Hypertext Webster Gateway: "Sumptuary"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
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 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.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
sumptuary
adj : regulating or controlling expenditure or personal behavior;
"sumptuary laws discouraging construction of large
houses on small plots"; "sumptuary laws forbidding
gambling"
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