The Collaborative International Dictionary
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.
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.
Usage examples of "sumptuary laws".
In disbelief, Dougless had asked Honoria to explain these sumptuary laws.
When someone was breaking the sumptuary laws, or using coarse language, or otherwise offending against the standards that helped them all stay pure, it was a tithingman who tried, peacefully, to persuade them to mend their ways without the need of dire remedies.
A luxuriant silk lining showed at his kimono's cuffs and hem: the wealthy merchant's circumvention of the sumptuary laws that forbade commoners to wear silk.
And there again the so-called sumptuary laws will tell in exact detail precisely how each is to live: in what size room to sleep (according to one's social status) and on a mattress of what material, how long one's sleeves are to be and of what material one's shoes, how many cups of tea one must drink in the morning, and so on.
You'd never guess it now, but when Marco as the first Prince Charles instituted those odd sumptuary laws that helped reform the horrible brothels, the baron was one of his great supporters.