| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000. |
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| usury |
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| SYLLABICATION: | u·su·ry |
| PRONUNCIATION: |  y  zh -r |
| NOUN: | Inflected forms: pl. u·su·ries
1. The practice of lending money and charging the borrower interest, especially at an exorbitant or illegally high rate. 2. An excessive or illegally high rate of interest charged on borrowed money. 3. Archaic Interest charged or paid on a loan. | | ETYMOLOGY: | Middle English, from Medieval Latin  sria, alteration of Latin sra, from sus, use. See usual.
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| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
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