From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Use \Use\, verb (used with an object) [imp. & p. p. {Used}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Using}.] [OE. usen, F. user to use, use up, wear out, LL. usare to use, from L. uti, p. p. usus, to use, OL. oeti, oesus; of uncertain origin. Cf. {Utility}.]
1. To make use of; to convert to one's service; to avail one's self of; to employ; to put a purpose; as, to use a plow; to use a chair; to use time; to use flour for food; to use water for irrigation.
Launcelot Gobbo, use your legs. --Shak.
Some other means I have which may be used. --Milton.
2. To behave toward; to act with regard to; to treat; as, to use a beast cruelly. ''I will use him well.'' --Shak.
How wouldst thou use me now? --Milton.
Cato has used me ill. --Addison.
3. To practice customarily; to make a practice of; as, to use diligence in business.
Use hospitality one to another. --1 Pet. iv. 9.
4. To accustom; to habituate; to render familiar by practice; to inure; -- employed chiefly in the passive participle; as, men used to cold and hunger; soldiers used to hardships and danger.
I am so used in the fire to blow. --Chaucer.
Thou with thy compeers, Used to the yoke, draw'st his triumphant wheels. --Milton.
{To use one's self}, to behave. [Obs.] ''Pray, forgive me, if I have used myself unmannerly.'' --Shak.
{To use up}. (a) To consume or exhaust by using; to leave nothing of; as, to use up the supplies. (b) To exhaust; to tire out; to leave no capacity of force or use in; to overthrow; as, he was used up by fatigue. [Colloq.]
Usage: {Use}, {Employ}. We use a thing, or make use of it, when we derive from it some enjoyment or service. We employ it when we turn that service into a particular channel. We use words to express our general meaning; we employ certain technical terms in reference to a given subject. To make use of, implies passivity in the thing; as, to make use of a pen; and hence there is often a material difference between the two words when applied to persons. To speak of ''making use of another'' generally implies a degrading idea, as if we had used him as a tool; while employ has no such sense. A confidential friend is employed to negotiate; an inferior agent is made use of on an intrigue.
I would, my son, that thou wouldst use the power Which thy discretion gives thee, to control And manage all. --Cowper.
To study nature will thy time employ: Knowledge and innocence are perfect joy. --Dryden.
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
noun
1: an act that exploits or victimizes someone (treats them unfairly); "capitalistic exploitation of the working class"; "paying Blacks less and charging them more is a form of victimization" [syn: {exploitation}, {victimization}, {victimisation}]
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