"Used to" means "was accustomed to"?

[bcword...@gmail.com]

Dictionaries tell us that "used to" means "was accustomed to", but
discussions in another forum have shown that some people reject that
definition, and hold that "used to" is a modal auxiliary unrelated to
individual meanings of the words "used" and "to"..

Support for the dictionary definition is found in occasional modern
occurrences of the verb "use" in the sense "be accustomed to", in
tenses other than simple past, and also with the "used" and the "to"
separated by other words..

In a translation of Tolstoy's _Anna Karenina_ (Part Two, xxvi, fourth
line) I have recently noticed the following usages in the past
perfect::

With the coming of spring he went to a spa abroad, as he had used
to, to
recover his health [...]

and (Part Two, viii, third page)

They collected a whole basketful of mushrooms; even Lili found a
wood
mushroom. What had used to happen was that Miss Hull would find
one
and show her; [...]

The title page of this translation of _Anna Karenina_ says, "The
modern American translation by Joel Carmichael". The translation is
copyright © 1960 by Bantam Books.

I, for one, regard "use" in the phrase "used to" as just another verb,
some of whose tenses have become dormant for the time being, leaving
usually only the simple past tense. I would favor restoration of the
dormant tenses, making it acceptable to say things like,

"After I retire, I will use to visit the park more
often",

"The man who uses to deliver our paper was late
this morning", and

"A common trait of teenagers is their using to view
their parents with tolerant amusement".