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.
Origin: 1250–1300;Middle English < Anglo-French,Old French < Medieval Latinūsāticum, equivalent to Latinūs(us) (see use) + -āticum-age
Related forms
non·us·age, noun
Can be confused: use, usage, utilize (see usage note at the current entry)(see synonym study at use).
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?
a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison.
a chattering or flighty, light-headed person.
a screen or mat covered with a dark material for shielding a camera lens from excess light or glare.
a chattering or flighty, light-headed person.
a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question.
a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison.