termes de la Ley 183 b/2 The stat. of An. 27. H. 8. c. 10 prouided..that who hath the vse of the lande, the same hath y⊇ possession therof by vertue of that estatute. 1596Bacon Max. & Use Com. Law ii. (1635) 57 They conveyed their full estates of their lands in their good health, to friends in trust,..and this trust was called, the use of the land. 1642tr. Perkins' Prof. Bk. viii. §528. 231 Before the statute of West. 3,..there was no use of lands or of houses if not that it were expressed upon the delivery of the estate. 1681Stair Institut. xvi. 327 Usufruct is the power of disposal of the use and fruits, saving the Substance of the thing. 1706Stanhope Paraphr. III. 334 The longest Inheritance and Descent, is in truth but the longest Use, but not so much as a Lease or Tenant-right. 1734Pope Hor. Sat. 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? 1766Blackstone Comm. II. 137 The property or possession of the soil being vested in one man, and the use, or profit thereof, in another. 1818Cruise Digest (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. 1888Encycl. 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.
b. A trust or confidence reposed in a person for the holding of property, etc., of which another receives or is entitled to the profits or benefits.
1535Act 27 Hen. VIII, c. 10 §1 Fraudulent feoffementes, fynes, recoveryes, and other assurances craftely made to secrete uses, intentes, and trustes. Ibid. §12 Any person..seasid of or in any Landes, Ten[emen]tes, or Hereditamentes to any use, trust, or confydence. 1579Rastell Termes de la Ley 183 b/2 Vses of Land had beginning after that the custome of propertie began among men. 1628Coke On Litt. 272 b, An Vse is a Trust or Confidence reposed in some other. 1759Sterne Tr. Shandy i. xv, By force and virtue of the statute for transferring of uses into possession. 1765Blackstone Comm. II. 335 This is sometimes called a secondary, sometimes a shifting, use. 1766–[see springing ppl. a. 8]. 1845Williams Law Real Prop. 124 A doctrine was laid down, that there could not be a use upon a use. 1882F. Pollock in Macm. Mag. XLVI. 365 The Statute of Uses (a.d. 1535) was passed in order to prevent the severance of legal from beneficial ownership. 1888Encycl. Brit. XXIII. 596/1 The feoffee to uses, as he was called, or the person seised to the use of another.
c. In the phrase in use or to (..) use.
1491Act 7 Hen. VII, c. 2 §5 They and their feoffes to the use of every of theym. 1535Act 27 Hen. VIII, c. 10 §1 Any Honoures, Castelles,..Remaynders or other Hereditamentes, to the use, confidence or trust of any other..parsones or of anye bodie polytike. Ibid., In suche lyke estates as they had or shall have in use, trust, or confidence of or in the same. 1596Shakes. Merch. V. iv. i. 383 So he will let me haue The other halfe in vse, to render it Vpon his death, vnto the Gentleman. 1606― Ant. & Cl. i. iii. 44 But my full heart Remaines in vse with you. 1720T. 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. 1818Cruise Digest (ed. 2) V. 525 Supposing the Earl of Derby a feoffee to use,..still the grant..was free and gratuitous. 1888Encycl. Brit. XXIII. 596/1 This alienation of land in use was looked upon with great disfavour by the common law courts.
5. a. The fact of using money borrowed or lent at a premium.
1603Holland Plutarch's Mor. 283 [They] choose..to pawn them for to borrow money thereupon & pay for use. 1607Harington Nugæ Ant. (1804) II. 232 Sending some present, enough perhaps to pay for the use of 1000 li. 1641Aldeburgh Rec. in N. & Q. 12th Ser. IX. 146/2 Rec[ei]vd of Mr. John Blowers for one yeeres use of 40 li. 2[li.] 16. 00. 1729Jacob Law Dict. s.v. Usury, Reasonable Interest may be taken for the Use of Money at this Day. 1767Blackstone Comm. II. 454 When money is lent on a contract to receive..an increase by way of compensation for the use. 1862[see usance 4 b].
b. Premium on money lent to another; interest, usury. Now dial. or arch. Freq. to † take use or pay use.
In frequent use from c 1612 to c 1690.
1611Rich Honest. Age (Percy Soc.) 60 Therefore, (sayth the Vsurer), we may take vse of him that is rich. 1655Stanley Hist. Philos. iii. (1687) 104/2 If the Moon Ne'r rise again, I'me bound to pay no use... 'Cause use you know is paid by th' Month. 1690Child Disc. Trade 207 With them..there is not any Use for Money tollerated, above the rate of Six in the Hundred. 1728T. Sheridan tr. Persius vi. 93 Do not you..advise me, to live upon the Use of my Money. 1747Mem. Nutrebian Crt. I. 55 On whom he settled the use of 20,000 crowns for her life. 1825Jamieson. 1869–in dialect use (Eng. Dial. Dict.). 1872Tennyson Foresters iv, ‘Here be one thousand marks.’.. ‘Ay, ay, but there is use, four hundred marks.’
fig.1599Shakes. Much Ado ii. i. 286 Hee lent it [sc. his heart] me a while, and I gaue him vse for it, a double heart. 1628Earle Microcosm., Vniuersitie Dunne (Arb.) 74 The sole place to supply him is the Butterie, where hee takes grieuous vse vpon your Name. 1648J. Beaumont Psyche vi. ccxxiii, The Serpent, whose illustrious skin Plaid with the Sunne and sent him back his beams With glorious Use. 1784Cowper Task iii. 364 Human life Is but a loan to be repaid with use. 1874Hardy Far from Madding Crowd xli, You'll never see Fanny Robin no more—use nor principal—ma'am.
transf.1637in Verney Mem. (1907) I. 104 He threatens to make him pay use for his barn.
c. In the phr. at, to, † upon (..) use. Now dial.
(a)1598E. Guilpin Skial. (1878) 21 As heresie he shuns all merriment, And turn'd good husband, puts forth sighs to vse. 1631Massinger Emperor East i. ii, I, alas! Lend out my labouring brains to use, and sometimes For a drachma in the pound. 1642D. Rogers Naaman 158, I would not put my mony to use; but that it is against a Common wealth to keepe it. 1680R. L'Estrange Erasm. Colloq. (1725) 248 They Buy, they Sell, they take to Use, they put to Use. 1700J. A. Astry tr. Saavedra-Faxardo II. 149 We read, that Pompey put out his Money to Use. 1738tr. Guazzo's Art Convers. 43 Two Florentine Brethren, who let out their Money to Use. 1785Cumberland Natural Son v. (ed. 2) 82 You are my own son;—you have put my money out to use already.
(b)1618Barnevelt's Apol. C 4 b, Our last borrowed money is..at vse at sixteene. 1656Earl of Monmouth tr. Boccalini's Advts. fr. Parnass. 95 One Menalcas..took up money at use. 1727Swift To Earl of Oxford Wks. 1755 III. ii. 47 Is your money out at use? 1784R. Bage Barham Downs I. 172, I had three hundred pounds at use. 1814Scott Wav. xlii, If his honour had mair ready siller..he could put it out at use..at great profit. 1841Hartshorne Salop Ant. Gloss. 606 Money out at use. 1849–in dialect use (Eng. Dial. Dict. s.v.).
(c)1622Mabbe tr. Aleman's Guzman d' Alf. ii. 251 Let him but take vp so much vpon Vse. 1630R. Johnson's Kingd. & Commw. 353 Some doe give voluntarily, others doe lend frankly, or upon light use. 1667Duchess of Newcastle Life Duke of N. (1886) II. 146 The loss of my Lord's estate, in plain rents, as also upon ordinary use.
†d. use upon (also on) use, compound interest; excessive interest. Also fig. Obs.
[1591Sylvester Du Bartas i. iii. 521 You City-Vipers, that (incestious) joyn Use vpon use, begetting Coyn of Coyn!] 1620Sanderson Serm. (1632) 111 Your vse vpon vse, that doubleth the principall in seven yeares, is nothing to it. 1651Cleveland Smectymnuus 70 No Eccho can improve the Author more, Whose lungs paies use on use to half a score. 1682Sir T. Browne Chr. Mor. (1756) 15 To famish in plenty, and live poorly to die rich, were multiplying improvement in madness, and use upon use in folly.
6. Employment or usage resulting in, or such as to cause, impairment, wear, etc.
c1440Promp. Parv. 522/2 Weryn or wax olde and febyl by vse,..veterasco, vetero, invetero. 1670Sir Sackville Crow in 12th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. App. V. 15 Theire ordnary designes [in tapestry]..with a whiles use will soone loose theire luster. 1697Dryden Virg. Georg. iii. 6 All other Themes that careless Minds invite, Are worn with Use. 1755Johnson, To wear,..to waste with use or time. 1840Dickens Old C. Shop xvii, Everything told of long use and quiet slow decay. 1848Mill Pol. Econ. I. 44 Although deteriorated in some small degree by each use, it does not do its work by being deteriorated. 1904Verney Memoirs I. 68 The wear and tear of even holiday use.
II. Habit of using.
7. a. With the. The habitual, usual, or common practice; continual, repeated, or accustomed employment or exercise; habit, custom. (Cf. 9.)
1297R. Glouc. (Rolls) 9402 Þe wone & hus [v.r. vse] þat ȝe abbeþ euere ibe aboue þat aȝte make ȝou abbe to fiȝte þe betere loue. a1400–50Alexander 2950 Sen þe vse is here vn-honorable here I þam lefe. c1480Henryson Sheep & Dog ii, By the vse, and cours, and commoun style On this maner [he] maid his Citatioun. 1565Cooper Thesaurus s.v. Usus, To suche a one as was nowe paste the vse and custome of lewde doeynge. 1577B. Googe Heresbach's Husb. ii. 66 The vse of sowing of them is best. 1594Marlowe & Nashe Dido i. i, It is the vse for Turen maides to weare Their bowe and quiuer in this modest sort. 1604Jas. I Counterbl. to Tobacco To Rdr., The vile vse (or other abuse) of taking Tobacco. 1637Earl of Monmouth tr. Malvezzi's Romulus & Tarquin 209 The use of seeing dead men takes mercy totally away. 1656― tr. Boccalini's Advts. fr. Parnassus ii. xxviii. 271 The use of being drunk, being rather a piece of publick cunning amongst the Dutch, then [etc.]. 1720Ozell Vertot's Rom. Rep. (1740) II. xi. 170 Metellus Pius commanded them, as a Proconsul, according to the Use of those Days. 1725Pope Odyssey x. 551 The cause remov'd, habitual griefs remain, And the soul saddens by the use of pain. 1825Scott Betrothed xxi, One not in the use to speak before his purpose was fixed. 1854C. Wordsw. Misc. (1879) I. 104 The use is inveterate, and it would be difficult to reform it. 1877Mrs. Oliphant Makers Flor. iv. 112 The painter following the religious use and wont of his time.
b. In the phr. as the use is, etc. Cf. 9 b.
1432in 15th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. App. VIII. 44 The saidis Jone and Elisabeth sall be handfast, as the oys is, in haly Kirk. c1475Harl. Contin. Higden (Rolls) VIII. 441 That men electe to be bischoppes..may..be confermede of theire metropolitans as the use was afore. 1535Coverdale Judith xvi. 20 The people was ioyfull, as the vse is. 1611Bible 2 Macc. xii. 39 Vpon the day following as the vse had bene,..his company came to take vp the bodies. 1633P. Fletcher Purple Isl. i. v, Wake thy..Muse, And thank them with a song, as is the use. 1871W. Alexander Johnny Gibb xxxv, They fixed it [sc. the settlement of the minister], as the use and wont is, for a week day.
c. With limiting genitive or possessive pron.
1390Gower Conf. I. 15 Upon the hond to were a Schoo..Acordeth noght to the behove Of resonable mannes us. c1400Destr. Troy 6426 Nay, warloghe wolfe,..Þat neuer of forray art full, with þi foule vse. c1425Cast. Persev. 774 in Macro Plays 100 Messenger, do now þyne vse! Ibid. 949 Do now wel ȝoure olde owse whanne ȝe com to Mankynde! 1432Rolls of Parlt. IV. 404/1 Eny clothis..made aftre the use of the Countrey. 1535Coverdale 2 Macc. xi. 25 That they maye lyue acordinge to the vse & custome of their forefathers. 1568Grafton Chron. II. 89 His vse was to ride with a thousande horses continually. c1600Shakes. Sonn. lxxviii, So oft haue I inuok'd thee for my Muse,..As euery Alien pen hath got my vse. 1609Dekker Gull's Horn-bk. v. 22 Let it be your vse to repaire thither some halfe houre after eleuen. 1612Shelton Quix. i. iv. (1620) 24 It is the vse of Cowards to doe that which thou dost. 1670Walton Lives ii. 126 After his customary publick Devotions, his use was to retire into his Study. 1800Wordsw. Michael 155 Not alone For pastime and delight, as is the use Of fathers. 1836Husenbeth Faberism Exposed v. 528 The use and practice of the Catholic Church..of reordaining clerical converts from the Anglican Church. 1864Tennyson Aylmer's F. 566 The gentle creature shut from all Her charitable use,..slowly lost..her hold on life.
