luxury

English

Due to their high market price, most gemstones, such as diamonds, for example, are widely associated with luxury

Etymology

From Middle English luxurie, from Old French luxurie, from Latin luxuria (“rankness, luxury”), from luxus (“extravagance, luxury”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈlʌk.ʃə.ɹi/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈlʌɡʒəɹi/, /ˈlʌkʃəɹi/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Noun

luxury (countable and uncountable, plural luxuries)

1. Very wealthy and comfortable surroundings.
2. Something desirable but expensive.
   • 1910, Emerson Hough, “A Lady in Company”, in The Purchase Price: Or The Cause of Compromise, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:

     “ […] We are engaged in a great work, a treatise on our river fortifications, perhaps? But since when did army officers afford the luxury of amanuenses in this simple republic? […] ”

3. Something that is pleasant but not necessary in life.
   • 2020 December 2, Paul Bigland, “My weirdest and wackiest Rover yet”, in Rail, page 68:

     As the 1857 to Manchester Piccadilly rolls in, I scan the windows and realise there are plenty of spare seats, so I hop aboard. The train is a '221'+'220' combo to allow for social distancing - a luxury on an XC train as normally you're playing sardines, so I make the most of it.

4. (obsolete) Lustfulness; sexual desire or attraction.
   • c. 1597 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merry Wiues of Windsor”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene iv], page 51, column 2:

     Fie on sinnefull phantasie: Fie on Lust, and Luxurie:

5. (obsolete) Copulation; the act or action of sex.
   • c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene iii], page 258, column 1:

     Let not the Royall Bed of Denmark be / A Couch for Luxury and damned Incest.

Synonyms

• luxe

Antonyms

• (antonym(s) of “dispensable thing”): necessity

Derived terms

• hard luxury
• lap of luxury
• luxury good
• luxury tax
• quiet luxury
• soft luxury

 

Translations

very wealthy and comfortable surroundings

• Belarusian: раскоша f (raskóša)
• Bulgarian: разкош (bg) (razkoš), лукс (bg) m (luks)
• Cherokee: ᎤᎪᏗᏗ (ugodidi)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 豪華／豪华 (zh) (háohuá)

• Esperanto: lukso (eo)
• Finnish: ylellisyys (fi), luksus (fi), loisto (fi)
• French: luxe (fr) m
• Galician: luxo m
• Georgian: ფუფუნება (pupuneba), განცხრომა (gancxroma)
• German: Luxus (de) m
• Greek: πολυτέλεια (el) f (polytéleia), χλιδή (el) f (chlidí)

  Ancient: τρυφή f (truphḗ)

• Hebrew: פאר (he) (peér), שפע (he) (shéfa)
• Hungarian: luxus (hu)
• Indonesian: kemewahan (id)
• Irish: sómas m
• Italian: lusso (it)
• Latin: luxus m
• Macedonian: ра́скош m (ráskoš), лу́ксуз m (lúksuz)
• Malayalam: സമൃദ്ധി (ml) (samr̥ddhi)
• Maori: hāneaneatanga
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: luksus m

  Nynorsk: luksus m

• Persian: لوکس (fa) (luks), لاکچری (lâkčeri)
• Polish: luksus (pl) m
• Portuguese: luxo (pt) m
• Romanian: lux (ro) n
• Russian: ро́скошь (ru) (róskošʹ), люкс (ru) m (ljuks)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: ра́скош f, лу̀ксуз m

  Roman: ráskoš (sh) f, lùksuz (sh) m

• Spanish: lujo (es) m
• Swedish: lyx (sv) c
• Turkish: lüks (tr), bolluk (tr)

something desirable but expensive

• Bulgarian: лукс (bg) m (luks)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Dutch: luxe (nl) m
• Finnish: ylellisyys (fi)
• French: luxe (fr) m
• Galician: luxoso m
• German: Luxus (de) m
• Greek: πολυτέλεια (el) f (polytéleia)

  Ancient: τρυφή f (truphḗ)

• Hebrew: מותרות (he) (motarót), לוקסוס (luxus)
• Hungarian: luxus (hu)
• Italian: lusso (it) f
• Macedonian: лу́ксуз m (lúksuz), ра́скош m (ráskoš)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: luksusvare m or f

  Nynorsk: luksusvare f

• Polish: luksus (pl) m
• Portuguese: luxo (pt) m
• Romanian: lux (ro) n
• Russian: предме́т ро́скоши m (predmét róskoši)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: ра́скош f, лу̀ксуз m

  Roman: ráskoš (sh) f, lùksuz (sh) m

• Spanish: lujo (es) m
• Swedish: lyx (sv) c
• Tagalog: luho

something pleasant but not necessary in life

• Armenian: շռայլություն (hy) (šṙaylutʻyun)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 奢侈 (zh) (shēchǐ)

• Esperanto: luksaĵo
• Finnish: ylellisyys (fi)
• French: luxe (fr) m
• German: Luxus (de) m
• Greek: πολυτέλεια (el) f (polytéleia)
• Hebrew: מותרות (he) (motarót)
• Hungarian: luxus (hu)
• Indonesian: kemewahan (id)
• Irish: só m
• Italian: lusso (it)
• Macedonian: ра́скош m (ráskoš), лу́ксуз m (lúksuz)
• Malay: kemewahan
• Malayalam: ആഡംബരം (ml) (āḍambaraṁ)
• Maori: hāneanea
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: luksusvare m or f

  Nynorsk: luksusvare f

• Persian: لوکس (fa) (lus)
• Portuguese: luxo (pt) m
• Romanian: lux (ro) n
• Russian: ро́скошь (ru) (róskošʹ)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: ра́скош f, лу̀ксуз m

  Roman: ráskoš (sh) f, lùksuz (sh) m

• Spanish: lujo (es) m, capricho (es) m, extravagancia (es) f
• Swedish: lyx (sv)
• Tagalog: luho

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• French: ^{(please verify)} luxe (fr) m
• Italian: ^{(please verify)} lusso (it) m
• Telugu: ^{(please verify)} విలాసం (te) (vilāsaṁ)

Adjective

luxury (comparative more luxury, superlative most luxury)

1. Very expensive.
2. Not essential but desirable and enjoyable and indulgent.
3. (automotive) Pertaining to the top-end market segment for mass production mass market vehicles, above the premium market segment.

Coordinate terms

(automotive):

• premium
• economy

Translations

indulgent

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Finnish: ylellinen (fi)
• Greek: πολυτελής (el) m or f (polytelís)
• Malay: mewah (ms)
• Maori: hāneanea
• Polish: luksusowy (pl)
• Swedish: lyxig (sv)
• Turkish: lüks (tr)
• Vietnamese: sự sang trọng

Related terms

• luxe
• luxuriant
• luxuriate
• luxurious
• luxuriously

Further reading

• “luxury”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
• “luxury”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

Middle English

Noun

luxury

1. Alternative form of luxurie