From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishusuryu‧su‧ry /ˈjuːʒəri/ noun [uncountable] formal old-fashionedBFL the practice of lending money to people and making them pay interest1(4) In medieval times, it was illegal for Christians to practise usury.
Examples from the Corpus
usury• The church condemns usury and the loaning of money at high interest.• First, usury is not intrinsically wrong in the way that murder, adultery or theft are wrong.• A charge against him by the Privy Seal for usury was apparently avoided by means of a £12,000 bribe.• This was because of the element of usury involved.• In spite of ecclesiastical prohibitions on usury, the Lancastrians and their predecessors had certainly borrowed at interest, often surreptitiously.• In addition to the tithing system and the gleaning laws, redistribution is also achieved through regulating the capital market by prohibiting usury.• He realises that Access make money through usury, yet he felt that 25 percent a month was going the pace a bit.• If the biblical fates go against him, Herluin will take all the vexation and shame out on Tutilo, with usury.From Longman Business Dictionaryusuryu‧su‧ry /ˈjuːʒəri/ noun [uncountable] formalFINANCE when someone lends people money and makes them pay an unfairly high rate of interest —usurer noun [countable]Origin usury (1300-1400) Medieval Latin usuria, from Latin usura “use, interest”, from usus; → USE1 