8. A custom, habit, or practice.
c1350Lybeaus Disc. 752 In fyghtyng he hath an us Knyghtes to begyle. c1425Wyntoun Cron. ii. v. 376 In till Egipt..That vys is kepit to þis day. c1450Mirk's Festial i. 113 Þou marterys me by a foule vse and custom of sweryng. c1489Caxton Sonnes of Aymon ix. 200 Be not dismayed for no thynge, for this is but an vse of werre; suche a thyng befalleth often to many one. 1542Boorde Dyetary (1870) 252 Englande hath an euyll vse in syttynge longe at dyner. 1587R. Hovenden in Collect. (O.H.S.) 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. 1601Hakluyt Galvano's Discov. World 15 It was a vse also..to passe to India by land. 1613Purchas Pilgrimage (1614) 749 They haue a filthy and detestable vse in marrying their Maidens. 1721Kelly Scot. Prov. 272 An ill Use ought to be early broken off. 1728Chambers Cycl. (1738) s.v., Uses and Customs of the sea. 1819Shelley Cenci iv. iv. 177 She knows not yet the uses of the world. 1875Gladstone Glean. (1879) VI. 124 When such an use came in, it was thought to be like a sign of the double superlative in High Churchmanship.
9. a. Without article. Accustomed practice or procedure; habit, usage, custom, wont. (Cf. 7.) Also (b) coupled with synonymous term, esp. wont.
(a)c1340Hampole Pr. Consc. 7634 Planetes..styk noght fast, als smale sternes dose, Ilk ane his course mase thurgh use. 1340–70Alex. & Dind. 720 Ȝe schullen bi ordre of vse offren to venus A ful derworþe douue. 1390Gower Conf. I. 133 The which to comun us is strange. c1440Alph. Tales 273 Opon þe day of his translacion it was vse to bere his bonys furth of þe kurk. c1480Henryson Fox & Wolf 173 Use drawis Nature swa in propertie Of beist and man, that neidlingis thay man do As thay of lang tyme hes bene hantit to. 1565Cooper Thesaurus s.v. Usus, Vse, the inuentour of woordes. 1585C. Fetherstone tr. Calvin on Acts vi. 2 Vse is the father of wisedome. 1651Hobbes Leviath. ii. xxvi. 138 Long Use obtaineth the authority of a Law. 1697Dryden Virg. Georg. ii. 366 So strong is Custom; such Effects can Use In tender Souls of pliant Plants produce. 1733Swift Apology Wks. 1755 IV. i. 212 Madam, the mighty pow'r of use Now strangely pleads in my excuse. 1781Cowper Convers. 189 To rush into a fixt eternal state,..Whatever use may urge, or honour plead, On reason's verdict is a madman's deed. 1812Cary Dante, Parad. xxvi. 135 In mortals, use Is as the leaf upon the bough: that goes, And other comes instead.
(b)1526Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 162 b, Let vs not come to y⊇ chirche by vse and custome, as the oxe to his stall. 1609Skene Reg. Maj. 44 He craues onelie na other service, bot vse and wont. 1689in Acts Parlt. Scotl. (1875) XII. 58/2 Þat the maltmen þer be lyable for the excyse according to use and wont. 1728Chambers Cycl. s.v. Language, 'Tis Use and Custom is the Rule of a Language. 1762in Nairne Peerage Evidence (1874) 95 Priviledges belonging to the said lands conform to use and wont. 1805Wordsw. Prelude xiv. 158 The tendency..Of use and custom to bow down the soul Under a growing weight of vulgar sense. 1825R. Wilson Sk. Hist. Hawick 190 This tax,..by the law of ‘use and wont’,..has become part and parcel of the system. 1850Tennyson In Mem. xxix. 11 Make one wreath more for Use and Wont, That guard the portals of the house.
attrib.1845Carlyle Cromwell (1871) IV. 42 Constitutional Presbyterian persons, Use-and-wont Neuters. 1885Pater Marius I. 131 A careless, half-conscious, ‘use-and-wont’ reception of our experience.
b. Sc. In the phr. as use is, etc. Cf. 7 b.
c1375Sc. Leg. Saints xviii. (Egipciane) 126 Syne, as oyse was, Þai entryt in þare oratore. 1423in Charters, &c. of Edinburgh (1871) 55 Payand of the chaldre as vse and custume is and as thai war wont to pay [etc.]. 1549Reg. Aberdon. (Maitl. Cl.) I. 434 As vse euer hes beyne in tyme bygane. 1557Reg. Cupar Abbey II. 140 Payand ȝerle..ten merkis money.., as vse and wont wes. 1697Jedburgh Fleshers' Book (MS.), [He] has payed all dewes as use is.
c. Freq. in the phr. in (..) use. Also (chiefly Sc.), to be in use of, or to (do something).
(a)c1450Mirk's Festial i. 45 Mony fals opynyons of wyche⁓craft..þe whech ben noght to telle among crysten men, lest þay wer drawen yn vse. 1565Cooper Thesaurus, Increbuit consuetudo, the custome did grow in vse. 1579Spenser Let. to Harvey Poet. Wks. (1912) 635/2 As for the twoo worthy Gentlemen,..they haue me..in some vse of familiarity. 1662Stillingfl. Orig. Sacr. ii. vii. §9 The reason of the ceremoniall precepts did respect the customs in use when they were given.
(b)1504Munim. de Melros (Bann. Cl.) 601 That the said schirref was in vse of calling of the said landis..in thare courtis. 1574Reg. Privy Council Scot. II. 389 He has bene in use of pament of the soume of fourtie pundis yeirlie. 1581Ibid. III. 399 They wer nevir in use of setting of new takkis befoir the expyring of the auld. 1800A. Carlyle Autobiog. (1860) 44, I was in use of going to my father's on Saturdays.
(c)1566Reg. Privy Council Scot. I. 492 The Personis of Glasgow hes alwayis bene in use to furneis breid. c1630Sir T. Hope Minor Practicks (1726) 26 The Executors..are in Use..to protest that [etc.]. 1759Robertson Hist. Scot. (1761) II. 77 The respect, with which the Scots were in use to receive her ministers. 1780Mirror No. 101, He too had been in use to talk of feeling and of sentiment. 1829Bentham Justice & Cod. Petit. 82 A multitude of distinguishable sources, out of which complexity is in use to arise. 1862Chambers's Encycl. III. 608/2 The emperors were in use expressly to confer upon the universities the right of appointing doctors of laws.
†d. Ordinary or usual experience. Obs.—1
1588Kyd Househ. Phil. Wks. (1901) 266 One should so helpe another as wee see by vse in our owne bodies; when the one leg is weary we can rest it on the other [etc.]. 1601Sir W. Cornwallis Ess. ii. xxxii, But to my vse, we leaue our women ignorant, and so leaue them fearefull.
10. Const. of.
a. Opportunity, occasion, habit, or practice of using. Chiefly to have the use of.
a1340Hampole Psalter lii. 2 Thai ere brokyn fra oyse and strenght of reson. c1380Wyclif Wks. (1880) 453 As seyntes þat ben in heuene han vss of alle þes worldly godis. Ibid., Þis is þe freest vss þat men han off worldly godis. 1565Cooper Thesaurus, Ususfructuarius,..he that hath the vse and fruite of a thyng, but not the proprietie. 1577Holinshed Chron. I. Hist. Scotl. xiv. 21/2 The Pict (saith Herodian) hath generally no vse of apparell. 1590Sir J. Smyth 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. 1656H. Phillips Purch. Patt. (1676) 137 Men, who have daily use hereof, have tables and lines upon their Rulers. 1698Froger Voy. 75 Not having the use or knowledge of iron. 1715Leoni Palladio's Archit. (1742) I. 82 The Ancients not having had the Use of Stirrups. 1774J. Bryant Mythol. I. 341 They had the use of the sphere, and were acquainted with the zodiac. 1780Mirror No. 81, I was never allowed the use of my limbs, because I could afford a coach. 1814Wordsw. Excurs. v. 849 Nature's..higher creatures born and trained To use of reason. 1826Galt Last of Lairds ix. 85 Considering the use ye have had of his money.
b. The power of using some faculty, etc.; ability to use or employ.
1483Caxton Gold. Leg. 432/1 Fyue wymmen..recouerd the use of goyng whiche they had loste by dyuers sekenesse. 1539Elyot Cast. Helth (1541) 64 Passions of the mynde..bryng a man from the vse of reason, and somtime in the displeasure of almightye God. 1585T. Washington tr. Nicholay's Voy. Ep. Ded., He had the exquisite vse of two and twenty sundry tongues. 1592in J. Morris Troubles Cath. Forefathers (1877) 30 Another Catholic, that had but the use of one of his hands. 1610Shakes. Temp. iii. iii. 38 People..expressing (Although they want the vse of tongue) a kinde Of excellent dumbe discourse. a1654Gataker Antid. Errour Ep. Ded. (1670) A 3 b, If God had granted him a little longer use of light [= life]. 1711Steele Spect. No. 36 ⁋8 How hard a thing it is for those to keep Silence who have the Use of Speech. 1753Challoner Cath. Chr. Instr. 23 Till a Person is come to the Use of Reason. 1859Tennyson Merlin & V. 495 She lay as dead, And lost all use of life. 1860Mrs. Carlyle Lett. (1883) III. 51 ‘Little darling’ has lost the use of an arm and hand by paralysis.
11. The act of accustoming or fact of being accustomed by repeated exercise, employment, application, etc.; habituation, practice.
1382Wyclif 1 Sam. xvii. 39 Thanne Dauid..began to asaye if armyd he myȝte goo... And Dauid seide to Saul, I may not thus goo, for and vse I haue not. c1440Promp. Parv. 508/1 Vse, oftyne tymys, þat ys callyd excersyse,..exercicium. c1470Henry Wallace viii. 1259 Lang ws in wer gert thaim desyr thair will. 1529More Dyaloge i. Wks. 144/2 Howe far so euer his people fal from the vse of vertue. 1551T. Wilson Logike C viii, When men can by muche vse, leape, wrastle, or cast the barre, better then any other. a1586Sidney Astroph. & Stella cvii, Giue thy lieuetenancie To this great cause, which needes both use and art. 1680Moxon Mech. Exerc. xii. 203 Use has made the Mawl more handy for them. a1774Goldsm. tr. Scarron's Com. Romance (1775) I. 154, I frequented all the fencing-schools to keep my hand in vse. 1788Gibbon Decl. & F. xli. IV. 130 The infantry..yielded to the more prevailing use and reputation of the cavalry. 1805Wordsw. Prelude vii. 332 Ere we have learnt by use to slight the crimes And sorrows of the world. 1819Shelley Cenci iii. i. 173 Should the offender live?..and make, by use, His crime Thine..element.
12. Eccl.
a. The distinctive ritual and liturgy, form of service or public worship, that prevailed or obtained in a particular church, province, diocese, community, etc. Now Hist.
c1380Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 202 To seie matynes and masse and evensong bi Salisbury uss. Ibid. 482. c 1450 St. Cuthbert (Surtees) 7549 Of monkys vse þai saide þair houres. c1470Henry Wallace x. 1006 Salysbery oyss our clerkis than has tan. 1527Prymer (title-p.), This prymer of Salysbury vse. 1548–9(title), The Booke of the Common Prayer..after the vse of the Churche of England. Ibid. Pref., Some folowyng Salsbury vse, some Herford vse, some the vse of Bangor, some of Yorke, and some of Lincolne. Ibid., From hencefurth, all the whole realme shall haue but one vse. 1590in Fuller Ch. Hist. (1655) ix. 198 The said Thomas Cartwright..conformed himself in both to the use and form of some other forraign Churches. 1636E. Pagitt Christianogr. iii. 95 The Popes Legates..brought in the Roman use or service into Ireland. 1643Baker Chron., Hen. V, 58 In his third yeare, the order of Church Service..was changed from the use of Pauls to the use of Salisbury. 1849Rock Ch. of Fathers i. v. (1903) I. 321 Almost the whole of the Salisbury Use had been printed while this country was still Catholic. 1878Simmons Lay Folks Mass Bk. 89 The Order of Mass for Trinity Sunday, according to the use of York. Ibid. 354 A comparative calendar and index of fixed feasts, so necessary in the identification of uses.
b. Religious rite or ceremony observed in particular services of the church; a customary form of religious observance or service.
