Search Result for "sumptuary": 
Wordnet 3.0

ADJECTIVE (1)

1. regulating or controlling expenditure or personal behavior;
- Example: "sumptuary laws discouraging construction of large houses on small plots"
- Example: "sumptuary laws forbidding gambling"


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Sumptuary \Sump"tu*a*ry\, a. [L. sumptuarius, fr. sumptus expense, cost, fr. sumere, sumptum, to take, use, spend; sub under + emere to take, buy: cf. F. somptuaire. See Redeem.] Relating to expense; regulating expense or expenditure. --Bacon. [1913 Webster] Sumptuary laws or Sumptuary regulations, laws intended to restrain or limit the expenditure of citizens in apparel, food, furniture, etc.; laws which regulate the prices of commodities and the wages of labor; laws which forbid or restrict the use of certain articles, as of luxurious apparel. [1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

sumptuary adj 1: regulating or controlling expenditure or personal behavior; "sumptuary laws discouraging construction of large houses on small plots"; "sumptuary laws forbidding gambling"