Definition
A Law French phrase meaning "in gross" or "by wholesale." Used in legal texts to indicate that something is taken, sold, or treated in bulk or in its totality, rather than piecemeal or in individual parcels. The phrase appears most commonly in older property and commercial contexts, where it signals a transaction or right treated as a whole undivided unit.
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Common Language
Modern common usage (Wiktionary): "En gros" is a French commercial term meaning wholesale or in bulk, used in contrast to "en détail" (retail). In contemporary English commercial usage, the phrase retains this sense of aggregate or bulk dealing.
Historical common usage (Webster's 1913): Webster's does not carry a standalone entry for "en gros," reflecting its status as a borrowed term of art rather than fully naturalized English. The equivalent concept appears under "gross" in the sense of a total amount or aggregate quantity, and under "wholesale" as dealing in large quantities.
The gap between common and legal usage here is narrow but worth noting. In general commercial language, "en gros" simply describes a method of sale — buying or selling in quantity. In legal sources, particularly older English and Anglo-Norman texts, the phrase also appears in property law contexts describing rights or interests held "in gross," meaning independently of and not appurtenant to any particular land. The wholesale/bulk sense and the property-law sense share the same root idea of totality, but they operate in entirely different doctrinal frameworks.
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Common Confusion
"En gros" in its property-law sense is closely linked to the concept of rights or easements held "in gross" — that is, personal rights not attached to dominant land. Researchers may encounter "en gros" in a source and need to determine from context whether the author means bulk commercial dealing or the property-law concept of a right in gross. The two meanings are etymologically identical but doctrinally distinct. See RELATED TERMS for "in gross" as the more developed English-language form of the same concept.
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Why It Matters in Research
This is primarily a historical phrase. Researchers are most likely to encounter "en gros" in pre-twentieth-century legal texts, Year Books, Norman-influenced treatises, or early Anglo-American property materials drawing on the Law French tradition. Britton (c. 21), cited by Burrill, is a thirteenth-century Anglo-Norman legal treatise, placing the phrase firmly in the medieval and early modern legal vocabulary.
When scanning older sources, note that "en gros" may appear where a modern source would simply say "in gross" (in property contexts) or "at wholesale" or "in bulk" (in commercial contexts). The phrase itself is unlikely to appear in modern American or English statutes or judicial opinions without deliberate archaism.
Researchers working in property law — particularly on easements, profits à prendre, or common rights — should follow the thread from "en gros" directly to the well-developed modern doctrine of rights in gross, which is treated in contemporary treatises and case law under that English form. The French phrase is effectively a historical marker pointing toward that doctrine rather than a living term of art.
In commercial law research, "en gros" may appear in older contract or sale materials where it signals bulk or aggregate treatment of goods or accounts. Context will determine which sense applies.
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Historical Dictionary Support
The three source dictionaries are in complete agreement: the phrase means "in gross" or "by wholesale," and all treat it as a brief cross-referential entry rather than a fully elaborated doctrine. Black's (both editions) gives the definition without elaboration. Burrill adds the citation to Britton, which helpfully anchors the phrase in the thirteenth-century Anglo-Norman legal tradition and confirms its presence in foundational English legal literature.
None of the historical dictionaries attempt to distinguish the commercial and property-law applications of the phrase, suggesting that in their era the connection between the two was understood as sufficiently obvious. Modern researchers should not take that for granted, particularly when encountering the phrase outside a clear doctrinal context.
The historical dictionaries do not cross-reference the full doctrine of rights in gross, common of pasture in gross, or similar developed concepts — that development occurs under the English-language entries. Burrill's citation to Britton is the most useful piece of information these sources add, directing researchers to the primary historical material where the phrase appears in operation.
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Jurisdictional Note
The phrase is a Law French survival and carries no jurisdiction-specific modern meaning. Its practical relevance today is limited to historical legal research in common-law jurisdictions tracing property or commercial doctrines back to English medieval sources.
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