moneylender
Definition
Noun: A person or entity whose business is lending money, typically charging high or excessive rates of interest.
Usage
The term "moneylender" specifically refers to an individual or business that provides loans. It often carries a connotation of charging high interest rates, which can be seen as exploitative, especially when lending to individuals in urgent need of cash. - The desperate farmer had to borrow from the local moneylender to save his crops. - Regulations were introduced to curb the practices of unscrupulous moneylenders.
Advanced Usage
- Historical/Informal Context: The word is often used in historical contexts or to describe informal, non-institutional lending, distinguishing it from banks or credit unions.
- In the 19th century, many urban workers relied on moneylenders for advances on their wages.
Variants and Related Words
- Usurer (noun): A more formal, often legal, term for a person who lends money at unreasonably high rates of interest.
- Loan shark (noun, informal): A colloquial and strongly pejorative term for an illegal moneylender who uses threats of violence to enforce repayment.
Synonyms
- Lender
- Creditor (a more general term for a person or company to whom money is owed)
Related Idioms/Phrases
- To be in the clutches of a moneylender: To be trapped in a difficult situation due to debt owed to a moneylender.
- After his business failed, he found himself in the clutches of a moneylender.
Noun
-
someone who lends money at excessive rates of interest
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