使い道
つかいみち · tsukaimichi · JLPT N1 · noun
use
🔧 使い (tsukai, use) + 道 (michi, way) = the way something gets used
使い道 is 使い (using) plus 道 (path or way), so it means a path of use. To ask about 使い道 is to ask what something is good for.
使 — person radical 亻 + official 吏
Originally a phono-semantic compound: 亻 (person) gives the meaning and 吏 (official, also a phonetic clue) suggests the sound. The early sense was 'to send a person on a mission,' from which came 'envoy/messenger' and the broader meanings 'to use' and 'to cause/make.'
道 — 辶 (walk) + 首 (head)
Originally a compound of 辶 'walk/movement' and 首 'head', depicting a path one walks while looking ahead. The literal sense 'road, way' extended metaphorically to 'method, doctrine, the Way (Dao)'. This philosophical meaning became central in Daoist and Confucian thought.