sumptuary

American  

[suhmp-choo-er-ee] / ˈsʌmp tʃuˌɛr i /

adjective

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

2. intended to regulate personal habits on moral or religious grounds.

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sumptuary British  

/ ˈsʌmptjʊərɪ /

adjective

1. relating to or controlling expenditure or extravagance

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Etymology

Origin of sumptuary

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

Explanation

Use the adjective sumptuary to talk about rules that control spending. You're most likely to see it in historical documents, in the context of "sumptuary laws" or "sumptuary regulations." This adjective denoting restrictiveness in spending or behavior has fallen out of fashion in the modern age, and perhaps just as well: it looks confusingly similar to sumptuous, whose meaning is opposite in spirit. Both words are derived from Latin sumptus, which means "expense or expensive."

Example Sentences

However, sumptuary laws dictated what women could and could not wear, elite men kept concubines, and the Tang legal system considered women property.

From Textbooks • Apr. 19, 2023

And it was possible to be accused of witchcraft for breaking the Puritanical sumptuary laws and “sadd colors” dress code.

From New York Times • Oct. 20, 2021

The Renaissance-era sumptuary laws that Walweyn and Bradshaw faced aren’t the only ones that demonstrate an effort to either impose or dismantle a social hierarchy.

From Slate • Feb. 10, 2021

Many such stratified societies also regulate consumption through sumptuary laws, which enforce social hierarchies by regulating consumption according to social rank.

From Scientific American • May 8, 2015

I mumble thanks for the advice, feeling like I’ve just been stripped naked by the crazed enforcer of some ancient sumptuary law: No chatting for you, girl.

From "Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America" by Barbara Ehrenreich