1382Wyclif Exod. xxvii. 19 Alle the vessels of the tabernacle, into alle vsis and serymonyes,..thow shalt make of brasse. c1425Wyntoun Cron. ii. 715 His body..Was put in honest sepulture, Wiþ swylk oysse and solempnyte As þat tyme was in þat cuntre. 1560J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 34 He him selfe..cannot tell what time this accustomed vse of masse..came vp. 1877A. J. Ross Mem. A. Ewing 180 Some very remarkable ‘uses’.., such as mixing water with the wine in the Holy Communion. 1889Pater G. de Latour (1896) 39 This mother of churches, which had also its own picturesque peculiarities of ‘use’. 1897Daily News 12 April 6/7 The revived ‘use’ of the Victorian era in the Anglican Church.
13. a. The custom, usage, or practice obtaining or prevailing in a particular country, community, etc.
1432–50tr. Higden (Rolls) I. 401 The vse of that cuntre differrethe from the rite of Englonde in clothenge,..and in mony other thynges. c1450J. Capgrave Life St. Augustine 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. c1500Melusine xxvi. 207 The halle was hanged nobly with ryche clothes after the vse of the land. 1582N. Lichefield tr. Castanheda's Conq. E. Ind. i. lxxvi. 155 His night gowne was..after the French use laced about, with lase of golde. 1885Dunckley in Manch. Weekly Times 23 May 5/6 The proper pronunciation..was handed down by oral tradition and by the use of the synagogue.
†b. Sc. Accustomed manner of life. Obs.
c1425Wyntoun Cron. vii. 1218 His awyn oysse to lif wertual, May mirroure and ensampil be Til alkyn statis. c1470Henry Wallace vii. 1279 In wtlaw oys he lewit thar but let.
III. Manner of using.
14. Manner or mode of employing, applying, turning to account, etc.:
a. With qualifying adjs.
c1325Metr. Hom. 3 That wisdom..That God hauis giuen us for to spend, In god oys til our liues end. a1340Hampole Psalter lxxvii. 14 He gifis þaim..riches, and þai dispend þaim in ill oyse. c1340― Prose Tr. 11 All maner of wilfull pollusyone procurede one any maner agaynes kyndly oys. 1390Gower Conf. III. 136 Loke wel that he ne schifte Hise wordes to no wicked us. 1526Tindale Romans i. 27 Lyke wyse also the men lefte the naturall vse of the woman. 1563Homilies ii. Use of Ch. ii. Cc iij, Concernyng the right vse of the temple of god. 1592W. Wyrley (title), The True Vse of Armorie, shewed by Historie. 1667Milton P.L. iv. 204 [He] perverts best things To worst abuse, or to thir meanest use. 1781Cowper Retirem. 170 Nor these alone prefer a life recluse, Who seek retirement for its proper use. 1804Med. Jrnl. XII. 433 The result of the advantageous use of that remedy.
b. Without qualification.
1624E. Gunter (title), The Description and vse of the Sector. The Crosse-staffe and other instruments. 1669Sturmy Mariner's Mag. i. ii. 5 So have you made the Mariner's Sea-Compass. The Use shall be shew'd in its place. 1703Moxon Mech. Exerc. 348 The use of the Line of Chords. As its use is very easie, so its convenience is very great.
15. With a and pl. A manner or method of using, utilizing, or employing; an instance of this. to make a{ddd}use of: cf. 1 c.
1386Rolls of Parlt. III. 226/1 The whiche comune wronge uses [of the king's power], and many other if it lyke to yow mowe be shewed. 1611Bible Transl. Pref. ⁋4 But what mention wee three or foure vses of the Scripture? 1634Sir T. Herbert Trav. 154 If they casually finde a piece of paper that has his [sc. Jesus'] name in it, they preserue it from all bad uses. 1651J. Reading Guide to Holy City xxxv. 428 To make a more thankfull, prudent, and holy use thereof [sc. of health]. 1725Watts Logic (1736) 359 There is a proper Use to be made of large Paraphrases. Ibid., There is also a Use of shorter Hints. 1774Goldsm. Nat. Hist. (1776) VI. 250 With respect to their [sc. animals] uses indeed,..they differ much. 1819Shelley Cenci iv. iii. 55 Thou wert a weapon in the hand of God To a just use. 1825Scott Talism. xii, A use of the weapon, sometimes..resorted to, when a missile was necessary. 1849Macaulay Hist. Eng. vi. II. 64 He..made so dexterous an use of the influence of that cabal that [etc.]. 1875Jowett Plato (ed. 2) IV. 157 Some of these uses of the word are confusing.
IV. Purpose served by the thing used.
16. a. A purpose, object, or end, esp. of a useful or advantageous nature.
c1340Hampole Pr. Consc. 3674 Yhit may it availle to a gude use. 1382Wyclif Titus iii. 14 Forsothe and oure men lerne for to be bifore in good werkis, to necessarie vses, that thei be not vnfruytouse. c1425Wyntoun Cron. ii. 246 He ordaynyt þe iugis set [= seat] To be for þat oysse þe market. 1495Glanvil Trevisa's Barth. De P.R. v. lxiv. (W. de W.) 182 Skynnes of beestes ben graunted to men for ryght many maners and dyuerse vses. 1552–3in Feuillerat Revels Edw. VI (1914) 104 Prouided for lynyng of..his officers garmentes and like vses. 1597Hooker Eccl. Pol. v. lxxix. §1 If we..convert some small contemptible portion thereof to charitable uses. 1623J. Taylor (Water P.) Discov. by Sea B 8 b, At his death perhaps..he will giue..a little money to Pious vses. 1669Sturmy Mariner's Mag. ii. vi. 67 This is sufficient for that Use, to shew you the difference between the true Compass and the Steering Compass. 1726Swift Gulliver i. viii, I had the tallow..for greasing my boat, and other uses. 1736Act 9 Geo. II, c. 36 Many large..Alienations or Dispositions made by..Persons, to Uses called Charitable Uses. 1818Shelley Julian & Maddalo 100, I..saw..A building on an island; such a one As age to age might add, for uses vile. 1842Tennyson Day-Dream 201 To what uses shall we put The wildweed-flower that simply blows?
b. With limiting genitive phr. or poss. pron.
1382Wyclif Exod. xxx. 37 Siche a makynge ȝe shulen not make into ȝoure owne vses. 1535Coverdale Baruch vi. 10 The prestes..take the golde and syluer from them, and put it to their owne vses. 1550Extr. Aberd. Reg. (1844) I. 277 That tha may caus mak inuintour thairof to be keipit to the vsis of the altaragis thairof in tymes cuming. 1600Shakes. 2 Hen. IV, ii. i. 127 (Q. 1), You haue..made her serue your vses both in purse and in person. 1654Nicholas Papers (Camden) II. 43 There is some oweing to me, that I have layd out for his Highnes uses. 1673Ray Journ. Low C. 36 To cast the Rain Water..into a large Cistern, where it is kept for the uses of the House.
†c. The provision, supplying, or maintenance of something. Obs. rare.
1382Wyclif 2 Sam. xxiv. 22 Hast thou..a wayn, and ȝockis of oxen into the vse of trees [1388 in to vss of wode]. 1427Cov. Leet Bk. 110 Dyuers somes..to go to þe vce of vestments of þe Trinite chirche. 1496Ibid. 572 Euery other person [to pay]..xx d. to þe vse of þe Cundith. 1497Ibid. 587.
†d. A part of a sermon or homily devoted to the practical application of doctrine. Obs.
1631Massinger Emperor East iii. ii, I am so tir'd With your tedious exhortations, doctrines, vses, Of your religious morality. 1641Brome Joviall Crew Ded., I will winde up all, with a Use of Exhortation. 1679South Serm. 43, I proceed now to the Uses which may be drawn from the Truths delivered. 1734Watts Relig. Juv. (1789) 81 In his last sermon he had an use of reproof, for some vices which were practised..in his parish. 1816Scott Old Mort. xvii, A..devout, Christian woman, whom many thought as good as himself at extracting a doctrine or an use. Ibid. xviii, The discourse..was divided into fifteen heads, each of which was garnished with seven uses of application.
fig.1632Massinger Maid of Hon. i. i, When you had been Cudgell'd well twice or thrice, and from the doctrine Made profitable uses.
e. Forging. (See quots. 1861 and 1875.)
1783H. 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. 1861Sir 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. 1863Appleby's Handbk. Mach. & Iron Work 49 Forgings... Boss Uses. 1875Knight Dict. Mech. 2685 Use,..a slab of iron welded to the side of a bar near the end, to be drawn down by the hammer in prolongation of the length of the bar.
17. The fact or quality of serving the needs or ends of a person or persons.
Catch-phr. — for the use of, with the obj. of of preposed.
a1340Hampole Psalter iv. 8 Whet, wyne and oile..ere mast nedful til mannys oise. 1375Barbour Bruce xix. 196 [They] distroyit the men ilkane, And till thar oys thar gude has tane. c1400Mandeville (Roxb.) xviii. 84 Of þe whyte peper sell þai bot lytill,..bot kepez it till þair awen vse. c1450Lovelich Merlin 946 (Kölbing), God to his ws hath taken it, trewly. c1480Henryson Pract. Medecyne 47 This vntment is rycht ganand for ȝour awin vs. 1522in Ripon Ch. Acts (Surtees) 357 To the usse and behowe of Cecill my wiffe. 1560Bible Judith xii. 15 Her maide..spred for her skinnes..which she had receiued of Bagoes for her daily vse. ― Wisdom xv. 7 The potter..facioneth euerie vessel with labour to our vse. 1617J. Taylor (Water P.) Observ. & Trav. fr. London to Hamburgh F 2, Hares..killed..and carried to the markets by cart-loads, and sold for the vse of the honourable owners. 1657Milton Lett. State Wks. 1851 VIII. 387 Rice, Sugar, and Coffee..for the use of the Grand Seignior. 1713Berkeley Hylas & Phil. i. Wks. 1871 I. 273 Common language..is framed by and for the use of the vulgar. 1774Goldsm. Nat. Hist. (1776) I. 230 We shall never know whether the things of this world have been made for our use. 1821Scott Pirate ii, A bargain of rock-cod, purchased..for the use of the family. 1895Scully Kafir Stories 106 Food for the use of the Zulus on the journey would be provided.
1959[see Mallaby-Deeley]. 1971D. Francis Bonecrack iv. 44 There was..an armchair of sorts, visitors for the use of.
18. Law. The advantage of a specified person or persons in respect of profit or benefit derived from lands or tenements, etc.
In AF. the original us (also use) was later replaced by the unrelated forms oes, eus, eups, ops, oeps: see oeps.
1393in Collect. Topogr. (1836) III. 256 A rente charge paiable to the vs and profit of his chanterie there. 1429Rolls of Parlt. IV. 344/1 Any of the seide Lordes shal,..to thair use or behove, receyve or take any astate, feffement, or possession of landys..that standith..in debate. 1442Ibid. V. 57/1 The said Feffees haue no title ner interest therynne, but only upon trust, and to his use, to execute his will. 1487Act 3 Hen. VII, c. 4 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. 1535–6Act 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. 1599in Roxb. Ball. (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. 1729Jacob Law Dict., Cestui que Use..signifies him to whose Use any other Man is enfeoffed of any Lands or Tenements. 1766Blackstone Comm. II. 271 The lands were granted..to nominal feoffees to the use of the religious houses. 1818Cruise Digest (ed. 2) I. 338 If the heir refuses to come in.., the Lord..may seize the estate to his own use. 1843Penny 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.
19. Office; function; service.
1509Hawes Past. Pleas. xxiv. (Percy Soc.) 108 This is the use of the eyene intere, To se all thynges. 1560Bible (Genev.) 1 Chron. xxviii. 15 For the candlestickes of siluer,..and the lampes thereof, according to the vse of euerie candlesticke. a1718Prior Alma ii. 398 Observe but in these Neighb'ring Lands, The diff'rent Use of Mouths and Hands. 1729Law Serious C. iv. 47 Things may, and must differ in their use. 1811A. T. Thomson Lond. Disp. (1818) 442 The use of the sand in these processes is to prevent the amber..from passing over into the receiver. 1858Sears Athan. xviii. 161 It performs its use in the grand economy.
20. a. The character, property, or quality which makes a thing useful or suitable for some purpose; capability for securing some end; usefulness, utility; advantage, benefit.
1598J. Manwood Lawes Forest To Rdr., The necessarie vse and common good, that may arise..by the publishing of this Treatise. 1628Prynne Cens. Cozens 40, I would willingly learne but this much..: what vse there is of these Deuotions..in our Church or State? 1667Milton P.L. vii. 346 God made two great Lights, great for thir use To Man. 1700Locke Hum. Und. (ed. 4) iv. vii. §14, I may have reason to think their use is not answerable to the great Stress which seems to be laid on them. 1712Steele Spect. No. 492 ⁋2 Here's a little Country Girl that's very cunning, that makes her use of being young and unbred. 1759Johnson Rasselas xxxi, He that has built for use, till use is supplied, must begin to build for vanity. 1780Bentham Princ. 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. 1853Kane Grinnell Exp. xxix. (1856) 248 Her position changes so constantly that there is little use of recording it. 1878T. Hardy Ret. Native ii. ii, Is there any use in saying what can do no good, aunt? 1880Mrs. Forrester Roy & V. I. 3 What is the use of making up my mind.
b. In the phr. to or of (no, little, etc.) use.
