usury

American  

[yoo-zhuh-ree] / ˈyu ʒə ri /

noun

plural

usuries

1. the lending or practice of lending money at an exorbitant interest.

2. an exorbitant amount or rate of interest, especially in excess of the legal rate.

3. Obsolete. interest paid for the use of money.

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usury British  

/ ˈjuːʒərɪ, juːˈʒʊərɪəs /

noun

1. the act or practice of loaning money at an exorbitant rate of interest

2. an exorbitant or unlawfully high amount or rate of interest

3. obsolete moneylending

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usury Cultural  

1. The practice of charging more than the legal interest rate.

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Other Word Forms

• usurious adjective

Etymology

Origin of usury

1275–1325; Middle English usurie < Medieval Latin ūsūria (compare Latin ūsūra ), equivalent to Latin ūs ( us ) ( use ) + -ūr ( a ) -ure + -ia -y ³

Explanation

Usury means lending money at exorbitant interest rates. Some people think that credit card companies charging annual interest rates of 29% are guilty of usury. A good way to remember the meaning of usury is that you can hear the word use in there. Think of charging too much interest as a way of "using" someone. The sad thing about high interest is that it's always the people who can least afford it who are charged rates so high that it amounts to usury. In the old days, if someone was found guilty of usury, they'd be severely punished.

Example Sentences

Other pages on his site appear to criticise "fiat money" - commonly used currencies as opposed to gold and digital tokens like Bitcoin - and usury, the charging of interest on loans.

From BBC • Nov. 28, 2023

You can read injunctions against usury in the Vedic texts of ancient India, in the sutras of Buddhism and in the Torah.

From New York Times • Mar. 9, 2023

The regulators said Credit Acceptance "sets consumers up to fail" by charging exorbitant interest rates averaging 22% and entering arrangements with dealers that mask the true cost of borrowing and sometimes violate state usury laws.

From Reuters • Jan. 4, 2023

They closed loopholes that had allowed the industry to evade long-standing usury laws in the state and made offering payday loans a felony.

From Salon • Nov. 15, 2022

I reckon he thinks they’d get him on the usury law if he netted more than eight percent.

From "The Sound and the Fury" by William Faulkner