sumptuary

Adjective

WordNet 3.0

Adjective (1)

  1. regulating or controlling expenditure or personal behavior“sumptuary laws discouraging construction of large houses on small plots”“sumptuary laws forbidding gambling”
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Webster's Dictionary (GCIDE)

Sumptuary \Sump"tu*a*ry\, a. [L. sumptuarius, fr. sumptus expense, cost, fr. sumere, sumptum, to take, use, spend; sub under + emere to take, buy: cf. F. somptuaire. See Redeem.] Relating to expense; regulating expense or expenditure. --Bacon. [1913 Webster]

Sumptuary laws or Sumptuary regulations, laws intended to restrain or limit the expenditure of citizens in apparel, food, furniture, etc.; laws which regulate the prices of commodities and the wages of labor; laws which forbid or restrict the use of certain articles, as of luxurious apparel. [1913 Webster]

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