(a)1382Wyclif Wisdom xiii. 13 To noon vse, a crokid tree..he maketh. 1542Udall tr. Erasm. Apoph. 157 b, Denying the arte of geometrie..to bee to veraye litle use or purpose. 1611Bible Tobit vi. 6 To what vse is..the gall of the fish? 1643Cromwell Lett. & Sp. (1871) II. 288 It is to no use any man's saying he will do this or that. 1868–in Yks. and Oxford dialect use (Eng. Dial. Dict.).
(b)1627J. Taylor (Water P.) Armado, or Navy of Land Ships C 1, The Snarle, a small dogged Pinnace, of more vse then profit. 1634Sir T. Herbert Trav. 35 A Castle planted with great Ordnance and Ammunition, but of small vse. 1663Bp. Patrick Parab. Pilgr. xxxvi, It is a thing of great Use, and great Value. 1711Addison Spect. No. 121 ⁋2 Beasts and Birds..that are of Assistance and Use to Man. 1735Johnson Lobo's Abyssinia Voy. iv. 27 Some pieces of Callicoe, which were of the same Use as Money. 1810Crabbe Borough xx. 322 To be of use Would pleasant thoughts and heavenly hopes produce. 1859F. E. Paget Curate Cumbersworth 354, I had good reason to hope that I was being of use at Roost. 1880Geikie Phys. Geog. ii. 83 Snow is of great use in winter, as it protects vegetation from being nipped by severe frost.
c. With ellipse of prep.
1820Shelley Let. to Maria Gisborne 222 Alas! it is no use to say, ‘I'm poor!’ 1837J. H. Newman Lett. (1891) II. 230 From their thinking it no use doing good, unless it is talked about. 1874G. W. Dasent Half a Life III. 46 Fifty years before it might have been some use to him. 1886‘H. Conway’ Living or Dead xxv, Rothwell [tried]..to look as much at his ease as possible. But it was no use.
21. a. Need or occasion for using or employing; necessity, demand, exigency. Freq. to have use for (or † of).
1604Shakes. Oth. iii. iii. 319 Giue it [sc. a handkerchief] me... I haue vse for it. 1607Norden Surv. Dial. 213 For there is no Country..but hath vse of timber. 1633Bp. Hall Hard Texts, N.T. 95 Not out of any necessity or use of nature..he took that fish. 1672Mede's Wks. (ed. 3) Life p. xxxvi, A Book of Mathematicks which he had great use of, and had long thirsted after. 1695Dryden Parallel Poetry & Paint. Ess. (ed. Ker) II. 140 Our author calls them figures to be let; because the picture has no use of them. 1826Andrew Scott Poems 39 The warld will still have use for you and me. 1854H. Miller Sch. & Schm. vii, There was no use, they said, for being in the Devil's Cave so late.
b. In the phr. to have no use for, to be set against; to wish to have nothing to do with; to dislike. orig. U.S.
1872Harper's Mag. June 158/2 He was an obstinate fellow..and moreover, he ‘had no use for’ the defendant any way. 1887Trans. Amer. Philol. Assoc. XVII. 46, I have no use for him—don't like him. 1896Harper's Mag. XCII. 771/1 Bülow..spoke his mind freely to his adjutant. ‘I have no use for Bernadotte,’ said he. 1903‘H. S. Merriman’ Last Hope xl, The Marquis had..spoken in French, and the Captain had no use for that language.
V.
22. attrib. and Comb., as use-value; use-established, use-making, use-trampler; use-forge (see 16 e and forge n.); use immunity U.S. Law (see quot. 1972); use-inheritance (see quot. 1890); use-life, useful life. Also use-man, -money.
1608Dod & Cleaver Expos. Prov. ix–x. 15 A profitable use-making of the undeserued favour..shewed unto them. 1617Hieron Wks. (1620) II. 290 The well vnderstanding and right vse-making of these. 1873Iron 5 Apr. 356/1 A use forge with a 45-cwt. double-acting Nasmyth's steam hammer. 1887Browning Parleyings, Apollo & Fates 61 What if we granted—law flouter, use-trampler—His life at the suit of an upstart? 1887tr. Marx' Capital I. 2 The utility of a thing makes it a use-value. Ibid., Use-values become a reality only by use or consumption. 1890W. 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. 1897Month April 364 ‘Mass,’ in the honest, use-established sense, means the Roman Mass.
1950Chambers's Jrnl. Mar. 191/2 It is now reported that the magnesium type of dry-cell has a ‘use-life’ of about thirty hours. 1972Computers & Humanities VII. 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.
1972New 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. 1976Ibid. 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.
▪ II. use, v.|juːz|
Forms: α. 3–4, 7 vsen (5 vsyn, vson), 3–4 usen (5 usyn), 4–7 vse (3–4 vsi, 4 vsy, 4–5 vsie, Sc. 5–6 wse, 6 ws, vsz), 4– use (4 usy, 8 ues); 5 ouse, yowese, 6 (9 dial.) youse, 9 dial. yuse, 5 (9 dial.) hewse, 6 euse (9 dial. ewse). β. north. and Sc. 4 oise, 4–6 oys, oyse, 5–6 oyss (5 oysse, os, ose), 6 oiss; 4 wyse, 5 vyse, 6 vise.
[ad. OF. user (also F.), useir, usser, uiser, etc. (= Sp. and Pg. usar, It. usare, med.L. ūsāre), f. L. ūs-, ppl. stem of ūtī: see prec.]
I.
1. a. trans. To celebrate, keep, or observe (a rite, custom, etc.); to pursue or follow as a custom or usage.
a1240Lofsong in O.E. Hom. I. 207 Þurh alle þe oðre sacremenz þet holi chirche foluweð and useð. c1290Beket 518 in S. Eng. Leg. I. 121 Customes here weren bi-fore i-vsed, ich onder-stonde. 1340Ayenb. 48 Vor alle þe sacremens of holi cherche me ssel vsi clenliche. 1387Trevisa Higden (Rolls) IV. 351 Þat manere is ȝit i-used in the chirche of Rome. c1400Destr. Troy 9097 Þen ordant was..a fynerall fest, þat frekes þen vset. a1450Compend. Treat. in Roy Rede me, etc. (Arb.) 183 The lettre of the ceremonies of ye olde lawe sleyth the Iewes and them that nowe vsen them. c1450St. Cuthbert (Surtees) 2076 Þai vsed customes vnstabill. 1504in Leadam Star Chamber Cases (Selden Soc. 1911) II. 286 Contrare to ther costomez out of tyme of mynde vsed. c1592Marlowe Jew of Malta iv. ii, Bar. No, 'tis an order which the Fryars vse. 1622J. Taylor (Water P.) Farew. Tower-bottles A 2 b, So..did Customes change: The Ancient vse, vs'd many yeares before, Was solde. 1625Purchas Pilgrims II. 1132 The like custom is vsed throughout the Dominions of Mutezuma. a1648Ld. Herbert Hen. VIII (1683) 7 That the Crown might be put on the King's Head with that Solemnity, which in former times was used. 1889Meiklejohn New Hist. Eng. i. 11 Many noble Britons assumed and used the Roman toga,..and the customs and manners of their conquerors.
†b. (to be) used, to constitute a use, usage, or custom; to be usual or customary. Also (b) with to (and inf.), or that (and clause). Obs.
13..Gosp. Nicodemus (G.) 122 Of Emperoures þat are had bene Þis was used in þat land. 1387Trevisa Higden (Rolls) V. 145 It was i-ordeyned þe Lente fastynge of Crist..schulde bygynne and dure as it is now i-used. 1422Yonge tr. Secreta Secret. 247 Aftyr the..houre of the day y-custumet or vset. 1550Crowley Last Trumpet 1231 Thou shalt not fynd that thou maiest..leauy a great fine More then hath bene vsed alwayes. 1582Stanyhurst æneis i. (Arb.) 28 Of Tyrian virgins too weare thus a quiuer is vsed [L. mos est]. 1648Gage West Ind. 88, I thought..of Indians turned into the shape of beasts (which amongst some hath been used). 1650in W. S. Perry Hist. Coll. Amer. Col. Ch. (1860) I. 2 It shall be lawful, as it hath been used heretofore, to make Probates of wills..in the Colony.
(b)1377Langl. P. Pl. B. xviii. 377 It is nouȝt vsed in erthe to hangen a feloun Ofter þan ones. c1450in Surtees Misc. (1890) 62 It is usyd that the sayd Burgese schall chese..two ale tastars. 1487Sc. Acts, Jas. III (1814) II. 182/2 Ane vthir to..haue thare feis as wes vsit to be gevin to..changeoures in ald tymes. 1523Fitzherb. Husb. §15 It is vsed in many countreys, the husbandes to haue an oxe-harowe..made of sixe smal peces of timbre. 1548Hall Chron., Hen. VII, 50 b, It was also vsed that he..shoulde likewise..be..committed to the Bishoppes pryson. 1577Fulke Answ. True Christian 42 From the beginning it was not vsed to praye for the deade. 1621Bp. R. Montagu Diatribæ 531 It was in old times vsed..for men to shaue themselues. 1642tr. Perkins' Prof. Bk. ii. §119. 53 Forasmuch as it is commonly used to write a deed before it be sealed.
†2. To observe or comply with (a law, rule, etc.); to enforce or put into practice. Obs.
a1300Cursor M. 9478 Þis es bot lagh..Vsed in curth þis ilk dai. c1320Cast. Love 240 In þe kynges court ȝit vche day Me vseþ þulke selue lay. c1350Will. Palerne 5240 Alle luþer lawes þat long hadde ben vsed. 1440Paston Lett. I. 40 The Duk..hath made his oath upon the Sacrement, and usyd it, never for to bere armes ayenst Englond. c1450St. Cuthbert (Surtees) 2076 To vse þair reule þai [sc. monks] had na wille. Ibid. 3706 Our haly faders statutes,..Vyse ȝe þaim besyly as ȝow aghte. 1526Tindale 1 Tim. i. 8 We knowe that the lawe is god, yf a man vse it lawfully. 1609Skene Reg. Maj. 3 Al Barons sall receaue, and vse the lawes, as they are vsed in the Kings court.
3. To prosecute or pursue (some course of action); to do, perform, carry on. Now rare.
αa1352Minot Poems (ed. Hall) ii. 30 Þe Skotte..vses all threting with gaudes and gile. 1444Rolls of Parlt. V. 121 The seid Co[mun]alte..may use accion of the somes of money accorded to the payd to the seid Co[mun]alte, ayeinst him. 1454Ibid. 255 That all manere of persones..use thaire continuel abood uppon thaire said Office. 1547Boorde Introd. Knowl. 217 They be lyght fyngerd and vse pyking. 1573Tusser Husb. (1878) 113 Use now in thy rie, little raking or none. 1648Gage West Ind. x. 35 The chiefest Market place, where all the buying and selling was used. 1670Narborough Jrnl. in Acc. Sev. Late Voy. i. (1694) 52 They use bathing and stuping those places. 1765–8Erskine Inst. Law Scot. ii. ix. §4 The superior's consent is presumed, from his not using acts of interruption. 1873W. Stokes Rapid Writing 100 The Art of using writing should be..inculcated by all teachers.
β1375Barbour Bruce x. 565, I oysit lang that travalling, So that I can that rod ga richt. c1425Wyntoun Cron. vii. x. 3528 In Ingilwode and Bernnysdaile Þai oyssit al þis tyme þar trawale. c1450St. Cuthbert (Surtees) 7008 At his graue he vysit praying. 1513Douglas æneid xii. xiv. 110 Oys furth thy chance: quhat nedis proces mar?
†4.
a. To ply or carry on (an occupation, profession, etc.); to follow or exercise; to discharge the functions of (an office). Obs.
