Sumptuary is an adjective that means relating to or denoting laws that limit private expenditure on food and personal items.
Dating back to the early 17th century, our word of the day is derived from the Latin word sumptus (SOOM toose) which means ‘cost.’ Sumptuary describes anything related to a limit on costs on food or personal items. Here’s an example:
I’ve heard that during the war, sumptuary laws limited the amount of chocolate a person could buy. Personally, it would have driven me insane to have someone cut off my regular chocolate supply.
