What does usure mean?
Usure is a formal, now largely archaic noun for the interest charged on money lent. Its basic sense is simply the payment made for borrowing money; in many older contexts, however, it implied interest that was excessive, oppressive, or otherwise disreputable. This distinction matters because usury, a closely related word, usually names the practice of charging exorbitant or unjustifiable interest, especially where law or religion has condemned it. Usure is consequently often encountered in legal, financial, and literary writing rather than ordinary conversation. A sentence about a loan may use it to emphasize the burden of interest rather than merely its amount. The word is also a useful reminder that vocabulary can preserve a historical attitude: even a financial term can carry ethical judgment, not just numerical meaning.
nounInterest paid on money lent, especially at an excessive or usurious rate.
- Interest paid on money lent, especially interest charged at an excessive or oppressive rate.
"The agreement required the borrower to pay usure on the outstanding principal."
"The contract specified that all usure would be calculated monthly."
"The novel portrayed the family's gradual descent into debt through accumulating usure."
Rare; usure is usually used as an uncountable noun.
"The agreement imposed several usures on the outstanding balance."
Usure is the cost of borrowing; usury is the legal and moral shadow it can cast.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of usure
The English word comes through Middle French usure from Latin usura, a term meaning use and, by extension, the interest charged for the use of money. The same Latin foundation underlies usury, usurer, and usurious. In earlier English, usure could refer to interest generally, but it increasingly came to imply an excessive or oppressive charge.
How usure is actually used
Usure is formal, literary, archaic, or historical in modern English. It is chiefly used in financial, legal, and religious contexts, where it often carries a strongly condemnatory or historical implication.
Easily confused with usure
Usure means interest paid on a loan, often with an implication that it is excessive, whereas usury usually refers specifically to exorbitant interest or the practice of charging it.