▪ I. usage, n.
(ˈjuːzɪdʒ, ˈjuːsɪdʒ)
Forms: 3–7 vsage, 4– usage (5 osage, 6 uzag, yousage, usaige); 6 vsadge, 6–7 usadge (7 usadg, usidge, 9 dial. yousetch).
[a. AF., OF. usage (OF. also usaige), = Pr. uzatge, Sp. usage, It. usaggio, med.L. ūsāticum, f. L. ūs-us use n.]
1. a. Habitual use, established custom or practice, customary mode of action, on the part of a number of persons; long-continued use or procedure; custom, habit. (= use n. 7, 9.) In group (b), coupled with cognate terms, esp. custom.
| 13.. K. Alis. 1286 (Laud MS.), Comeþ messagers..And asken of Philipp trovage, Of wood, & water, & londe, by vsage. 1387–8 T. Usk Test. Love iii. i. (Skeat) I. 111 Custome is of commen usage by length of tyme used; and custome nat writte is usage. c 1440 Partonope 332 He brente hys bonus in grette haste, That was the vsage of that contre. 1456 Sir G. Haye Law Arms (S.T.S.) 73 The usage was that thai suld enter in barras. c 1530 Ld. Berners Arth. Lyt. Bryt. (1814) 422 Accordinge to the vsage y{supt} was than in y{supt} country. 1581 G. Pettie Guazzo's Civ. Conv. II. (1586) 65 Yet they are content in speaking to followe the common usage. 1680 Prideaux Lett. (Camden) 78 The liberty of printeing by long usage, and..granted by charter till the time of K. Charles y⊇ 1st, whose grant recites the sayd usage. 1697 W. Walsh Life Vergil in Dryden's V, (1721) I. 44 Every one should serve the Gods after the Usage of his own Country. 1709 Prior Henry & Emma 67 Usage confirm'd what Fancy had begun. 1768 Blackstone Comm. III. 108 Laws..corrected, altered, and amended by acts of parliament and common usage. 1785 Paley Mor. Philos. vi. xii. 642 The greater part [of the rules] have grown insensibly into usage. 1809 Coleridge Friend 225 Reasoners, who argue for a change in our government from former usage and from Statutes still in force. 1849 Macaulay Hist. Eng. v. I. 573 The custom house officers..had gone on board according to usage. 1888 Bryce Amer. Commw. II. xl. 83 The charter contained a sort of skeleton constitution, which usage had clothed with nerves. |
| (b) c 1400 Mandeville (Roxb.) xiii. 58 Thurgh comoun custom and vsage þat þai er wont vnto. c 1444 Pecock Donet 176 Þe peple schulen be brouȝt into vsage and custom..forto attende into þe doctryne. a 1548 Hall Chron., Hen. VIII, 189 Ther awne lawes and constitucions..the spiritualitie sore defended..by prescription and vsage. 1558 in 10th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. App. V. 417 The costome and usadge of the contry beinge evidently knouin. 1728 Chambers Cycl. (1738) s.v. Usance, The usage and custom of the places whereon they [sc. bills of exchange] are drawn. 1759 Franklin Ess. Wks. 1840 III. 378 They alleged, usage and custom against reason and justice ought to have but little weight. |
† b. In predicative use without article.
Obs.| c 1330 Arth. & Merl. 727 In þis lond was þo vsage, Who so [etc.]. 13.. Sir Beues (A.) 3470 Ase hit was lawe & riȝt vsage. 1390 Gower Conf. II. 386 To bidde..unto thymage Of Venus, as was thanne usage. |
† c. by usage, customarily; usually.
Obs.| c 1374 Chaucer Former Age 4 The fructes..Whiche þat the feldes yaue hem by vsage. |
2. a. With
a and
pl.: An established or recognized mode of procedure, action, or conduct; a custom or practice;
spec. one which has force in law.