1375Barbour Bruce xii. 414 Men that oysis thai mysteris. 1382Wyclif 1 Chron. xxiv. 2 Eleasar vsede presthode, and Ythamar. c1440Generydes 1176 Wherefore they calle vs noo good lauenders, And we haue vsid it thus many yerez. 1495Acta Dom. Conc. (1839) 415/1 In caise..Alexander haid remanit..nocht within þe said toune nor vsand þe Course of merchandise þerintill. 1542Reg. Cupar Abbey II. 22 We will at nane hant nor vs the office of brewing, bakin, selling of wyne [etc.]. 1556Rec. Inverness (New Spald. Cl.) I. 2 Aganis the law the sayd Thom..dispresit him wsand his office. 1585T. Washington tr. Nicholay's Voy. ii. viii. 42 [If] she will continue in that occupation, she..may vse it at her pleasure. 1611Bible 1 Tim. iii. 10 Then let them vse the office of a Deacon, being found blamelesse. 1652Needham tr. Selden's Mare Cl. 197 Merchants..using Commerce in the very Sea with the Inhabitants. 1665in De Foe Plague (1754) 48 That no Searcher..be permitted to use any public Work or Employment. 1721Perry Daggenh. Breach 115 Commanders of Ships, particularly those who use the Southern Trade. 1773Life N. Frowde 75 An Implement Nr. M‘Namara had worn ever since he used the Mediterranean Trade.
transf.1730Lett. to Strickland rel. Coal Trade 16 A Number of Ships crouded into the [Coal] Trade, that did not use it before.
†b. To follow or pursue (a manner or course of life). Obs.
c1340Hampole Prose Tr. 25 Our Lorde forto stere som forto vse this medlid liffe toke [etc.]. a1450Knt. de la Tour (1868) 12 [She] used the blessed lyf that any woman might. 1483Caxton Gold. Leg. 195 b/1 Whan she had lyued and usyd thys lyf fyfty yere. 1578Scot. Poems 16th C. (1801) II. 125 The wicked life that I did vse. 1821Scott Pirate xxxi, I am determined to turn honest man, and use this life [sc. piracy] no longer.
c. To spend or pass (a period of time) in a certain way. (Now only as implying sense 7.)
1477Earl Rivers (Caxton) Dictes 5 He is happy that usith his dayes in doyng couenable thinges. a1533Ld. Berners Huon lxxxii. 256 In grete doloure & payne I haue vsyd my youth. 1538Starkey England i. i. 24 So now also vse your tyme..to the mayntenance..of the same. 1607Shakes. Timon iii. i. 39, I haue obserued thee alwayes for..one that knowes what belongs to reason; and canst vse the time wel. 1613Sidney's Arcadia iii. 390 Now me thinks it time To goe vnto the Bride, and vse this day. 1873W. Stokes Rapid Writing 43 Use your spare moments in practising Writing.
†d. To frequent (another's company). Obs.
1547Boorde Brev. Health cccxxix. C vij, Fyrste lyue out of syn..and than vse honest myrth and honest company. 1564Child-Marriages (1897) 101 As report is, she hath vsid the evill Companie of William Gallimour. 1599Shakes., etc. Pass. Pilgr. 422 They that fawn'd on him before Use his company no more.
5. a. To engage in, practise (a game, etc.).
1320–30Horn Ch. 42 To harpe wele, and play at ches, And al gamen that used is. c1380Sir Ferumb. 2225 Summe þay vseþ a maner of play to caste wel a spere. 1557North Gueuara's Diall Pr. i. ii. (1568) 163 They agree to their scollers to vse some pastyme. 1581Southampton Court Leet Rec. (1906) ii. 221 Dennys Edwardes..comenly vssethe vnlawffull games. 1626Bacon Sylva §299 Use not Exercise and a Spare Diet;..if much Exercise, then a Plentifull Diet. c1636A. Stafford Just Apol. (1860) p. xxxix, To shoote in..Cross-Bowes, and to vse diverse other Recreations. 1764in Willis & Clark Cambridge (1886) III. 539 A..corpulent Man, who lived freely and used no Exercise. 1770T. Bridges Homer 11 Let discord cease, Use War abroad, at home use Peace. 1794S. Williams Vermont 83 In such a situation, he uses no exercise. 1801Strutt Sports & Past. ii. ii. 74 In old time,..wrestling was more used than it has been of later years.
†b. To have experience, or be engaged, in (war).
c1440Alph. Tales 76 Alde knyghtis þat..vsyd batels & cuthe gyff gude cowncell. 1474Caxton Chesse ii. iv. (1883) 44 He had longe tyme vsid the warre. 1523Ld. Berners Froissart I. cclxxv. 167 b/2 He had long tyme vsed the warre, and sene great experience therin.
6. a. To put into practice or operation; to carry into action or effect.
In very freq. use, with a variety of objects, c 1340–c 1610.
α13..Gaw. & Gr. Knt. 2106 He is a mon methles, & mercy non vses. 13..Coer de L. 4670 Yiff thou it [sc. clemency] use, Thou dedest nought as I the bad. c1400Ywaine & Gaw. 36 For trowth and luf es al bylaft, Men uses now another craft. c1440Alph. Tales 353 He vsid robborie, avowtrie, inceste. 1483Caxton G. de la Tour e vj b, He..vsed all euyl dedes whiche he couthe ymagyne to doo. 1542Brinklow Lament. 1 Certayne greate vyces vsed therin [sc. in London]. 1550Baldwin Mor. Philos. N vi, To vse vertue is perfecte blessednesse. 1589Greene Menaphon (Arb.) 88 Twas a good world when such simplicitie was vsed, sayes the old women of our time. 1616R. C. Times' Whistle (1871) 50 All lawyers I cannot heerof accuse, For some there are that doe a conscience vse. 1644Milton Areop. (Arb.) 37 The like severity no doubt was us'd. a1680Butler Rem. (1759) I. 15 She [Nature] affects so much to use Variety, in all she does. 1710W. King Heathen Gods & Heroes 41 Her other Brother Neptune used the same Freedom with her. 1758S. Hayward Serm. p. xiv, It is certainly a minister's duty..to use plainness and faithfulness. 1839F. A. Kemble Resid. in Georgia (1863) 76 They consider it the lowest degradation in a white to use any exertion. 1898Scribner's Mag. Dec. 690 It was her regular smile, the one she used every evening.
βa1340Hampole Psalter, etc. 497 Oysand sorow for my syn. c1375Sc. Leg. Saints xii. (Matthias) 108 Quhen na man mycht se, Þane wald he oyse sic cruelte. 1447O. Bokenham Seyntys (Roxb.) 167 For þe facundye wych she oysyd þere. c1500Lancelot 1699 To mych to oys familiaritee Contempnyng bryngith one to hie dugre.
b. To practise or exercise towards, against, or upon others.
1387Trevisa Higden (Rolls) VII. 17 He wolde have i-used þe strengþe of religioun, but þe cruelte of Gascoyns wolde nouȝt suffre it. 1388Wyclif Matt. xx. 25 Thei that ben gretter, vsen power on hem. c1460Fortescue Abs. & Lim. Mon. ii. (1885) 111 Vsing vppon thaim the lordshippe that is callid dominium regale tantum. 1470Henry Wallace vi. 895 Sic salusyng I oyss till Inglis men. 1542Udall in Lett. Lit. Men (Camden) 4 It maye please your maistership to use towardes me sum moderacion. 1598R. Bernard tr. Terence, Andria Prol., I pray you..use not parcialitie, and diligently weigh the matter. 1632Massinger & Field Fatal Dowry v. i, Therefore use a conscience..To me. 1653Holcroft Procopius, Goth. Wars i. 6 The Goths..had used hostility upon Gratiana. 1656Earl of Monmouth tr. Boccalini's Advts. fr. Parnass. i. xv, Ingratitude which moral Philosophers were daily seen to use towards their benefactors. 1702Eng. Theophrast. 124 The violences we commit upon our selves are oftentimes more painful, than those which other people use towards us. 1737Whiston Josephus, Antiq. vi. iii. §4 The ungrateful conduct they have used towards me. 1822Shelley tr. Calderon iii. 78 Tell me all, what poisonous Power Ye use against me.
II.
7. a. To make use of (some immaterial thing) as a means or instrument; to employ for a certain end or purpose.
αc1315Shoreham i. 532 Wel bet may god to oure prou Dyuerse formes vsy. c1340Hampole Pr. Consc. 3503, I rede ilk man..Þat he use þa ten thinges sere Þat fordus..Alle veniel syns. c1375Sc. Leg. Saints iii. (Andrew) 946 Vndir ȝour proteccione to luf in contemplacione, and warldly thingis to refuse and hewinly thing sine to wse. c1400St. Alexius (Laud 622) 672, I graunt wel þat it be so, Þine bedes ȝif þou wilt ouse. c1410Lantern of Liȝt 132 Þat helpe may cum of vsing Goddis word. 1464Rolls of Parlt. V. 561/2 The preferment of labour and occupacion, such as hath been used by the makyng of the seid Cloth. 1537Cromwell in Merriman Life & Lett. (1902) II. 107 That vising your effortes ernestly..in other pointes of your charche & comission you schalbe playne with the said depute. 1568Grafton Chron. II. 52 He so vsed the matter with Adrian the fourth.., that he was by him dispensed of his aforesayde othe. 1592Arden of Feversham i. i. 256 As sharpe witted Poets..Vse humble promise to their sacred Muse. 1614T. Davies (Heref.) Eclogue 198, I nill vsen any skill so mytch..as this so nice, and free. 1671Milton P.R. ii. 380 And who withholds my pow'r that right to use? 1732Bp. Berkeley Alciphr. v. §35 Freedom is either a blessing or a curse as men use it. 1766Goldsm. Vic. W. xxi, His generous patron..judged it highly expedient to use dispatch, lest [etc.]. 1819Shelley Cenci i. i. 127 The third of my possessions! I must use Close husbandry, or gold..Falls from my withered hand. 1877Sparrow Serm. xiv. 183 The blessings of this life generally, he says, the good man uses but does not serve. 1884tr. Lotze's Metaph. 433 Using the images of processes which themselves spring from it in a way we cannot explain.
βa1340Hampole Psalter Prol. (1884) 4 He spekis of crist..in þat at he oises þe voice of his seruantes. c1375Sc. Leg. Saints xxvi. (Nicholas) 730, I pray ȝou Þat ȝe wil oys it [sc. the legend] dewotly. a1400in Hampole's Wks. (Horstm.) I. 261 Þan awe it maste of alle othire Orysouns to be Oysede in all-haly kyrke.
b. With to (and inf., or n. denoting purpose).
c1275Lay. 24293 Moche hii vsede þat craft [= astronomy] to lokie in þan lufte. 1377Langl. P. Pl. B. x. 129 Þo þat vseth þis hauelounes to blende mennes wittes. 14..Lydgate's Horse, Shepe & G. 507 in Pol., Rel., & L. Poems (1903) 36 Vse her yiftes & her prerogatives To that same eende. 1486Bk. St. Albans c v, That an hauke use hir craft all the seson to flye or lefe. 1551in Feuillerat Revels Edw. VI (1914) 56 In the meane tyme to vse soche dilligence to his furnyture, as shall seme to you expedyent. 1578Timme Calvin on Gen. 109 Sacrifices were used of the holy fathers, to celebrate the benefits of God. 1644Direct. Publique Worship 32 Endeavours ought to be used to convince him. 1728Veneer Sincere Penitent Pref. p. x, The emperor was obliged to use all his authority to make him leave Antioch. 1798S. & Ht. Lee Canterb. T. II. 3 The arguments used by Lady Lettingham to detain her brother. 1821Scott Kenilw. xxxviii, Until she had used her own efforts to have her rights acknowledged by him. 1874Green Short Hist. vii. 409 Elizabeth used the daring blow to back her negotiations for peace.
c. To employ (a standard, type, etc.).
a1300Cursor M. 27274 Vsand oþer weght or mette Again þe lagh in land es sett. Ibid. 28437 Again þe lagh..Haf i wysed fals weght and mette. 1387Trevisa Higden (Rolls) I. 37 Þey haueþ a ȝere of apperynge þat þey vseþ in calculynge and in cronicle. 1563Shute Archit. B j b, Afterwardes vsing then the measures of the forsayde Pillours. 1662Stillingfl. Orig. Sacræ i. i. §20 They might use the form of the Phœnician Letters. 1706Act 6 Anne c. 11 §17 That..the same Weights and Measures shall be used throughout the United Kingdom. 1826Jas. Veitch Tables, etc. 7 The weight used for Hay..contains 22 pounds..in the Stone.
8. a. To employ or make use of (an article, etc.), esp. for a profitable end or purpose; to utilize, turn to account.
