Usurious

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /juːˈʒuːɹɪəs/

Definitions

1. involving or practicing the lending of money at illegally or unconscionably excessive rates of interest
2. characterized by the practice of charging exorbitant and unlawful fees on borrowed funds
3. Describing the act of imposing interest rates on loans that are unreasonably high and often against legal limits

Etymology: Usury itself comes from Latin "usura," meaning the use or interest paid on borrowed money, and "usurious" is simply that noun with the English adjective ending "-ous" attached, so it means full of or characterised by usury. The noun's ancestry runs back to a Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to use," and the Latin ending "-osus" (full of) passed through Old French before reaching Middle English as "-ous." The surprise is how plainly the word tells its story: a lender who charges too much interest is, quite literally, making the use of your money into a burden. The adjective simply labels such dealings as usurious, with no extra baggage added along the way.

Synonyms: exorbitant, extortionate, greedy, profiteering, predatory

Antonyms: modest, reasonable, fair, just, equitable