usance

[ yoo-zuhns ]

See synonyms for usance on Thesaurus.com

noun

Commerce. a length of time, exclusive of days of grace and varying in different places, allowed by custom or usage for the payment of foreign bills of exchange.
Economics. the income of benefits of every kind derived from the ownership of wealth.

Archaic.
- use.
- custom; habit.
Obsolete. usury.

Origin of usance

1350–1400; Middle English usaunce<Old French usance, probably <Medieval Latin ūsantia, derivative of Latin ūsant- (stem of ūsāns), present participle of ūsāre to use; see -ance

Words Nearby usance

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use usance in a sentence

He lends out money gratis, and brings down The rate of usance here with us in Venice.
William Shakespere, of Stratford-on-Avon | Scott Surtees
The term "usance" is sometimes employed to express the period of running in foreign bills.
The Gentleman's Model Letter-writer | Anonymous
The plea of long usance would avail him little; another fine would be imposed.
West African studies | Mary Henrietta Kingsley
In foreign bills, the term usance is sometimes employed to express the period of running in foreign bills.
A History of Inventions, Discoveries, and Origins, Volume II (of 2) | Johann Beckman
He knew that a debt to folly bears no grace, and was ready with his principal and usance.
When Knighthood Was in Flower | Charles Major

British Dictionary definitions for usance

usance

/ (ˈjuːzəns) /

noun

commerce the period of time permitted by commercial usage for the redemption of foreign bills of exchange
rare unearned income

an obsolete word for usage, usury, use

Origin of usance

C14: from Old French, from Medieval Latin ūsantia, from ūsāre to use

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

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