1303R. Brunne Handl. Synne 2391 Ȝif þe be leyde a borde to wedde,..Ȝif þou hit vse aȝens hys wylle, holy cherche seyþ þat þou dost ylle. a1340Hampole Psalter Prol. (1884) 4 Þis boke of all haly writ is mast oysed in halykyrke seruys. c1400Cato's Morals 152 in Cursor M., Þat þou has gitin to þe, vse hit in honeste, & be noȝt calde niþing. c1450St. Cuthbert (Surtees) 1098 In swete mylk sethe floure of wheete, And vyse it whils it hase þe heete. 1486Bk. St. Albans e iv b, At holyrode day he gooth to Ryde, And vsith the bit When he may gete hit. 1556Rec. Inverness (New Spald. Cl.) I. 2 The serwandis quha wes wyrkand and wssand the bot on the loch. 1585T. Washington tr. Nicholay's Voy. i. xviii. 21 Vpon high places they vse cesternes, but vppon the plaine..they haue many welles. 1680Moxon Mech. Exerc. x. 187 When the Wheel is used, its Edge stands athwart the Cheeks of the Lathe. 1736Bailey Housh. Dict. s.v. Acorns, Both the Acorn and husk, are us'd in many astringent medicines. a1815in A. T. Thomson Lond. Disp. 524 It is necessary that all the vessels,..which are used, be of glass. 1833J. Holland Manuf. Metal II. 36 In the manufacture of surgeons' instruments.., the very best steel..should be exclusively used. 1900Longm. Mag. March 435, I received for answer that the first flower used felt cooler than the second one.
b. To wear as an article of apparel.
c1375Cursor M. 2048 (Fairf.), Na breke was vsed þan in lande. c1375Sc. Leg. Saints vii. (James Minor) 59 Na claþs of sylk he wald nocht were, bot lenyne clath he oysit ay. a1450Myrc Par. Pr. 1032 Hast þou ben prowde of any gyse Of any þynge þat þou dedust vse, Of party hosen, of pykede schone. 1593Marlowe Hero & Leander i. 31 Buskins of shels all siluered vsed she. a1660Contemp. Hist. Irel. (Ir. Archæol. Soc.) I. 183 How the Councell ussed vizards. 1857R. M. Ballantyne Coral Island iv, As they [sc. boots] fitted his large limbs and feet, he consented at last to use them. 1885Dillon Fairholt's Costume II. 302 A cloak with a hood, used when travelling. 1889[see 1].
c. To make use of (land, ground, etc.) by working, tilling, or occupying.
1573Tusser Husb. (1878) 17 To get good plot to occupie, and store and vse it husbandlie. 1604E. G[rimstone] D'Acosta's Hist. Indies iv. 209 Although there be..many mines..as at the Indies, yet they vse none but those of gold and silver. 1641Aldeburgh Rec. in N. & Q. 12th Ser. IX. 146/2 Of Robt. Fowler for a yeeres fearme for the shopp he useth. Ibid., Recvd: of Henry Lawrence for usinge the Towne ground. 1736Pegge Kenticisms (E.D.S.) 54 He uses it [sc. land for farming] himself. Ibid., Who uses this or that farm?
9. To work, employ, or manage (an implement, instrument, etc.); to manipulate, operate, or handle, esp. to some useful or desired end.
13..K. Alis. 5256 The glevmen useden her tunge; The wode aqueightte so hy sunge. 1340–70Alex. & Dind. 439 Vs ne likeþ no lome in oure land vse. 1446Lydg. 2 Nightingale Poems i. 305 The fende..Leying hys lynes and with mony a bayte Wsynge his hokes. 1474Caxton Chesse ii. iv. (1883) 44 That he had longe tyme vsid..armes. 1539Bible (Great) Numb. x. 2 That thou mayst vse them [sc. trumpets] to call ye congregacion together. 1582N. Lichefield tr. Castanheda's Conq. E. Ind. i. iii. 8 b, The people..using the selfe same sorte of darts. 1596Shakes. Merch. V. ii. ii. 5 Good Launcelot Iobbo, vse your legs,..run awaie. 1611Bible Jer. xxiii. 31, I am against the prophets..that vse their tongues. 1613Purchas Pilgrimage (1614) 62 In their festiuals they vsed..musical instruments. 1733Tull Horse-Hoeing Husb. 295 A Farmer who uses this Plow, may Till in all Weathers. 1765A. Dickson Treat. Agric. (ed. 2) 154 Of the instruments used in tillage. 1828Scott F.M. Perth ii, While I form armour and weapons for others, I cannot myself withstand the temptation of using them. 1859Tennyson Geraint & Enid 900 [I have] wrought too long with delegated hands, Not used mine own. 1880Encycl. Brit. XI. 504/2 In these investigations he..used a perspicillum or simple lens.
10. a. To employ (a person, animal, etc.) in some function or capacity, esp. for an advantageous end.
1382Wyclif 2 Macc. iv. 40 The cumpanyes aȝein rysynge,..Lysymacus almest three thousand aarmyd wickid hondis bygan for to vse, [by] sum tyraunt duyk. c1470Henry Wallace v. 27 In Gyllisland thar was that brachell brede, Sekyr off sent to folow thaim at flede. So was scho vsyt on Esk. 1526Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 299 Vpon the asse, whiche of no man before had ben vsed ne exercised. 1541Wyatt Declar. Wks. 1816 II. 281, I used Weldon and Sworder..to be spies over Brauncetour. 1598Florio s.v. Mulatiere, The carriers..driue mules, and vse them to carrie. 1600W. Watson Decacordon (1602) 214 He had better haue vsed his friend in another matter. 16..Middleton, etc. Old Law i. i, If you want money, to-morrow use me. 1671Milton Samson 1499 Were not his purpose To use him further yet in some great service. 1706Act 6 Anne c. 16 §6 If any Person..shall keep or use any Greyhounds..to kill and destroy the Game. 1802James Milit. Dict. s.v., He used his choicest troops on that decisive day. 1875Jowett Plato (ed. 2) V. 54 They used and honoured all the talent which they could find. 1897A. Lillie Croquet 170 In making your break use your partner in preference to your adversary.
transf.c1600Breton Daffodils & Primroses Wks. (Grosart) I. 20/1 Some will saie (that many muses vse) There are but nyne, that euer vsde to wryte.
b. To have sexual intercourse with. Obs. exc. dial. (Cf. use n. 3 b.)
13..Gaw. & Gr. Knt. 2426 Alle þay were biwyled With wymmen þat þay vsed. 1382Wyclif Prol. Bible iii. 6 Thei that han..newly weddid a wyf, and not vsid hir. 1411–2Hoccleve De Reg. Princ. 1583 For þise causes thow hire vse muste, And for non othir. 1541Act 33 Hen. VIII, c. 21 If the queene or wife of the prince..stirre any person..to vse or haue carnal knowledge with them. 1565Child-Marriages (1897) 201 Hit hath bene told this deponent, that they have vsid either other at bed and board, as man and wief. 1584R. Scot Discov. Witchcr. iv. v. (1886) 63 Manie are so bewitched that they cannot use their owne wives. 1611Cotgr., Accommoder vne femme, to vse a woman. 1650Bulwer Anthropomet. 197 Bels of gold,..which they put in when they are of age to use Women. 1889N.W. Linc. Gloss. (ed. 2) 590 To use women, to commit fornication or adultery.
11. a. To take or partake of as food, drink, etc.; to consume by eating or drinking. Also fig.
13..E.E. Allit. P. B. 11 Þay teen vnto his temmple & temen to hym seluen,..Þay hondel þer his aune body & vsen hit boþe. 1382Wyclif Exod. xxx. 38 Eche man that doth lyik thing, that he ful vse [L. perfruatur] the smel [1388 odour] of it, he shal peryshe fro his puplis. 1390Gower Conf. III. 23 For who that useth that [food] he knoweth Ful selden seknesse on him groweth. a1450Myrc Par. Pr. 1940 Ȝef any flye, gnat, or coppe Doun in-to þe chalys droppe,..Vse hyt hol alle i-fere. c1480Henryson Lion & Mouse xiii, Quhilk vsis daylie meittis delitious. 1542Boorde Dyetary xxvi. (1870) 289 And vse these thynges, Cowe mylke, Almon mylke, yolkes of rere egges. 1585T. Washington tr. Nicholay's Voy. iv. xix. 134 [In] Lent they doe fast.., vsing none other food, then..hearbs, frutes, and certaine leane pottages. 1613Purchas Pilgrimage (1614) 483 They drinke not wine, nor vse vinegar, but onely water. 1632Lithgow Trav. iii. 102 Lemmons..the Turkes vse at their meate, as we doe the Verges. 1859Tennyson Merlin & V. 462 Yea! Love..carves A portion from the solid present, eats And uses, careless of the rest.
(b) Now esp., to take or consume (an alcoholic drink, a narcotic drug) regularly or habitually.
1902Kipling Traffics & Discov. (1904) 15, I don't use rum as a rule, but I did then, because I needed it. 1906W. Churchill Coniston i. ix. 104 Unlike Jethro, he ‘used’ tobacco. 1921J. 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. 1929D. Hammett Dain Curse xiv. 149 He..picked up the morphine paper... ‘What do you suppose this is doing here?’ he asked. ‘She uses it.’ 1942J. D. Carr Seat of Scornful iv. 43 ‘Not that I've got any objections to 'em,’ Mr. Morell assured him, alluding to the tobacco and the spirits. ‘Just don't use 'em.’ 1962J. 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. 1982J. Wainwright Anatomy of Riot 31 Okay, a little hash here an' there. He sold it. Maybe he used it. Okay, he used it.
†b. To partake of (the sacrament); to take or receive (the eucharist). Obs. (Chiefly absol.)
c1450St. Cuthbert (Surtees) 7074 Þe sacrement..At þe last he..vsed and toke. 1567Gude & Godlie B. (S.T.S.) 17 Quha vsis it vnworthilie Ressauis deide eternallie.
absol.a1375Joseph Arim. 660 Þenne com Ihesu crist..; He vsede of Goddes bord & a writ brouhte. 1389in Eng. Gilds (1870) 14 From þe leuacioun of cristis body sacrid in til þat þe preest haue vsed. 14..Pol., Rel., & L. Poems (1906) 122 When þe preste hath don his masse, Vsed, & his hondes wasche. c1450St. Cuthbert (Surtees) 7058 When he [sc. a priest] suld vse, In to þe chalys lokes he.
12. To expend or consume (a commodity, etc.) by use; to exhaust by employment.
c1440Promp. Parv. 522/2 Weryn, or vson, as clothys and other thyngys.., vetero.
1699Boyer Fr. Dict. s.v. User, They use, waste or burn a great deal of Wood in that House. 1747H. Glasse Cookery p. ii, A Cook that used six Pounds of Butter to fry twelve Eggs. 1791R. Mylne 2nd Rep. Thames Navig. 11 The Millers..were using all the Water as fast as possible. 1849A. Soyer Mod. Housewife 357 [As] the cream..rises in a froth,.. place it on the sieve; continue till all is used.
13. to use up:
a. To consume (a commodity or stock) by use; to exhaust the supply of.
1785Grose Dict. Vulgar T., Used up, killed; a military saying, originating from a message sent by the late general Guise, on the expedition to Carthagena [etc.]. 1811Ld. Brougham in Bentham Wks. (1843) X. 462, I cannot possibly better use up (as the housewives say) this little credit. 1847Illustr. Lond. News 10 July 27/3 To see if there were anything there that had not yet been used up. 1875Merivale Gen. Hist. Rome li. 406 The genuine Roman race must have been almost used up in the desperate warfare.
b. To dispose or ‘make an end’ of (a person). orig. U.S. colloq.
1833Jas. Hall Leg. West 38 It's a mercy, Miss, that the cowardly varments hadn't used you up body-aciously. 1863in Southern Hist. Soc. Papers XII. 220 If you advance..on them in front while I attack them in flank I think we can use them up.
c. colloq. To exhaust with fatigue, overwork, etc.; to overtire, wear out.
1850Smedley F. Fairlegh x, I saw you were getting used up. 1882Besant All Sorts xxviii. (1898) 199 The girls grow up narrow-chested, stooping, consumptive. They are used up wholesale. 1884‘Edna Lyall’ We Two v, Even if it should use me up, what then? 1887Daily Tel. 5 March (Encycl. Dict.), We have used up no fewer than six Irish Secretaries in little more than as many years.
14. to use off or use out, = sense 13 a.
1812Southey Omniana II. 2 An obscure..periodical publication, which has long since been used off as ‘winding sheets for herrings’. 1849Froude Nemesis of Faith 109 The heart will have used out its power, and thoughts..will be unreal still.
15. to be able to use, to be in need of, to be in a position to benefit from, to want. colloq.
1956‘N. Shute’ Beyond Black Stump viii. 217 But I could use a river, and the sight of snow on a mountain. 1958V. Scott Savage Affair ix. 152 Listen..they said they might see their way to an advance. Two-fifty apiece. You could use two hundred and fifty dollars, couldn't you? 1961R. Godden China Court 258/1 ‘I could use a gin,’ said Bella. 1976Ulverston (Cumbria) News 3 Dec. 1/6 The tarn is the most beautiful part of the village and The Landings can use some cleaning up. 1977Oxford Diocesan Mag. July 18/1 We could have used more time to explore this avenue.