| 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 3945 Vor hii hulde þe olde vsages, þat men wiþ men were Bi hom sulue & wymmen bi hom sulue. 13.. E.E. Allit. P. B. 710 Now haf þay skyfted my skyl & scorned nature, & henttez hem in heþyng an vsage vn-clene. a 1400 in Eng. Gilds (1870) 349 Þese ben þe olde vsages of þe Cite of Wynchestre. c 1450 Mirk's Festial i. 241 Wherefor ȝeet yn the lond of Surry ys an vsage þat when þe gospell schall be red, anon yche knyght..draweth out his sword. 1473 Rolls of Parlt. VI. 66/1 Dyvers Privileges, Liberties and free Usages. a 1568 Grafton Chron. II. 330 There was and is an vsage in England in many places, that the noble men..hauing Fraunchises ought to haue seruices of the commons. 1630 R. Johnson's Kingd. & Commw. 29 Three other usages have we had in England, which have kept our people in spirit and valour. 1680 [see custom n. 2]. 1724 S. Knight Life J. Colet 60 Colet thought some Usages in the Church were intolerable. 1734 tr. Rollin's Anc. Hist. I. Pref. p. xxxi, All I have here related was a receiv'd usage. 1766 Blackstone Comm. II. 263 If there be a usage..that all the inhabitants of that parish may dance on a certain close, at all times,..(which is held to be a lawful usage) this is strictly a custom. 1811 Regul. & Orders Army 25 Well versed in the Usages and Customs of the Service. 1867 Smyth Sailor's Word-bk. 708 Besides the general laws of merchants, there are certain commercial and seafaring usages which prevail in particular countries with the force of law. Underwriters are bound by usages. 1883 L. Villari Machiavelli IV. 117 Recommending every usage of the Romans. 1884 A. R. Pennington Wiclif ix. 285 Every ecclesiastical usage should rest on Scriptural grounds. |
b. the Usages, in
Ch. Hist. (see
quot. 1855).
| 1718 N. Spinckes No Sufficient Reason 2 The Pleas brought for the Essentiality of the Usages now contended for. [1788 Skinner Eccl. Hist. II. 623 Many of the ejected clergy..wished to revive these ancient usages..in the eucharistic service.] Ibid. 633 On the 9th. of July 1724, there was a general meeting of them all at Edinburgh, where, after much communing and reasoning about the Usages, the following stipulations were agreed to. Ibid. 634 On the commencement of the dispute about the Usages. 1855 Procter Hist. Bk Com. Pr. 145 The ceremonies revived in the new Communion Office were, The mixing of Water with the Wine, Prayer for the Dead, Prayer for the descent of the Holy Spirit on the elements, and the Prayer of Oblation. These were called The Usages, and those who practised them were called Usagers. 1887 Abbey Eng. Ch. & Bps. I. 191 A little before Hickes's death, in 1715, they were hotly at variance among themselves on the subject of the ‘usages’. |
c. local. A right-of-way.
| 1829 T. Faulkner Chelsea (ed. 2) I. 40 Charles Street,..Crooked Usage,..Chapel Row. 1884 N. & Q. 23 Feb. 148/1 Crooked Usage is a narrow lane..[in] Chelsea. 1902 Academy 12 July 56/1 The straight strips of ground between the various holdings of land were known as usages. |
3. The body of rules or principles followed by a particular set of persons, or recognized in a particular craft, occupation, etc. Const.
of.
| c 1340 Hampole Pr. Consc. 3790 For þe lovyng of God principaly And for usage of haly kyrk. c 1386 Chaucer Prol. 110 Of woodecraft wel koude he al the vsage. 1489 Caxton Faytes of A. iv. vii, More ought men to obey therunto, than to the vsage of armes. 1548–9 (Mar.) Bk. Com. Prayer, Confirm. Pref., It is agreeable with the vsage of the churche. 1585 T. Washington tr. Nicholay's Voy. iii. xv. 99 b, Sonnets, compounded after the vsage of their rime. 1787 J. A. Park Law Marine Insur. 13 Provided the usage of the trade..sanctions it. 1827 Jarman Powell's Devises II. 357 If she had been married to him according to the usage of the church of England. 1878 Maclear Celts x. 163 Adamnan was won over from the Celtic to the Catholic usage. |
4. a. Manner of (ordinarily) bearing or comporting oneself; usual conduct or behaviour.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 28456, I..has hade it in myn vsage, O mete and drink to do vtrage. c 1386 Chaucer Clerk's T. 729 Among al this after his wikke vsage This Markys yet his wyf to tempte moore..haþ [etc.]. c 1400 St. Alexius (Laud 622) 86 Men þat ȝeden in pilerinage.. was his vsage Often forto fede. c 1440 Jacob's Well 31 Þey hadde leuere fulfyllen here malyce,..þan for to leue þat malyce,..& here fals vsage, for to gon to heuene. 1548 Coverdale, etc. Erasm. Par. Rom. vii. 17 b, My synful vsage was not onely not restrayned, but also seemed quyckened. 1574 Whitgift Def. Aunsw. i. 71 What opinion they had of their vsage in their offices. 1606 Arraignem. & Execution of Late Traitors 3 (Hindley II), The little shew of their sorrow, their usage in prison, and their obstinacy to their end. 1848 Dickens Dombey viii, Mrs. Wickam, agreeably to the usage of some ladies in her condition, pursued..the subject without any compunction. |
b. A practice or habit on the part of a person or persons.
