avail
UK[əˈveɪl]US[əˈveɪl]
v
to be of use or advantage to; to help or benefit
v
to make use of; to take advantage of (used with a reflexive pronoun, as in "avail oneself of")
n
use or benefit, especially in the phrase "to no avail" or "of little avail"
Morpheme Breakdown
a
vail
a
to, towards
vail
be worth, be strong
Etymology
The word 'avail' entered Middle English from Anglo-French 'availler', a verb meaning 'to be of worth or value'. This French term was itself a construction from the Latin phrase 'ad valere', literally 'to be strong towards' or 'to be of value to'. The core Latin root 'valere' (to be strong, to be worth) is of Proto-Indo-European origin, related to concepts of power and health, seen in words like 'valiant' and 'valid'. Over time, the literal sense of 'being strong towards something' softened into the more abstract modern meanings of 'to be of use, benefit, or advantage', capturing the idea of something having the power or worth to help in a situation.
Analysis
Structure: a (to, towards) + vail (be worth, be strong)
a: Latin prefix 'ad-', meaning 'to, towards'. In English, it often appears assimilated as 'a-', 'ac-', 'af-', etc.
vail: From Latin 'valere', meaning 'to be strong, be worth, have power'. This root appears in English words like 'value', 'valid', and 'valiant'.
Examples
All his efforts to convince them were of no avail.
You must avail yourself of every opportunity to learn.
His wealth did not avail him in his time of grief.