utilis

Latin

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *h₃eyt-der.?

Proto-Italic *oitōr

Latin ūtor

Proto-Indo-European *-elis

Proto-Italic *-elis

Latin -ilis

Latin ūtilis

From ūtor (“use”) + -ilis. Compare ūtēnsilis.

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈuː.tɪ.lɪs]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈuː.ti.lis]

Adjective

ūtilis (neuter ūtile, comparative ūtilior, superlative ūtilissimus or ūtillimus, adverb ūtiliter); third-declension two-termination adjective

1. useful, serviceable, beneficial, profitable, advantageous; helpful
   • 8 CE, Ovidius, Fasti 6.223–224:

     tum mihi post sacrās mōnstrātur Iūnius Īdūs
     ūtilis et nūptīs, ūtilis esse virīs.

     [The month of] June, after the sacred Ides, was then shown to me to be beneficial for brides, and beneficial for husbands.
     (See June.)

2. fit, suitable, adapted, proper

   Synonyms: opportūnus, commodus, habilis, idōneus, conveniēns, ūtēnsilis, aptus, dignus, iūstus, lēgitimus, habilis, salūber, ūtibilis

   Antonyms: incommodus, inūtilis, ineptus, irritus, grātuītus

Declension

Third-declension two-termination adjective.

	singular			plural
	masc./fem.	neuter		masc./fem.	neuter
nominative	ūtilis	ūtile		ūtilēs	ūtilia
genitive	ūtilis			ūtilium
dative	ūtilī			ūtilibus
accusative	ūtilem	ūtile		ūtilīs ūtilēs	ūtilia
ablative	ūtilī			ūtilibus
vocative	ūtilis	ūtile		ūtilēs	ūtilia

Derived terms

• ūtilitās
• ūtiliter

Descendants

• Catalan: útil
• English: utile, utilize
• French: utile
• Galician: útil
• Italian: utile
• Occitan: util
• Piedmontese: ùtil, ütil
• Portuguese: útil
• Romanian: util
• Spanish: útil

References

• “utilis”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “utilis”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891), An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “utilis”, in Gaffiot, Félix (1934), Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.