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Use vs Boy - What's the difference?

use | boy |

In obsolete terms the difference between use and boy

is that use is common occurrence; ordinary experience while boy is a lower-class or disreputable man; a worthless person.

In transitive terms the difference between use and boy

is that use is to exploit while boy is to act as a boy in allusion to the former practice of boys acting women's parts on the stage.

As nouns the difference between use and boy

is that use is the act of using while boy is male servant.

As verbs the difference between use and boy

is that use is to accustom; to habituate while boy is to use the word boy to refer to someone.

As an interjection boy is

exclamation of surprise, pleasure or longing.

use

English

(wikipedia use)

Alternative forms

* (archaic)

Etymology 1

From (etyl) from Old English nytt.

Noun

(en noun)
  • The act of using.
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-07, author= Ed Pilkington
  • , volume=188, issue=26, page=6, magazine=(The Guardian Weekly) , title= ‘Killer robots’ should be banned in advance, UN told , passage=In his submission to the UN, [Christof] Heyns points to the experience of drones. Unmanned aerial vehicles were intended initially only for surveillance, and their use for offensive purposes was prohibited, yet once strategists realised their perceived advantages as a means of carrying out targeted killings, all objections were swept out of the way.}}
  • Usefulness, benefit.
  • * Milton
  • God made two great lights, great for their use / To man.
  • * Alexander Pope
  • 'Tis use alone that sanctifies expense.
  • A function; a purpose for which something may be employed.
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2013-07-26, author=(Leo Hickman)
  • , volume=189, issue=7, page=26, magazine=(The Guardian Weekly) , title= How algorithms rule the world , passage=The use of algorithms in policing is one example of their increasing influence on our lives. And, as their ubiquity spreads, so too does the debate around whether we should allow ourselves to become so reliant on them – and who, if anyone, is policing their use.}}
  • Occasion or need to employ; necessity.
  • I have no further use for these textbooks.
  • (obsolete, rare) Interest for lent money; premium paid for the use of something; usury.
  • * 1599 , (William Shakespeare), (Much Ado About Nothing) ,
  • DON PEDRO. Come, lady, come; you have lost the heart of Signior Benedick.
    BEATRICE. Indeed, my lord, he lent it me awhile; and I gave him use for it, a double heart for a single one: [...]
  • * Jeremy Taylor
  • Thou art more obliged to pay duty and tribute, use and principal, to him.
  • (archaic) Continued or repeated practice; usage; habit.
  • * Spenser
  • Let later age that noble use envy.
  • * Shakespeare
  • How weary, stale, flat and unprofitable, / Seem to me all the uses of this world!
  • (obsolete) Common occurrence; ordinary experience.
  • * Shakespeare
  • O Caesar! these things are beyond all use .
  • (religion) The special form of ritual adopted for use in any diocese.
  • the Sarum, or Canterbury, use'''; the Hereford '''use'''; the York '''use'''; the Roman '''use ; etc.
  • * Book of Common Prayer
  • From henceforth all the whole realm shall have but one use .
  • (forging) A slab of iron welded to the side of a forging, such as a shaft, near the end, and afterward drawn down, by hammering, so as to lengthen the forging.
  • Synonyms
    * (act of using) employment, usage, note, nait * (usefulness) benefit, good, point, usefulness, utility, note, nait
    Derived terms
    * disuse * fair use * hyper-use * misuse * no use * overuse * reuse * underuse * useful * useless * usement * what’s the use

    Etymology 2

    From (etyl) ).

    Verb

    (us)
  • (archaic) To accustom; to habituate.
  • :
  • *(John Milton) (1608–1674)
  • *:Thou with thy compeers, / Used to the yoke, draw'st his triumphant wheels.
  • To employ; to apply; to utilize.
  • :
  • :
  • *{{quote-magazine, year=2013, month=May-June, author= David Van Tassel], [http://www.americanscientist.org/authors/detail/lee-dehaan Lee DeHaan
  • , title= Wild Plants to the Rescue , volume=101, issue=3, magazine=(American Scientist) , passage=Plant breeding is always a numbers game.
  • To exhaust the supply of; to consume by employing
  • :
  • To exploit.
  • :
  • *{{quote-magazine, year=2013, month=September-October, author= Katie L. Burke
  • , magazine=(American Scientist), title= In the News , passage=Oxygen levels on Earth skyrocketed 2.4 billion years ago, when cyanobacteria evolved photosynthesis: the ability to convert water and carbon dioxide into carbohydrates and waste oxygen using solar energy.}}
  • (dated) To behave toward; to act with regard to; to treat.
  • :
  • *(John Milton) (1608–1674)
  • *:How wouldst thou use me now?
  • *(Joseph Addison) (1672–1719)
  • *:Cato has used me ill.
  • To habitually do; to be wont to do.
  • :
  • *Bible, 1 (w) iv.9
  • *:Use hospitality one to another.
  • *, I.48:
  • *:Peter Pol'', doctor in divinitie used to sit upon his mule, who as ''Monstrelet'' reporteth, was wont to ride up and downe the streets of ''Paris , ever sitting sideling, as women use .
  • * 1693 , Sir Norman Knatchbull, Annotations upon some difficult texts in all the books of the New Testament
  • For in the Rites of funeration they did use to anoint the dead body, with Aromatick Spices and Oyntments, before they buried them.
  • (past tense with infinitive) To habitually do. See used to.
  • :
  • Synonyms
    * engage, utilise * (exploit) take advantage of
    Derived terms
    * abuse * disuse * reuse * misuse * usability * usable * usage * used * used to * useful * user

