Etymograph

English

luxury

Luxury comes from Middle English luxurie ‘lustfulness’, from Old French luxurie, from Latin luxuria ‘luxury’, from luxus ‘extravagance’.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEluxus1‘extravagance, luxury’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEluxuria1‘rankness, luxury’
  3. Old Frenchc. 842–1400luxurie1
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500luxurie1‘lustfulness’
  5. Englishearliest quotation c. 1597luxury1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English luxury
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1597, William Shakespeare, The Merry Wiues of Windsor: “Fie on sinnefull phantasie: Fie on Lust, and Luxurie:”.

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEluxusWiktionary, English luxury‘extravagance, luxury’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEluxuriaWiktionary, English luxury‘rankness, luxury’
  3. Old Frenchc. 842–1400luxurieWiktionary, English luxury
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500luxurieWiktionary, English luxury‘lustfulness’
  5. Englishearliest quotation c. 1597luxuryWiktionary, English luxury. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1597, William Shakespeare, The Merry Wiues of Windsor: “Fie on sinnefull phantasie: Fie on Lust, and Luxurie:”

Word family

English words that share an ancestor with luxury, grouped by the ancestor they share, most familiar first.

through Latin luxus ‘extravagance, luxury’

5 more relatives in the full family tree

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Today it means

noun Very wealthy and comfortable surroundings; the state of being that they create.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “luxury”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Latin luxus / luxury