usury

English

Etymology

From Middle English usurie, from Latin ūsūria, from ūsūra (“lending at interest, usury”) from ūsus (“use”), from stem of ūtī (“to use”). Compare usurp and use.

Pronunciation

• enPR: yo͞o'zhə-rē, IPA^(key): /ˈjuːʒəɹi/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Noun

usury (countable and uncountable, plural usuries)

1. (countable) An exorbitant rate of interest, in excess of any legal rates or at least immorally.
2. (uncountable) The practice of lending money at such rates.
3. (uncountable, archaic or historical) The practice of lending money at interest.
   • 4th century BCE, Aristotle, translated by Benjamin Jowett, Politics, Book I, Part X:

     The most hated sort, and with the greatest reason, is usury, which makes a gain out of money itself, and not from the natural object of it. For money was intended to be used in exchange, but not to increase at interest.

4. (uncountable, obsolete) Profit.
   • c. 1587–1588, [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], 2nd edition, part 1, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592, →OCLC; reprinted as Tamburlaine the Great (A Scolar Press Facsimile), Menston, Yorkshire, London: Scolar Press, 1973, →ISBN, Act II, scene v:

     Then will we march to all thoſe Indian Mines,
     My witleſſe brother to the Chriſtians loſt:
     And ranſome them with fame and vſurie.

Synonyms

• oker

Hyponyms

• payday loan

Related terms

• usurer
• usuress
• usurial
• usurious, usuriously, usuriousness

 

Translations

exorbitant rate of interest in excess of any legal rates

• Albanian: fajde (sq) f
• Arabic: رِبَا (ar) m (ribā)
• Armenian: վաշխ (hy) (vašx)
• Belarusian: працэ́нт m (pracént), адсо́так m (adsótak)
• Bulgarian: ли́хва (bg) f (líhva)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 高利 (zh) (gāolì)

• Czech: lichva (cs) f, úžera (cs) f
• Danish: åger (da) c
• Dutch: woekerrente (nl) m or f
• Esperanto: uzuro
• Faroese: okur n
• Finnish: kiskurikorko
• French: usure (fr) f
• Georgian: მევახშური პროცენტი (mevaxšuri ṗrocenṭi), სამევახშეო პროცენტები (samevaxšeo ṗrocenṭebi)
• German: Wucher (de) m, Wucherzins (de) m
• Greek: τοκογλυφία (el) f (tokoglyfía)
• Hungarian: uzsora (hu), uzsorakamat (hu)
• Icelandic: okur n
• Japanese: 高利 (ja) (こうり, kōri)
• Korean: 고리(高利) (ko) (gori)
• Latin: ūsūra immodica f
• Macedonian: лихва f (lihva)
• Manx: use m
• Maori: whakatuputupu moni
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: åger (no) m or n

• Old Church Slavonic:

  Cyrillic: лихва f (lixva)

• Ottoman Turkish: مرابحه (murabaha)
• Polish: lichwa (pl) f
• Portuguese: usura (pt) f
• Romanian: camătă (ro) f, uzură (ro) f (dated)
• Russian: (ростовщический) проце́нт (ru) m ((rostovščičeskij) procént), лихва́ (ru) f (lixvá) (archaic)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: ли̏хва f

  Roman: lȉhva (sh) f

• Slovak: úžera f
• Spanish: usura (es) f
• Swedish: ocker (sv) n
• Tagalog: pasong, pamamasong, labis na patubo
• Turkish: murabaha (tr)
• Ukrainian: відсо́ток m (vidsótok), проце́нт (uk) m (procént), лихва́ f (lyxvá), ли́хва f (lýxva)

practice of lending money at illegal or unfair rates

• Armenian: վաշխառություն (hy) (vašxaṙutʻyun)
• Belarusian: ліхвя́рства n (lixvjárstva)
• Bulgarian: лихва́рство n (lihvárstvo)
• Czech: lichva (cs) f, lichvářství n, úžernictví n
• Danish: åger (da) c
• Dutch: woeker (nl) m
• Finnish: koronkiskonta (fi)
• French: usure (fr) f
• Galician: usura (gl) f
• Georgian: მევახშეობა (mevaxšeoba)
• German: Wucherei f, Zinswucher m
• Greek: τοκογλυφία (el) f (tokoglyfía)
• Hungarian: uzsoráskodás (hu)
• Indonesian: riba (id)
• Japanese: 高利貸し (ja) (こうりがし, kōrigashi)
• Korean: 고리대금업(高利貸金業) (goridaegeumeop)
• Latin: ūsūra immodica f
• Macedonian: лихварство n (lihvarstvo), лихварење n (lihvarenje)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: åger (no) m or n

• Old English: wōcor f, feohgafol n
• Ottoman Turkish: مرابحه (murabaha)
• Polish: lichwiarstwo n
• Portuguese: usura (pt) f
• Russian: ростовщи́чество (ru) n (rostovščíčestvo)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Roman: kamatarenje, lihvarenje

• Slovak: úžerníctvo n
• Slovene: oderuštvo (sl) n
• Spanish: usura (es) f
• Swedish: ocker (sv)
• Telugu: అన్యామైన వడ్డీ (te) (anyāmaina vaḍḍī)
• Turkish: faizcilik (tr), murabahacılık (tr), tefecilik (tr)
• Ukrainian: лихва́рство n (lyxvárstvo)

References

• Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “usury”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.

Middle English

Noun

usury

1. Alternative form of usurie