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1184 entries found
us (pron.)
Old English us (cognate with Old Saxon, Old Frisian us, Old Norse, Swedish oss, Dutch ons, German uns), accusative and dative plural of we, from PIE *nes- (2), forming oblique cases of the first person plural personal pronoun (source also of Sanskrit nas, Avestan na, Hittite nash "us;" Greek no "we two;" Latin nos "we, us;" Old Church Slavonic ny "us," nasu "our;" Old Irish ni, Welsh ni "we, us"). The -n- is preserved in Germanic in Dutch ons, German uns.
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USA 
also U.S.A., abbreviation of United States of America, in use by 1814 in addresses, etc.; not common otherwise before c. 1920. Before then it often also meant United States Army.
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usable (adj.)
late 14c., from Old French usable "available, in use" (14c.), from user (see use (v.)). Not a common word before c. 1840, when probably it was re-formed from use (v.) + -able. Related: Usably.
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usage (n.)
c. 1300, "established practice, custom," from Anglo-French and Old French usage "custom, habit, experience; taxes levied," from us, from Latin usus "use, custom" (see use (v.)). From late 14c. as "service, use, act of using something."
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usb 
initialism (acronym) for universal serial bus, by 1994.
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use (v.)
c. 1200, "employ for a purpose," from Old French user "employ, make use of, practice, frequent," from Vulgar Latin *usare "use," frequentative form of past participle stem of Latin uti "make use of, profit by, take advantage of, enjoy, apply, consume," in Old Latin oeti "use, employ, exercise, perform," of uncertain origin. Related: Used; using. Replaced Old English brucan (see brook (v.)). From late 14c. as "take advantage of."
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use (n.)
c. 1200, "act of employing," from Anglo-French and Old French us "custom, practice, usage," from Latin usus "use, custom, practice, employment, skill, habit," from past participle stem of uti "make use of, profit by, take advantage of" (see use (v.)).
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used (adj.)
"second-hand," 1590s, past-participle adjective from use (v.). To be used to "accustomed, familiar" is recorded by late 14c. Verbal phrase used to "formerly did or was" (as in I used to love her) represents a construction attested from c. 1300, and common from c. 1400, from use (intransitive) "be accustomed, practice customarily," but now surviving only in past tense form. The pronunciation is affected by the t- of to. Used-to-be (n.) "one who has outlived his fame" is from 1853.
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useful (adj.)

1590s, from use (n.) + -ful. Related: Usefully; usefulness.

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useless (adj.)
1590s, from use (n.) + -less. Related: Uselessly; uselessness.
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