sumptuary
/ˈsʌm(p)t͡ʃuˌɛɹi/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.70 in modern English
16
Scrabble Score
9
Letters
4
Syllables
8
Unique Chars
Meaning
adj
Relating to expenditure or expense, especially on luxury goods.
adj
Chiefly in sumptuary law: of a law, regulation, etc.: intended to limit or restrain the expenditure of citizens in apparel, food, furniture, etc., or to forbid the use of certain articles (especially luxurious ones), to regulate the prices of commodities and the wages of labour, or to reinforce morals or social hierarchies.
adj
Of or relating to sumptuary laws or regulations.
Example Sentences
- "Among the trade goods mentioned are not only luxury items but also food produce, which contradicts the idea of exclusively sumptuary trade. Quite possibly these northern lords maintained sporadic trade with Guayaquil in pre-Hispanic times."
- "Some vvill vvonder, that Empſon and Dudley (the Royal Promoters then in prime) did not catch him [Nicholas Vaux, 1st Baron Vaux of Harrowden] by the Collar, or pick an hole in his Govvn, upon the breach of ſome ruſty ſumptuary Statute; the rather, becauſe lately the Earl of Oxford vvas heavily fined for ſupernumerous attendance."
- "When Sunday came, it was indeed a day of finery, which all my ſumptuary edicts could not reſtrain. How well ſo ever I fancied my lectures againſt pride had conquered the vanity of my daughters; yet I ſtill found them ſecretly attached to all their former finery: […]"
- "Out upon the folly of modern liberty, which has abolished sumptuary laws, and left us to all the horrors of our own inventions! Liberty of conscience is bad enough—the liberty of the press is still worse—but worst of all is liberty of taste in dress to common people."
- "Apparently, Henry VII visited the city [Bristol] in 1487, "taking care to entail a sumptuary fine on the citizens because their wives dressed too gaudily"."
Etymology
From Latin sūmptuārius (“of or relating to expenditure, sumptuary; person in charge of household expenses”) + English -ary (suffix meaning ‘of or pertaining to’ forming adjectives). Sūmptuārius is derived from sūmptus (“charge, cost, expense”) + -ārius (suffix forming adjectives); and sūmptus from sūmō (“to catch, seize, take; to acquire, get, obtain; to apply, employ, use; to consume, spend”) (from sub- (prefix meaning ‘below, beneath, under’) + emō (“to acquire, procure; to buy, purchase”) (from Proto-Indo-European *h₁em- (“to distribute; to take”))) + -tus (suffix forming action nouns from verbs). Cognates * Middle French sumptuaire (modern French somptuaire) * Italian sontuario * Portuguese suntuário * Spanish suntuario
Origin
- Source language: Latin
Word Breakdown
- Root: *h₁em-, sūmptuārius
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈsʌm(p)t͡ʃuˌɛɹi/
- British English: /ˈsʌm(p)t͡ʃʊəɹi/
Inflected Forms
more sumptuary (comparative)
most sumptuary (superlative)