| 1303 R. Brunne Handl. Synne 7669 Comunly, þat men done yn ȝenkþe, Yn age haunte þey hyt on lenkþe; And mowe nat leue þat foule vsage Þat þey toke yn ȝouþe. 14.. Chaucer's Rom. Rose (Thynne) 293 Enuye..ne loked but awrie Or ouertharte al baggyngly And she had a foule vsage. c 1440 Ipomydon 1498 To the tayle was turnyd his visage; They bad hym lerne a new vsage. 1523 Ld. Berners tr. Froiss. I. xiv. 14 They put in wrytynge all the dedis of the kyng..and all his vsages, and euyll behauyngis. 1587 A. Day Daphnis & Chloe (1890) 16 Of these [they] found diuers pastimes wherewith to occupie them selues togethers. Their vsages were holie. 1655 Jer. Taylor Golden Grove 88 O let us never..by unworthy usages profane thy holy Name. |
† c. of usage, as a habit or custom; regularly.
Obs. rare.
| c 1381 Chaucer Parl. Foules 15 Of vsage what for lust & what for lore On bokis rede I ofte. 1525 Ld. Berners Froiss. II. cxvi. [cxii.] 333 And of usage his bedde was wont to be chafed with a bason with hote coles. |
† 5. The fact of accustoming or being accustomed to do or employ something.
Obs.| c 1374 Chaucer Boeth. i. pr. i. (1868) 6 Þei holden þe hertes of men in usage, but þei ne delyuere not folk fro maladye. 1456 Sir G. Haye Law Arms (S.T.S.) 84 A knycht is usit in harnes.., the quhilk usage makis him hardy and expert. 1585 T. Washington tr. Nicholay's Voy. iv. xvi. 130 b, They haue also the commoditie & vsage to speake and vnderstand all other sortes of languages. |
6. a. The action of using something; the fact of being used; use, employment.
| c 1374 Chaucer Boeth. iv. pr. vi. (1868) 140 Þe vsage & exercitacioun of pacience. c 1385 ― L.G.W. 2337 Philomene, He..kepte hire to his vsage & his store. c 1400 Cato's Morals 315 in Cursor M. App. iv. 1673 If þou haue carlis boȝt to serue þe in þi þoȝt, to þine vsage. 1490 Caxton How to Die 18 Thou haste the vsage of reason. 1509 Hawes Past. Pleas. i. (Percy Soc.) 5, I myght not slake Of my great musyng..of these two wayes so muche in usage. 1548 Udall, etc. Erasm. Par. Mark i. 6 The world had far swarued from the right vsage of the law of nature. 1574 in Feuillerat Revels Q. Eliz. (1908) 242 Paper for patternes..& such other necessary uzag in thoffice. 1609 Manch. Crt. Leet Rec. (1886) II. 248 A doore which fformerlie did open and leade vnto the vsage of a barne. 1617 Woodall Surg. Mate (1639) 8 Incision sheeres..are..scarce once in a mans life worth the usage. 1688 Holme Armoury iii. 317/2 The Coopers Axe..is contrary to all other Workmens Axes both for shape and usage. 1782 Priestley Corrupt. Chr. I. i. 94 The constant usage of the form of baptism. 1844 Fraser's Mag. XXX. 429/1 The usage of hops was entirely unknown to the ancient Gauls. 1870 F. R. Wilson Ch. Lindisf. 127 The parish register..has suffered from time, damp, and usage. 1885 Tennyson Anc. Sage 270 Nor thou be rageful, like a handled bee, And lose thy life by usage of thy sting. |
† b. The use
of something as an article of food or drink.
Obs.| 1542 Boorde Dyetary xxix. (1870) 292 Beware of the vsage of fruytes. 1585 T. Washington tr. Nicholay's Voy. iv. xxvii. 146 They forbade him the vsage of any kind of meat. Ibid. xxix. 150 [He] taught the Thebans to plant the vines and the vsage of wine. |
7. Action, behaviour, or conduct towards a person, etc.; manner of using or being used; treatment. Also
const. of,
† to (
= of).
a. With qualifying
adjs. In
freq. use (
esp. during 17th c.) from
c 1600.
