Etymologically
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luxury

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: UK /ˈlʌk.ʃər.i/, US /ˈlʌk.ʃɚ.i/, /ˈlʌɡ.ʒɚ.i/[1]

Etymology

It is Middle English luxurie, borrowed from Old French luxurie (“debauchery, lust”) (modern French luxure),[2][3][4] from Latin luxuria (“excess, extravagant living”),[2][3] from luxus (“excess, extravagance, magnificence”),[2][3][4] probably a figurative use of luxus “dislocated”,[2][3][5] which is related to luctārī “to wrestle” (see reluctance).[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Lust, lasciviousness: 1340 in the OED and Barnhart, in the Ayenbite of Inwyt,[6][3] while Etymonline has “sexual intercourse” about 1300.[6][3][2]

Semantic evolution

The English word lost its bad sense in the 17th century,[2][7] though “lust” lasted until the early 19th.[7][8] Habitual indulgence in what is choice or costly is from 1633,[6][3] sumptuous surroundings or food from 1704,[6][2] and refined enjoyment from 1715.[6] Something that gives pleasure but is not necessary is from 1780, in Bentham.[3][6][2] The attributive use, as in luxury hotel, is from 1916 in Etymonline, 1936 in the OED.[2][6] The OED notes that in Latin and the Romance languages the word still suggests vicious indulgence, the neutral sense being expressed by luxus, French luxe, Spanish lujo and Italian lusso.[2] Luxurious at first meant lustful (before 1300), and self-indulgent from 1606.[3]

Timeline

  • 1340 – lust.[6][3]
  • 1633 – indulgence in costly things.[6]
  • 1704 – sumptuous surroundings.[2]
  • 1780 – something not necessary.[3]
  • 1916 – the adjective use.[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. Great comfort and expensive living.
  2. Something pleasant or expensive that is not a necessity.
  3. A pleasure that is rarely had: the luxury of a lie-in.

Adjective

  1. Expensive and of high quality: a luxury hotel.

Word family

  • semiluxury
  • superluxury
  • luxury box
  • luxury tax
  • luxe
  • luxuriant
  • luxuriate
  • luxurious
  • deluxe

Usage notes

The AHD compares luxury with extravagance and frill, all words for something desirable that is not a necessity.[9]

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  4. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  8. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  9. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin