Sumptuary

Quick meaning: Sumptuary is an adjective meaning Relating to expenditure or expense, especially on luxury goods.

Meaning

Relating to expenditure or expense, especially on luxury goods.

More Meanings

1. Of or relating to sumptuary laws or regulations.
2. 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.

Example Sentences

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".

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.

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.

Synonyms for sumptuary

Depending on context, synonyms include restrictive.

Related Words

Related dictionary entries include restrictive, voluptuary, consumptive, extortionary, sybaritic, consumptional.

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