| 1563–4 Clough in Burgon Life Gresham (1839) II. 48 Here is suche talke of the ill yousage of owre offysers. 1582 Stanyhurst æneis iii. (Arb.) 87 This loa..bringeth firme hoape for peaceable vsadge. 1588 Sir E. Radclyffe in Ellis Orig. Lett. Ser. ii. III. 142 Her Majestie hath..comforted many of us with her most gratious usage. 1621 in Foster Eng. Factories Ind. (1906) 233 For kinde usadge ore refreshinge for sick men. 1687 A. Lovell tr. Thevenot's Trav. i. 229 Another Saycot seeing this..came..and surrendred of her own accord, in hopes of better usage. 1706 E. Ward Wooden World Diss. (1708) 95 Bad Usage makes him as dull and useless as an old Razor. 1784 P. Wright New Bk. Martyrs 794/2 The barbarous usage of those poor people. 1840 R. H. Dana Bef. Mast xxiii, On the whole, there was good usage on board. 1892 Photogr. Ann. II. 563 Without fear of their being injured by the roughest usage during transit. |
| transf. 1675 T. Howard in Lady Newdegate Cavalier & Puritan (1901) 74 The severe usage of the gout making me unfit to appear in any company. |
b. Without
adj.| 1605 Shakes. Lear ii. iv. 26 Resolue me..which way Thou might'st deserue, or they impose this vsage, Comming from vs. 1614 Latham Falconry ii. iv. 88 When you haue a Hawke.., you must be very carefull in her vsage. 1666 Earl of Orrery St. Lett. (1742) 197 Our usage in England amazes me. They will not only wound our estates, but our titles. a 1700 Evelyn Diary Sept. 1646, He..was..displeas'd at the usage we received. 1717–8 Hearne Collect. (O.H.S.) VI. 153 She justifyeth her Usage to [= of] the Queen of Scots. 1766 Goldsm. Vic. W. xxvi, To try how you may like the usage of another master. 1799 S. Freeman Town Officer 75 To inquire into the usage of children legally bound out. 1849 J. J. G. Wilkinson Swedenborg ii. 191 He complained that he had met with usage the like of which had been offered to none since the establishment of Christianity in Sweden. |
8. Established or customary use or employment of language, words, expressions, etc.
| 1697 De Foe Ess. Projects 236 The Voice of this Society should be sufficient Authority for the Usage of Words. 1785 Paley Mor. Philos. iii. 158 All senses of all words are founded upon usage, and nothing else. 1818 Cruise Digest (ed. 2) VI. 384 To make words stand for ideas, in opposition to the sense which usage had put upon them. 1845 Encycl. Metrop. I. 132/1 When we speak of nouns and verbs, we only conform to the established usage. 1875 Whitney Life Lang. xii. 231 As to the common name by which they shall be called, usage is very diverse. |
† 9. Interest on money lent; rate of interest;
= usance 4 b.
Obs.| 1822 Scott Nigel v, The money, meanwhile, lying at the ordinary usage. 1824 ― St. Ronan's xxxix, Some debts..have been paid up by Mr. Touchwood, who contented himself with more moderate usage. |
10. attrib., as (sense 8)
usage guide,
usage label,
usage labelling.
| 1972 R. D. Walshe in G. W. Turner Good Austral. Eng. xi. 241 There is a need for up-dating. This is true of most of the ‘usage guides’ which editorial offices and printeries use in order to impose a consistency of style. 1980 Amer. Speech LV. 134 Readers of these usage guides too often take them as gospel truth. |
| 1967 F. Christensen in P. B. Gove Role of Dict. 24/2 The new dictionary has dropped the usage label colloq...altogether. 1981 Dictionaries II.–III. 75 Usage-label treatment is just as important to the composition student as treatment of synonyms. |
| 1977 Computers & Humanities XI. 89/2 In this kind of usage labeling, ‘label’ is not to be taken literally. 1982 Papers Dict. Soc. N. Amer. 1977 66 The first of these anxieties gives weight to the need for rather particular status-labelling—and this term (used in Webster's) also seems..preferable to ‘usage-labelling’. |
Add:
[6.] c. concr. Chiefly in technical contexts. The amount or quantity used; the rate at which something is used.
| 1949 Britannica Bk. of Year 687/1 Usage, the quantity of a raw material or other commodity used or consumed, or the rate of such consumption. 1967 D. Goch in Wills & Yearsley Handbk. Managem. Technol. viii. 146 Compared with the standard usage of 3 lb of moulding powder per unit, the production run required an additional 30 lb. 1991 UNIX World Jan. 83/3 McEachern was pleased because the X terminals were running off a host with about 230 gigabytes of data, but the memory usage was very low. |
▪ II. † usage, v. Obs. rare—1.
[a. OF. usager (15th c.), usagier (1289), f. usage usage n.] trans. To habituate or accustom (a person).
| 1530 Palsgr. 769/2 Whan a man is nat usaged in a thyng, it is no marvayle though he can nat do it. |