    References

    *

    Statistics

    *

    boy

    English

    Alternative forms

    * boi (Jamaican English)

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • Male servant.
  • # (now, rare) A male servant, in general senses.
  • # (historical, now, offensive) A non-white male servant, as used especially by whites in a colonial settlement etc.
  • When the 'dipenda' (independence movement) in Belgian Congo turned violent, the white colonisers' often materially privileged black domestic boys were mistrusted and often abused as collaborators.
  • # (now, offensive) A non-white male.
  • (obsolete) A lower-class or disreputable man; a worthless person.
  • * 1608 , (William Shakespeare), (King Lear) , Act I Scene 4:
  • Dost thou call me fool, boy ?
  • A young male human; a male child or young adult.
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2013-07-19, author= Ian Sample
  • , volume=189, issue=6, page=34, magazine=(The Guardian Weekly) , title= Irregular bedtimes may affect children's brains , passage=Irregular bedtimes may disrupt healthy brain development in young children, according to a study of intelligence and sleeping habits.  ¶ Going to bed at a different time each night affected girls more than boys , but both fared worse on mental tasks than children who had a set bedtime, researchers found.}}
  • A son.
  • * (Walter Scott)
  • My only boy fell by the side of great Dundee.
  • A man of any age, used as a friendly diminutive, or of a man who is merely younger than the speaker.
  • * 1977 , (Bert Newton), to (Mohammed Ali) at the 1977 Logie Awards:[http://www.abc.net.au/thingo/txt/s1088100.htm]
  • I like the boy .
  • (colloquial) A male friend or fellow of some group, community etc. (mainly used in the plural).
  • (US, slang) Heroin.
  • Synonyms

    * brat * knave * lad * squirt * youngster * youth * See also

    See also

    * (African-American) uncle

    Antonyms

    * (young male) girl

    Derived terms

    * altar boy * attaboy * bad boy * bagboy * ball boy, ballboy * bat boy * b-boy * bell boy, bellboy * best boy * big boys * blue-eyed boy * boi * boy band * boy-bishop * boy crazy * boyfriend * boy genius * boyhood * boy howdy * boyish * boyism * boykin (diminutive) * boy oh boy * boy racer * boys and their toys * boy scout * boytjie * boy toy * boys will be boys * boy wonder * bully boy * bum boy * cabin boy * city boy * college boy * copy boy * cowboy * delivery boy * doughboy * farm boy * frat boy * golden boy * homeboy * house boy * lawnboy * little boy * lowboy * mama’s boy]], [[mummy's boy, mummy’s boy * my boy * nancy boy * newsboy * office boy * oh boy * old boy * our boy * page boy, pageboy * paper boy, paperboy * pizza boy, pizzaboy * pool boy * poor boy, po’ boy * poster boy * potboy * pretty boy * rent boy * sailor boy * sea boy * shop boy * sonny boy * stableboy * tallboy * Teddy boy * tomboy * traffic boy * water boy * whipping boy * whiteboy, white boy * wide boy * wolf boy * yellow boy, yellow-boy

    Descendants

    * Irish English: boyo * Vietnamese:

    Interjection

    (en interjection)
  • Exclamation of surprise, pleasure or longing.
  • Verb

    (en verb)
  • to use the word boy to refer to someone
  • to act as a boy (qualifier, in allusion to the former practice of boys acting women's parts on the stage)
  • * Shakespeare
  • I shall see some squeaking Cleopatra boy my greatness.

    See also

    * girl, man (antonyms in some senses) * *

    References

    *

    Statistics

    *

    Anagrams

    * * 1000 English basic words ----