English Literature GCSE
Usury
What Usury means in English Literature GCSE, as defined for OCR, Pearson Edexcel.
Definitions of Usury
Exam boards and our study guides word this term in slightly different ways. Learn the version your board uses.
The practice of lending money at unreasonably high rates of interest. In Elizabethan England, it was forbidden for Christians but was a practice associated with Jewish moneylenders.
The practice of lending money at unreasonably high rates of interest.
Topics that use Usury
- The Merchant of Venice (OCR GCSE)
- The Merchant of Venice (Pearson Edexcel GCSE)
Related terms
Using Usury in the exam
Definition questions usually carry one or two marks, and examiners look for the precise wording. Write the definition from memory, check it against the version above, and then use the term in a longer answer on the same topic so it sticks.
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