III. 16. a. To speak or converse in (a language); to write or talk.
c1275Lay. 10068 Folk gan to vsi Yrlondes speche. c1330Arth. & Merl. 23 Freynsche vse þis gentilman, Ac euerich Inglische Inglische can. c1500Droichis Part of Play 111 For never in land quhair Eriche was vsit, To dwell had I dellyte. 1547Boorde Introd. Knowl. i. (1870) 120 In England is vsed all maner of languages and speches of alyens in diuers Cities. Ibid. xxxv. 210 Where Laten is most vsed. 1628Milton Vac. Exerc. 8 Hail native Language,..Here I salute thee and thy pardon ask, That now I use thee in my latter task. 1668Wilkins Real Char. 3 The Language used in Denmark. 1819Scott Ivanhoe ii, The Prior..using the lingua Franca, or mixed language, in which [etc.]. 1821― Kenilw. xxxvi, Can falsehood use thus boldly the language of truth? 1888Jessopp Visit. Norwich p. xxxix, [He] should be able to use Latin, not merely to understand it.
b. To employ or give utterance to (words, phrases, etc.); to say, utter.
a1340Hampole Psalter lxxiii. 23 Na wise man oysis gret athis, in þe whilke werid men vpbraydis god of his mercy. c1374Chaucer Boeth. ii. pr. ii. (1868) 33, I wolde plete wiþ þee a fewe þinges, vsynge þe wordes of fortune. a1425Cursor M. 12050 (Trin.), Teche him..Blessyng to vse & not to ban. 1484Caxton Fables of æsop i. Pref., Esope..techeth also to be humble and for to vse wordes. a1500in Ratis Raving, etc. 98 Oys fare langage in alkyne thinge. 1539Bible (Great) Ecclus. xxiii. 11 A man yt vseth moch swearing. 1596Harington Metam. Ajax (1814) 24 [When] such phrases..are used to ribaldry. 1621Bp. R. Montagu Diatribæ 14 Euery where, either directly, or indirectly, you doe, to use your owne phrase, Cry downe that right. 1655Stanley Hist. Philos. i. (1687) 27/2 Using speeches, the effect whereof, he afterwards thus exprest in Verse. 1728Chambers Cycl. s.v. Viscera, This Word is also frequently used singularly, Viscus, to express some particular part of the Entrails. 1729T. Innes Crit. Essay (1879) 295 Nennius..uses promiscuously the names of Scythæ and Scoti for the same people. 1793Martyn Lang. Bot. s.v. Leaflets, For the same reason, if we use leaf, we must not use foliole. 1820Shelley Orpheus 100 Nature must lend me words ne'er used before. 1838Lytton Leila ii. i, Thou usest plain language, my friend. 1875Jevons Money (1878) 250 We use a great many words with a total disregard of logical precision.
17. a. To resort to (a place) frequently or habitually; to frequent or haunt; also, to dwell in. Now rare.
c1400Mandeville (1839) xxxi. 307 Ȝif the Merchauntes useden als moche that Contre as thei don Cathay. c1440Promp. Parv. 512/2 Vsyn, or hawntyn, frequento. 1528in Leadam Star Chamber Cases (Selden) II. 175 All iiij [have] eusyd & occupyd the market and inhaunsyd the pryse of grayne. 1535Coverdale Jer. ii. 23 Like a wilde Asse, that vseth the wildernesse. 1603Shakes. Meas. for M. iii. ii. 231 [I am] Not of this Countrie, though my chance is now To vse it for my time. 1611in B. Camm Benedictine Martyr in Eng. (1897) 268 The other was Mr. Somers, alias Wilson, who used London altogether. 1658Cokaine Obstinate Lady i. i, Poems (1874) 55 Use the Tavern once or twice a day. 1686tr. Chardin's Coronat. Solyman 143 Forty large Barques, such as use the Caspian Sea. 1708Lond. Gaz. No. 4427/16 He useth the Queen's-head Ale-house. 1725Sloane Jamaica II. 320 It uses more the low sandy inland parts than the plovers, snipes, &c. 1848Thackeray Van. Fair xxxviii, He did not fail to tell everybody who ‘used the room’. 1867Cornh. Mag. Apr. 449 Doubtless also in his sojourn here..he used this house, as our expressive phrase has it. 1884Good Words June 399/2 Your ordinary thief..may..lord it in the public-houses he ‘uses’.
b. to use the sea († seas), to practise the calling of a sailor. Cf. follow v. 9.
a1634Isaacson Andrewes in Fuller Abel Rediv. (1867) II. 156 His father, having most part of his life used the seas. 1681R. Knox Hist. Ceylon 124 These many years..have I used the seas. 1728Morgan Algiers II. ii. 223 Rais was then about thirty, and had used the Sea full ten years. 1773Life N. Frowde 24 His Name was George White,..who had used the Seas from my own Age. 1791Smeaton Edystone L. §314 John..continued for some time to use the sea. 1894Pall Mall Mag. Sept. 4 He had used the sea for above thirty years, had built, owned and commanded ships.
†c. To associate with (a person). Obs.—1
1594in Cath. Rec. Soc. Publ. V. 262 At my being there I could not heare or perceyue he used any Inglishman much.
18. a. To treat or deal with (a person or thing) in a specified manner; to behave or act towards (another) in a particular way.
In frequent use from c 1550 to c 1730.
1483Caxton G. de la Tour g v, They wold use her of an enorme and ouer foule faytte. 1542Udall Erasm. Apoph. 171 Many noble menne vsen their frendes none other wyse. 1568Grafton Chron. II. 804 Then he that tolde him the tale vsed him with good wordes. 1590Marlowe Edw. II, v. ii, Vse Edmund friendly, as if all were well. 1639in Verney Mem. (1907) I. 106 My Collonel useth me with very greate courtesy. 1680Otway Orphan ii. iv, But use me gently like a loving Brother. 1709Steele Tatler No. 11 ⁋4, I am used by some People as if Isaac Bickerstaff..was no Body. 1756C. Smart tr. Hor., Sat. ii. ii, When years shall approach, and feeble age require to be used more tenderly. 1768Sterne Sent. Journ., Translation, 'Tis..using him worse than a German. 1859Tennyson Merlin & V. 534 So used as I, My daily wonder is, I love at all. 1863Kinglake Crimea I. 311 They won France. They used her hard. 1888‘J. S. Winter’ Bootle's Childr. iv, I didn't use poor Bill any too well.
b. refl. To conduct or comport (oneself). † Also, to resort or repair (cf. sense 23).
Freq. from c 1530 to c 1590.
c1470Henry Wallace xi. 1031 Yhe haiff so lang her oysyt yow allane, Quhill witt tharoff is in till Ingland gane. 1496–712 Hen. VII, c. 6 §1 Every persone frely to use theym self to his moost avauntage, without exaccion. 1513Bradshaw St. Werburge i. 2354 He folowed saynt Werburge counsell, Vsynge hym after her swete ghostly doctryne. 1547Boorde Brev. Health ccvii, Thus vsynge my selfe, I thanke God I dyd make my selfe whole. 1590Southampton Court Leet Rec. (1906) ii. 285 Being called before vs, [they] vsed themselves contemtuously. 1621Lady M. Wroth Urania 307 Who comming to my fathers house, vsed himselfe..insolently. a1648Ld. Herbert Hen. VIII (1683) 295 He used himself more like a Fellow to your Highness, than like a Subject. 1653Nissena 108 Excusing himself for that he had not before used himself with such obsequiousness towards them as he ought. 1860C. 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.
IV.
19. a. To make (a person, etc.) familiar or accustomed by habit or practice; to habituate, accustom; to inure. Freq. const. † in or with (something).
In later use Sc., and chiefly in pa. pple.; cf. c below.
c1305St. Edmund Conf. 78 in E.E.P. (1862) 73 In penance he was so wel yused & þeron ȝung ibroȝt Þat..hit ne greuede him riȝt noȝt. a1340Hampole Psalter cxviii. 71 It is profetabil till me, þat þou oysid me in sere temptaciouns. 1387Trevisa Higden (Rolls) VI. 289 He þat was idel..meoveþ hym to batayle þat is i-used in dedes of armes. c1425Eng. Conq. Ireland 22 Throgh kynd of Fraunce, we ben vsed in wepene. 1489Caxton Faytes of A. i. viii. B ij b, To see his men vsed & wel taught in the said art and fait of armes. a1500Ratis Raving 32 With wordis of lawte vs thi twnge. c1586C'tess Pembroke Ps. lxxvii. xii, A path whereon thy crew As shepherds use their sheep. 1587Holinshed Chron. (ed. 2) II. Hist. Scotl. 391 This man had accesse unto the queene to plaie at cards, and to use hir with other courtlie pastimes. 1606Chapman Gentl. Usher v. ii, Using thy husband in those vertuous gifts For which thou first didst choose him. 1711Countrey-Man's Lett. Curat 85 Many..had been used with the English Liturgie..at London. 1815Scott Guy M. lv, The like o' them's used wi' graves and ghaists. a1826in Child Ball. IV. 98/1 She took my gay lord frae my side, And used him in her company. 1835D. Webster Orig. Sc. Rhymes 115, I had little been used wi' sic resolute foes.
refl.1534in Leadam Star Chamber Cases (Selden) II. 211 Compleynaunt hathe vseyd hymselfe in exercysyng the fete of bakyng. 1560Becon New Catech. Wks. 1564 I. 320 This verye selfe same bodye..whiche vseth it selfe here with the soule in all maner of good workes.
b. Freq. with to (and n. or inf.).
c1386Chaucer Pars. Prol. ⁋245 For to vsen a man to doon goode werkes. 1535Coverdale Ecclus. xxiii. 13 Vse not thy mouth to vnhonest and fylthye talkynge. 1560J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 231 b, That they do eschew all..idle talke, and vse their familie to do lykewyse. 1585T. Washington tr. Nicholay's Voy. iv. i. 114 b, [Hunting being] an argument & occasion to vse men to ryse betimes. c1643Ld. Herbert Autobiog. (1824) 70 You shall do well also to use your Horse to Swimming. 1688Shadwell Sqr. Alsatia ii. i, Some moderate skill in it will use a man to reason closely. 1740Chesterfield Lett. Oct., To use your ear a little to English verse. 1769Goldsm. Hist. Rome (1786) I. 402 Having used his body much to antidotes, the poison had but little effect. 1783Justamond tr. Raynal's Hist. Indies VII. 91 It is not..surprising that the seal..should use her little ones to live under water. 1814Scott Wav. liv, He wanted to use her by degrees to live without meat. 1873–in dialect use (Eng. Dial. Dict.). 1877Mrs. Lear tr. Fenelon's Spiritual Lett. 240 So as to wean you like a child, and use you to dry bread instead of milk.
refl.c1305St. Edmund Conf. 44 in E.E.P. (1862) 72 So longe hi hem vsede þerto. a1450Knt. de la Tour (1868) 9 For suche lyff as ye wille contynue, use you to in youre youthe. a1568R. Ascham Scholem. ii. (Arb.) 88 For translating, vse you your selfe..to chose out some Epistle..of Tullie. a1568in Bannatyne MS. (Hunter. Cl.) 195 In yowtheid vse the to temprance. 1615tr. De Montfort's Surv. E. Indies 39 Those who have us'd themselves to Tobacco. 1697Dryden Virg. Georg. i. 63 Use thyself betimes to hear and grant our Pray'rs. 1719De Foe Crusoe i. (Globe) 211 Using himself to them [sc. garments], at length he took to them very well. 1753L. M. Accompl. Woman II. 213 We may use ourselves to fear as well as to be bold. a1818M. G. Lewis Jrnl. W. Ind. (1834) 296 Mithridates used himself to poisons. a1850Keble Lett. (1870) 104 Using themselves when they wake in the night to rise and say the fifty-first Psalm.
c. More usu. in pa. pple. (Const. to or † of.)
For the pronunc. of used to, see note at sense 21 a.
c1480Henryson Fables, Two Mice 58 To tender meit my stomok is ay vsit. 1483Caxton G. de la Tour e iv b, So were the seuen Cytees brenned..by cause that they were moche vsed of the fylthe and ordure of lechery. 1526Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 94 b, Wherby man..be accustomed & vsed to chose..y⊇ thynge that is of lesse goodnes. 1555Eden Decades i. x. (Arb.) 104 Such as haue byn vsed to owr breade made of wheate. 1607Topsell Four-f. Beasts 80 It is requisite that they bee alwaie vsed to hand. c1645Howell Lett. (1678) 48 This City was us'd to fetch all those Spices. 1682Lister Godartius Of Insects 54 The Catterpillar..as soon as it perceives any thing it is not us't to. 1720Mandeville Free Thoughts (1729) 276 St. Poinct..was used to ask, whether the farce..was ready to be acted. 1796F. Burney Camilla IV. 329 I'm not used to be used in this manner! 1833Disraeli Cont. Fleming vi. vi, The friar smiled, and was evidently used to this raillery. 1850Thackeray Pendennis li, A person..used to making sacrifices. 1888‘J. S. Winter’ Bootle's Childr. xi, Which..had stirred Terry's heart just as it had been used to stir it years and years ago.
