Usual

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /ˈjuːʒʊəl/

Definitions

1. typical or customary; what normally happens or is expected in a given situation
2. ordinary or regular
3. Commonly occurring or observed under normal circumstances ; conforming to a regular or standard pattern

Etymology: "Usual" arrived in English in the Middle English period from Old French "usuel," which itself came from Latin "ūsuālis," meaning "for use" or "customary." Its Latin root "ūsus" meant "use, habit, custom," drawn from the past participle stem of "ūtī," "to use." English already had a perfectly good word for the same idea, "ġewunelīċ" (the ancestor of "wonted" and "customary"-type senses), but the French-derived term pushed it out of everyday speech. The notable twist is how thoroughly the Latin sense of "use" became a sense of habit. A thing that is "usual" is simply a thing that is regularly put into practice, so the word moved from the practical act of using something to the repeated pattern that results from using it again and again. Its close cousin "usury," which once meant simply the use of money, shows the same root travelling in a different direction.

Synonyms: common, routine, ordinary, habitual, customary

Antonyms: unusual, rare, atypical, exceptional, extraordinary