The quality of being exorbitant; excessive or unreasonable cost, amount, or degree.
From Late Latin exorbitantia, derived from exorbitans (present participle of exorbitare). The root orbita comes from Latin orbis (circle, orbit), with ex- meaning out of, literally meaning 'out of orbit.' The word entered English in the 15th century referring to prices or demands that exceeded reasonable bounds.
When planets went 'out of orbit' visually (from Earth's perspective), astronomers called it exorbitance, which is why this mathematical/astronomical term became the perfect word for describing prices that seem 'out of control'—the metaphor was so powerful it stuck around for 500 years!
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