V. intr.
20. To do a thing customarily; to be in the habit of so acting or doing; to be wont to do. (Chiefly in clauses introduced by as, and now only literary.)
a. Of persons.
c1380Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 434 And so shulde perish makyng of prests and doyng of sacraments, as holy Chirche usiþ. c1400Mandeville (1839) v. 40 Clothed in..the Sarazines guyse, and as the Sarazines usen. 1473Reg. Cupar Abbey I. 182 Tha sal tak iijxx of fuderis of petis quhar thair oysit befor. 1533in Leadam Star Chamber Cases (Selden) II. 205 The boucher..grevyd shall signifie..the name..of any such person..that so vsith. 1596Spenser State Irel. Wks. (Globe) 645/1 To manure and husband it as good farmors use. 1616J. Lane Contn. Sqr.'s T. x. 388 This familiar Dove twixt yond twoe kinges went boldlie to and fro, as vsen frendes. 1663Butler Hud. i. i. 632 We should, as learned Poets use, Invoke the Assistance of some Muse. 1720Ozell Vertot's Rom. Rep. (1740) II. xii. 237 In the sight of all the Citizens, as the Censors use, when they [etc.]. 1748Earthquake Peru ii. 161 To kill animals in the same Manner as they always had used. 1791Smeaton Edystone L. §267 We had got up our stones..as we had used from the beginning. 1816Wordsw. ‘A little onward’ 30 To push forth His arms, as swimmers use, and plunge..into the ‘abrupt abyss’. 1852T. L. Peacock Misc. Wks. 1875 III. 364 First, as the truly pious always use, Approach with prayer. 1875Browning Aristoph. Apol. 365 Die at good old age as grand men use.
†b. Of things. Obs. rare.
1656tr. T. White's Peripat. Inst. 152 It varies its figure with every motion as fire uses. 1676Phil. Trans. XI. 773 In the same manner as the trunk of the lymphaticks uses.
21. With to and inf.: To be accustomed or wont to do something.
In very frequent use from c 1400, but now only in pa. tense used to, with pronunc. |juːst tuː, ˈjuːstʊ|, and colloq. in did (not) use (or used) to: see also usen't, useter; used to could: see can v.1 A. 7.
α1303R. Brunne Handl. Synne 691 For ryche men vse comunly Sweryn [v.r. to swere] grete oþys grysly. Ibid. 2661 c 1385 Chaucer L.G.W. 787 Thisbe, For olde payenys that Idolys heryed Vsedyn tho in feldys to ben beryed. c1386― Reeve's T. 20 A theef he was,..a sly, and vsaunt [v.r. usand] for to stele. c1440Gesta Rom. v. 12 His modir vsith euery day gretly to sorowe. 1464Rolls of Parlt. V. 563/2 Dyvers persones have gretely used to shippe woll..oute of this Reame. 1542Udall Erasm. Apoph. 43 Such as the beggerye philosophiers..usen to weare. 1550Southampton Court Leet Rec. (1905) i. 14 Thomas Casberd hathe vsid to sett his carte in the streate. 1596Spenser F.Q. v. viii. 17 Her name Mercilla most men vse to call. 1612Webster White Devil i. ii. 202 Your silke-worme useth to fast every third day. 1625J. King David's Strait 15 As we vse to maligne a Bayliue. 1670Milton Hist. Eng. vi. 304 The English then useing to let grow on their upper-lip large Mustachio's. 1728Gay Begg. Op. ii. iv, You are not so fond of me, Jenny, as you use [sic] to be. 1767Woman of Fashion II. 26 How did we all use to admire her! 1837Lockhart Scott I. iv. 122 He used to get all the copies of these ballads he could. 1873C. M. Yonge Pillars of House II. xvi. 105 Did Alda use to be nice, or is it love? 1884W. C. Smith Kildrostan 53 You used to be a leal, true-hearted girl. 1925S. Lewis Arrowsmith xviii. 192 Didn't we used to have fun. 1927E. Hemingway Men without Women 154 He certainly did used to make the fellows he fought hate boxing. 1935E. Farjeon Nursery in Nineties iii. i. 124 Mama, did you use to be a flirt? 1963V. Nabokov Gift ii. 117 And now I continually ask myself what did he use to think about in the solitary night. 1974Radio Times 28 Feb. 25, I suppose I did use to be a prophet of doom.
βc1375Lay-Folks Mass-Bk. (MS. B) 401 A litel belle men oyse to ryng. c1425Wyntoun Cron. i. 1265 Tebany þai oysse to calle In to Grece þe Thebis all. c1470Henry Wallace v. 760 Now thow sall feyll how I oys to lat blude.
b. Predicated of things.
In frequent use from c 1620 to c 1675.
1445in Anglia XXVIII. 267 Al goddesses..Haue ioyned her dauncys within thi breste, which vsid hem to receive. 1547Homilies i. Salvation iii. ⁋7 Therfore scripture vseth to saie, that faithe without woorkes dooth iustifie. 1586J. Chilton in Hakluyt Voy. (1589) 588 Where the ships vse to ride, made fast to ye said wal, with their cables. 1609Holland Amm. Marcell. 333 What time folkes minds..use to be dull and dead. 1662Stillingfl. Orig. Sacræ i. i. §6 Jewels do not use to lie upon the surface of the earth. 1684Contempl. St. Man ii. ix. (1699) 231 Temporal Felicity uses often to end in Eternal Misery. 1726Leoni Designs 5 b, In that Season of the Year when the Water uses to be lowest. 1778Hist. Eliza Warwick I. 260 Alas! his absence..did not use thus to affect me! 1810Scott Lady of L. i. xxi, Yet seemed that tone..Less used to sue than to command. 1839F. A. Kemble Resid. in Georgia (1863) 245 It is now..the rule, though it used not to be so formerly. 1857C. M. Yonge in Monthly Packet Jan. 34 ‘Things didn't use to be so stupid when Ned was there!’ sobbed Gilbert. 1884F. M. Crawford Rom. Singer I. 35 They used to be only a baiocco apiece. 1983Listener 10 Feb. 31 (heading) Adrenalin sports are big. TV didn't used to be one.
†c. In passive construction. Obs.
1523Fitzherb. Husb. §132 If a tree be heeded, and vsed to be lopped and cropped. 1607Shakes. Cor. iii. iii. 25 He hath bene vs'd Euer to conquer. a1648Ld. Herbert Hen. VIII (1683) 399 As concerning Annates used to be paid. a1706Evelyn Hist. Relig. (1850) I. 402 Nor were they used of old to be read in churches. 1737Waterland Eucharist 393 Prayer was then used to be offered up for that Purpose. 1788London Mag. 399 The Tuilleries, where boats were used to be found.
22.
†a. To act, conduct oneself or one's affairs, in a particular or specified manner. Obs. rare.
a1325Prose Psalter lxxvi. 12 Y shal þenchen in alle þyne werkes, and y shal vse [L. exercebor] in alle þy fundynges. c1375Cursor M. 24931 (Fairf.), Bot now men vsis on oþer wise, Þer is mare of hir seruise. 1523Ld. Berners Froiss. I. xv. 15 Kyng Edward..and y⊇ quene his mother..vsed moche after y⊇ counsell of syr Thomas Wage. 1579Tomson Calvin's Serm. Tim. 181/1 And therfore we haue to vse of our selues modestly.
b. Sc. To accustom oneself, become accustomed or habituated, get used, to something.
1836Carlyle Let. in Atlantic Monthly Sept. (1898) 295/1 ‘You will use, you will use,’ and get hefted to the place, as all creatures do. 1842Mrs. Carlyle Lett. (1883) I. 158 If I do not use to the noise. 1894Crockett Raiders 284 So soon does one use to the sight.
23. a. To go frequently, to resort or repair customarily, to a place or person; to frequent or haunt a place. Freq. with advs. (as thither, where), or with preps. (esp. in earlier use with to). Latterly dial. (Eng. Dial. Dict. s.v.) and U.S.
(a)c1470Henry Wallace i. 209 Into the toun he wsyt everilk day. Ibid. ii. 290 He wsyt offt to that religious place. 1590in Cath. Rec. Soc. Publ. V. 181 [They] be good witnesses..howe many severall persons have vsed to the saienge of masses. 1599Sir R. Wrothe in Ellis Orig. Lett. Ser. ii. III. 181 Sertaine lewde fellowes..doe frequente and use aboute Layton heath. 1602Breton Mother's Blessing Wks. (Grosart) I. 6/1 Presumptuous fooles, and irreligious Iewes, Emong the Nobler sort should neuer vse. a1613Overbury Characters, Ord. Widdow, Shee uses to cunning women to know how many husbands she shall have. 1653Holcroft Procopius, Pers. Wars ii. 51 Then shall you by our Countrey have the conveniencie of using to Roman Seas. 1663Extr. St. Papers Friends Ser. ii. (1911) 168 When he is in London he vseth frequently at Mr. Lawries howse. 1834J. Hall Kentucky II. 40 ‘But you seem acquainted with these woods.’ ‘Yes, I use about here some.’ 1884‘M. Twain’ Huckleberry Finn vi, If he didn't quit using around there she would make trouble for him.
(b)1470–85Malory Arthur xviii. xxii. 765, I am a gentil-woman that vseth here in this forest huntynge. 1592in J. Morris Troub. Cath. Forefathers Ser. ii. (1875) 54 Cotton did use thither divers times. 1596Spenser F.Q. vi. Prol. ii, Conduct me well In these strange waies, where neuer foote did vse. a1700B. E. Dict. Cant. Crew, Flash-ken, a House where Thieves use. 1848Bartlett Dict. Amer. 372, I can see where the deer used. 1851Mayhew Lond. Labour II. 475/2 The master of the hotel or the gents that uses there.
transf.1591Sylvester Ivry 370 Even as a Galley, in smooth Sea subdues The tallest Ship that in the Steights doth use. 1637Milton Lycidas 136 Ye valleys low where the milde whispers use, Of shades and wanton winds.
†b. To inhabit, reside, or dwell in or at a place.
a1585Montgomerie Cherrie & Slae 97 Musis that vsis At fountaine Helicon. 1610Fletcher Faithf. Sheph. iii. i, I will give thee for thy food, No Fish that useth in the mud. 1628May Virg. Georg. iii. 93 Snakes that use within the house for shade, Securely lurk. 1707Sloane Jamaica I. p. xviii, This is known by the places where they [sc. fish] use.
†c. To associate (or cohabit) with a person. Obs.
1382Wyclif John iv. 9 Jewis vsen not with Samaritans. 1559W. Bercher Nobylytye Wymen (Roxb.) 141 The daughters of Lot, which vsed carnallye with their ffather. 1566Sternhold & H. Ps. xxvi. 4, I do not lust to haunt or vse, with men whose deeds are vayne.
†24.
a. To make use of some thing. Obs.
c1500Melusine xx. 110 As long that ye shall vse of feythfulnes. 1542Udall Erasm. Apoph. 44 For in the same solemnitees men usen of a custom. 1704N. N. tr. Boccalini's Advts. fr. Parnass. II. 171 He us'd of all the Rhetorick he had, to praise that Vice.
†b. Similarly with with. Obs. rare.
a1400–50Alexander 3594 Olyfauntis.., As ilkane vsyd with in ynde vmquile with to fiȝte. 1502Ord. Crysten Men (W. de W. 1506) iv. xxi. X vj, He ought iustely to vse with his puyssaunce and not in abusynge.
25. To take drugs. slang.
1953W. Burroughs Junkie (1964) 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. 1960C. Cooper Scene 15 Why don't you bust a cap with me? It's choice. I used this morning and I'm still nice. 1962‘K. Orvis’ Damned & Destroyed xi. 71 Almost twenty-four hours..since I've had a fix... Are you the only one?.. You forget I use, too.
Add:VI. 26. Special Comb. use-by date, the date marked on a food package (or any item with a limited shelf-life) after which the contents may be expected to deteriorate; cf. best before date s.v. *best a. A. 11 c, sell-by date s.v. sell v. B. 15 b.
1979Heimbach & Stokes FDA 1978 Consumer Food Labeling Survey iv. 42 A good example would be open-date information: many people who know that the date tells the freshness of the product,..would not know whether it is a pull (sell-by) date, a quality-assurance (best-if-used-by) date, or an expiration (*use-by) date. 1983Sunset May 190/2 Unless the labels specify a ‘use by’ date, canned goods will retain their quality for several years. 1989Which? June 288/3 The ‘use by’ date on a pack of film indicates the useful life of the film under normal storage conditions. |