the act of lending money at an exorbitant rate of interest
<noun.act>
Usury \U"su*ry\, n. [OE. usurie, usure, F. usure, L. usura use, usury, interest, fr. uti, p. p. usus, to use. See {Use}, v. t.] 1. A premium or increase paid, or stipulated to be paid, for a loan, as of money; interest. [Obs. or Archaic]
Thou shalt not lend upon usury to thy brother; usury of money, usury of victuals, usury of anything that is lent upon usury. --Deut. xxiii. 19.
Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchanges, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury. --Matt. xxv. 27.
What he borrows from the ancients, he repays with usury of ??is own. --Dryden.
2. The practice of taking interest. [Obs.]
Usury . . . bringeth the treasure of a realm or state into a few ??nds. --Bacon.
3. (Law) Interest in excess of a legal rate charged to a borrower for the use of money.
Note: The practice of requiring in repayment of money lent anything more than the amount lent, was formerly thought to be a great moral wrong, and the greater, the more was taken. Now it is not deemed more wrong to take pay for the use of money than for the use of a house, or a horse, or any other property. But the lingering influence of the former opinion, together with the fact that the nature of money makes it easier for the lender to oppress the borrower, has caused nearly all Christian nations to fix by law the rate of compensation for the use of money. Of late years, however, the opinion that money should be borrowed and repaid, or bought and sold, upon whatever terms the parties should agree to, like any other property, has gained ground everywhere. --Am. Cyc.
Customers can hardly be expected to take on more credit at these rates of usury,' he continued.
The recession, an ailing banking industry and the repeal of most state usury laws have forced a growing number of borrowers to turn for credit to companies charging sky-high interest and fees.
The companies drew up to $3.5 billion from depositors, many earning three times what they would have from banks _ and without interest, banned as usury by Islam's holy book, the Koran.
That ruling prompted the growth of nationwide credit card solicitations by banks and encouraged states, notably Delaware and South Dakota, to relax their usury laws to attract credit card operations.
Economic difficulties and ongoing investigations in Japan of "zaitech" (literally financial engineering, or using art for money laundering, usury, etc.) have affected every class of Japanese buyer.
Mr. Russell argues that usury laws depressed rates below market levels years ago, making current rates seem high.
The Islamic proscription against usury made direct borrowing by the Saudi government a highly sensitive subject inside the kingdom, bankers said.