usury

Definitions

From Latin ūsūra, 'the use of borrowed money' — and the fee paid for that use, i.e. interest. Over the medieval centuries 'charging for the use of money' narrowed to mean charging excessive interest.

Why It Means This

Usury started life as a neutral word for interest itself: you paid for the 'use' of someone else's money. When the medieval Church condemned lending at interest, the word soured into 'excessive, unjust interest.' Today it survives mostly in law (usury laws cap interest rates) and in moral or historical contexts.

Common Collocations

• 1.commit usury放高利贷
• 2.usury laws高利贷法
• 3.guilty of usury犯高利贷罪

Example Sentences

• 1.

  Medieval moneylenders were often condemned for usury.

• 2.

  The state's usury laws cap interest at thirty percent a year.

• 3.

  Borrowers accused the lender of charging outright usury.