Fraudulent
/ˈfrɔː.dʒə.lənt/noun
Intended to deceive or cheat; false or dishonest.
Did you know?Fraudulent comes through Latin from the same Indo-European root as words for deceiving and failing, a reminder that language has long treated cheating as a kind of moral collapse.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*bhrū-
“to deceive, cheat, or fail”
Latin
Latin
fraus
“deceit, injury, fraud”
Latin
Latin
fraudulentus
“deceitful, full of fraud”
Old French
Old French
fraudulent
“deceitful, dishonest”
Middle English
English
fraudulent
“deceitful or dishonest”
Modern English
English
fraudulent
“intended to deceive or cheat”