- usury
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usu·ry /'yü-zhə-rē/ n [Medieval Latin usuria interest, lending at exorbitant interest, alteration of Latin usura use, interest (i.e., sum paid for use of money), from usus use]1: the lending of money at exorbitant interest rates; specif: the crime of charging or contracting to charge an unlawfully high rate of interest
Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary of Law. Merriam-Webster. 1996.
- usury
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I
noun
criminal rate of interest, excessive interest, excessive rate, exorbitant interest, exploitation, faeneratio, high interest, illegal interest, overcharge, unconscionable rate of interest
II
index
exploitation
Burton's Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006
- usury
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n.Lending money at excessively high interest rates.adj.usurious
The Essential Law Dictionary. — Sphinx Publishing, An imprint of Sourcebooks, Inc. Amy Hackney Blackwell. 2008.
- usury
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the lending of money at very high rates. For centuries the law has controlled such lending and for century lenders and borrowers have conspired to transact with each other. Controls still exist in most jurisdictions. It may be treated as a crime and/or a ground for making the deal unenforceable to the detriment of the lender.
Collins dictionary of law. W. J. Stewart. 2001.
- usury
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Extending credit at an exorbitant or illegally high interest rate. States set their own maximum interest rates, and courts will not enforce payment of interest on a loan if the rate is usurious. Most credit card issuers are based in states with no usury laws or caps on credit card interest rates.Category: Bankruptcy, Foreclosure & Debt → Debt & Collection Agencies
Nolo’s Plain-English Law Dictionary. Gerald N. Hill, Kathleen Thompson Hill. 2009.
- usury
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n.1 Archaic Charging interest on borrowed money.2 The charging of an illegally high rate of return, typical of a loan shark.3 An illegally high interest rate.
Webster's New World Law Dictionary. Susan Ellis Wild. 2000.
- usury
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The crime of charging higher interest on a loan than the law permits.
Dictionary from West's Encyclopedia of American Law. 2005.
- usury
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I
The crime of charging higher interest on a loan than the law permits.II Extraction of interest on a loan above the maximum rate permitted by statute.
Short Dictionary of (mostly American) Legal Terms and Abbreviations.
- usury
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n.a rate of interest on a debt which is exorbitant and in excess of the percentage allowed by law. Each state sets its own maximum interest rate. Courts will not enforce payment of interest on a loan if the rate is usurious, so a loan may result in being interest free. Charging usury as a practice is a crime, usually only charged if a person makes a business of usury, sometimes called "loan-sharking." Banks and other commercial lenders generally are not subject to anti-usury laws, but are governed by the marketplace and the competitive rates triggered by loan rates to institutions set by the Federal Reserve Bank.See also: usurious
Law dictionary. EdwART. 2013.