Words at Play : Words that Used to Mean Something Different
Original Definition:
lechery, lust
Example:
"What? shall we live like beasts promiscuously, Without distinction in foule luxurie?" – Juvenal (Translated by William Barkstead), That Which Seemes Best is Worst, 1617
About the Word:
The current meaning of luxury carries a far more positive connotation today than it did when it first entered the language (a process that linguists refer to as amelioration).
Luxurious likewise had a more negative meaning when it first entered the language ('of, relating to, or expressive of especially unrestrained gratification of the senses').
However luxuriant originally meant 'productive,' and luxuriate once meant 'to grow profusely'.
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