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Definition of Usage - 4 dictionary results
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us⋅age

  [yoo-sij, -zij]
Use Usage in a Sentence
–noun
1. a customary way of doing something; a custom or practice: the usages of the last 50 years.
2. the customary manner in which a language or a form of a language is spoken or written: English usage; a grammar based on usage rather than on arbitrary notions of correctness.
3. a particular instance of this: a usage borrowed from French.
4. any manner of doing or handling something; treatment: rough usage.
5. habitual or customary use; long-continued practice: immemorial usage.
6. an act of using or employing; use.
Origin:
1250–1300; ME < AF, OF < ML ūsāticum, equiv. to L ūs(us) (see use ) + -āticum -age

Synonyms:
1. tradition, habit, convention.

Usage note:
The nouns usage and use are related in origin and meaning and to some extent overlap in their use. Usage usually refers to habitual or customary practices or procedures: Some usages of the Anglican Church are similar to those of the Roman Catholic Church. It is also commonly used in reference to language practices: English usage is divided in the pronunciation of aunt. Use refers to the act of using or employing (something): She put her extra money to good use. Perhaps in the belief that it is the more impressive term, usage is sometimes used where use would be more natural: Has your usage of a personal computer made the work any easier?
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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us·age   (yōō'sĭj, -zĭj)   
n.  

    1. The act, manner, or amount of using; use: the usage of a technical term; an instrument that measures water usage.

    2. The act or manner of treating; treatment: subjected the car to rough usage.

  2. A usual, habitual, or accepted practice. See Synonyms at habit.

  3. The way in which words or phrases are actually used, spoken, or written in a speech community.

  4. A particular expression in speech or writing: a nonce usage.


[Middle English, from Old French, from us, from Latin ūsus, from past participle of ūtī, to use.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

usage 
1297, "established practice, custom," from Anglo-Fr. and O.Fr. usage "custom, habit, experience," from us, from L. usus "use, custom" (see use).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Legal Dictionary

Main Entry: us·age
Pronunciation: 'yü-sij, -zij
Function: noun
: an habitual or uniform practice esp. in an area or trade —compare CUSTOM
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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