sumptuary

[ suhmp-choo-er-ee ]

/ ˈsʌmp tʃuˌɛr i /

adjective

pertaining to, dealing with, or regulating expense or expenditure.

intended to regulate personal habits on moral or religious grounds.

Words nearby sumptuary

sump pump, sump syndrome, sumph, sumpsimus, sumpter, sumptuary, sumptuary law, sumptuous, sumter, sumter, fort, sumy

Origin of sumptuary

1590–1600; < Latin sūmptuārius, equivalent to sūmptu(s) spending, expense (sūm(ere) to take, procure (see consume) + intrusive -p- + -tus suffix of v. action) + -ārius -ary

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH sumptuary

sumptuary sumptuous

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for sumptuary

No piece of furniture has ever been so close an index to sumptuary changes.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 5, Slice 7|Various
It was to no purpose, however; the sumptuary laws continued to be disregarded as heretofore.
Chats on Costume|G. Woolliscroft Rhead
What wonder then that the hosts of Yankee pedlers, until driven out by the sumptuary laws, fattened upon the land!
The Knickerbocker, Vol. 22, No. 1, July 1843|Various
But the influence of satire could reach further than that of censors or sumptuary laws.
The Roman Poets of the Republic|William Young Sellar

This law, like sumptuary laws in general, proved wholly inoperative as far as the Chinese were concerned.
A Vindication of England's Policy with Regard to the Opium Trade|Charles Reginald Haines

British Dictionary definitions for sumptuary

sumptuary

/ (ˈsʌmptjʊərɪ) /

adjective

relating to or controlling expenditure or extravagance

Word Origin for sumptuary

C17: from Latin sumptuārius concerning expense, from sumptus expense, from sūmere to spend

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012