Where does “fraud” come from?
Fraud comes from Middle English fraude, from Old French fraude, from Latin fraus, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European dʰrewgʰ-.
fraud (English): The crime of stealing or otherwise illegally...
Definitions
- The crime of stealing or otherwise illegally...
Ancestry of “fraud”, step by step
fraud traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Middle English fraude
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | fraude | Deceptiveness, fraudulence; a tendency to be... |
| 2 | Old French | fraude | deception, fraud |
| 3 | Latin | fraus | A cheating, deceit, guile, fraud; A delusion,... |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-European | dʰrewgʰ- | to deceive, to mislead; to serve one's tribe;... |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | dʰer- | to support; to hold |
via Old Norse frauðr
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Old Norse | frauðr | frog |