What does exorbitancy mean?
Exorbitancy is a formal noun denoting the quality or fact of exceeding what is reasonable, proper, or customary — most often applied to prices, fees, demands, or claims that strike observers as unreasonably high. To speak of the exorbitancy of something is to pass judgement on it: the word inherently carries a negative connotation of excess beyond legitimate bounds. It can also denote a particular instance of such excess, as in an inflated charge or immoderate request. Derived from Latin roots meaning to stray from a wheel's beaten track, the term preserves the ancient image of deviation from a prescribed course. In modern usage it belongs largely to formal, legal, journalistic, and literary writing, where its slightly archaic gravity lends rhetorical force; the shorter form 'exorbitance' and the adjective 'exorbitant' are considerably more common today. It is best reserved for contexts where the writer wishes to stress moral or economic unreasonableness rather than mere largeness of scale.
nounThe quality or state of being exorbitant; an excessive amount, price, or degree that goes beyond what is reasonable or customary.
- The quality of exceeding what is reasonable, proper, or customary, especially in price, demand, or degree.
- A specific instance of such excess; an extravagant or immoderate amount.
"Consumers complained about the sheer exorbitancy of the fees charged for late payments."
"The report criticised the exorbitancy of executive bonuses at a time of company-wide wage freezes."
"Travellers in the capital were struck by the exorbitancy of hotel rates during the festival season."
The plural is rare but well-formed, used when referring to multiple distinct instances of excess.
"The audit catalogued the various exorbitancies hidden in the contractor's invoices."
Exorbitancy literally means 'going off the tracks' — it comes from the Latin for a wheel's rut, so an outrageous price was once imagined as a cart careering out of its groove.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of exorbitancy
Exorbitancy derives from the Latin verb exorbitare, meaning to go out of the track or wheel-rut (orbita), formed from ex- ('out of') plus orbita. The word entered English in the early 17th century alongside the adjective exorbitant, both conveying the idea of straying from the proper or prescribed path before settling into their modern sense of excess. It shares this root with the English words orbit and orbital, which preserve the original sense of a wheel's track or circular path.
Related word forms
How exorbitancy is actually used
Formal and somewhat literary in register; in everyday English, 'exorbitance' or simply 'excessive' constructions are far more common. The word carries a strongly negative connotation of unfairness or unreasonableness.
Easily confused with exorbitancy
Exorbitance and exorbitancy are near-identical synonyms meaning the same thing, but exorbitance is by far the more common modern form.
Extravagancy refers chiefly to wasteful or lavish spending and behaviour, whereas exorbitancy stresses exceeding what is proper in amount, price, or degree.