Etymograph

English

usus

Usus comes from Latin ūsus ‘use’, and goes back to Proto-Italic *oissos.

  1. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*oissos1reconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEūsus1‘use’
  3. Englishtodayusus1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English usus

Lineage

  1. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*oissosWiktionary, English ususreconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEūsusWiktionary, English usus‘use’
  3. EnglishtodayususWiktionary, English usus

Linked words

through Latin ūsus ‘use’

use, useless, usual, usury

Today it means

noun The use of something.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “usus”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Italic *oissos / usus

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