Definition
In Roman (civil) law, *conducere* means to hire — that is, to take something on hire or to contract for the use of property, services, or a work in exchange for payment. The term is the active counterpart of *locare* (to let or lease out), and together the two verbs describe the bilateral Roman contract of *locatio conductio*. The party who hires is the *conductor*; the party who lets is the *locator*. Depending on context, *conducere* could describe hiring a physical thing for temporary use (*locatio rei*), hiring another person's labor or services (*locatio operarum*), or contracting for the completion of a specific result or work product (*locatio operis*).
Common Confusion
*Conducere* is frequently encountered alongside *locare* and should not be confused with it. *Locare* means to let or put out for hire — the lessor's act. *Conducere* is the lessee's or hirer's act — taking in on hire. The confusion arises because English translations of the Digest and related civil law texts sometimes render both words loosely as "hire" without specifying direction. When reading classical sources, always identify which party is performing the action: the *locator* gives, the *conductor* receives.
Why It Matters in Research
**Directional precision in source reading.** Because *conducere* and *locare* are relational terms describing opposite sides of the same contract, misreading which verb applies to which party can invert the legal relationship entirely. Researchers working in the Digest or in civilian-tradition treatises must track the subject of each verb carefully.
**Gateway to locatio conductio.** *Conducere* is the entry point into one of the most consequential contracts of Roman private law. The *locatio conductio* framework underlies modern lease, employment, and construction contract doctrine across virtually every civil law jurisdiction. Researchers tracing the historical roots of landlord-tenant law, service contracts, or independent contractor doctrine in civilian systems will encounter *conducere* repeatedly.
**Corpus connections.** Burrill cites Digest 19.2, which is the primary title *De locato et conducto* — the Roman law source most frequently referenced in Anglo-American treatises when authors engage with civil law analogies for lease and service relationships. Researchers using Law Mind materials on contract history, comparative law, or the reception of Roman law in common law jurisdictions should treat *conducere* as a cross-reference trigger for those broader bodies of material.
**Absence from common law dictionaries.** The term does not appear in purely common law dictionaries (e.g., Bouvier, Black's early editions) except incidentally, which reflects its status as a term of art within the civil law tradition rather than English law. Its appearance in Burrill — a dictionary attentive to civil law sources — signals that the researcher has crossed into civilian territory. This is a useful navigational indicator when dating or classifying a primary source.
Historical Dictionary Support
Burrill's entry is brief but accurate: "To hire. Dig. 19. 2. 6, 8, 60, 61, 62." The Digest citations are genuine references to the title *De locato et conducto* and confirm the term's technical function within Roman contract law. Burrill does not expand on the tripartite structure of *locatio conductio* or distinguish the three species of the contract, which is a notable omission for a researcher who needs more than a one-word gloss. The entry functions as a pointer rather than an analysis. Historical dictionaries of Roman law — including those in the civilian tradition such as Calvinus's *Lexicon Juridicum* — provide considerably richer treatment. Researchers should not rely on Burrill's entry alone when *conducere* is doing substantive work in a source text.