usurious

Meanings

1. 1
   adj

   charging or involving illegally or unfairly high interest on a loan

   The court voided the contract because its interest rate was usurious.

2. 2
   adj

   excessively costly or demanding, as if exacting usury

   Residents protested the usurious fees charged for basic telephone service.

From usury + -ous, ultimately from Medieval Latin usuria, 'interest on a loan,' based on Latin usus, 'use.' The legal and moral sense developed around taking excessive payment for the use of money.

Topics