FRAUS - The Law Mind Legal Dictionary

FRAUSAuthored

The Law Mind • 1089 words

Definition

A Latin term from Roman and civil law meaning fraud, deceit, or wrongful imposition. In legal usage, fraus denotes a category of harmful deception — conduct by which one party deliberately misleads another to their detriment. The term appears most frequently in legal research as a component of Latin maxims and civil law doctrines rather than as a standalone term of art in modern common law practice.

Two related but distinct Latin concepts bear close comparison. In classical Roman law, fraus was sometimes distinguished from dolus (or dolus malus) as the broader of the two — encompassing a wider range of deceptive acts, including constructive or implied fraud, while dolus carried a stronger connotation of deliberate malice. In practice, however, the terms were often used interchangeably, and the distinction was not consistently maintained. Most historical legal sources treat fraus and dolus as substantially synonymous.

The term also survives in several Latin maxims that carry independent doctrinal weight:

Fraus dans locum contractui — A misrepresentation or concealment of a material fact that, had the truth been known, would have prevented formation of the contract. The doctrine addresses fraud in the inducement: the fraudulent act gives rise to ("gives place to") the contract, rendering it voidable.

Fraus est celare fraudem — It is a fraud to conceal a fraud. Concealment of a fraudulent act may itself constitute an independent fraud, a principle that informs modern doctrines of fraudulent concealment and tolling of statutes of limitations.

Fraus latet in generalibus — Fraud lurks in general expressions. Broad, vague, or general language in legal instruments is treated with suspicion because it may serve as cover for deceptive intent. This maxim is relevant to the construction of releases, guaranties, and broadly worded contractual provisions.

Common Language

Modern common usage (Wiktionary): The plural of "Frau," a German honorific meaning woman or wife.

Historical common usage: The Latin root fraus, fraudis in classical Latin meant harm, injury, damage, or deceit — with particular resonance in contexts of cheating or wrongful taking. Cicero and other classical authors used it broadly to cover any act injurious to another carried out through guile.

The legal meaning has nothing to do with the German honorific. A researcher encountering fraus in a legal context — particularly in a civil law treatise, equity decision, or Latin maxim — should read it consistently as the Roman law concept of fraud or harmful deception, not as a linguistic borrowing from German. The Wiktionary entry is irrelevant to legal research uses of this term.

Common Confusion

Fraus vs. Dolus: The two terms are often treated as synonyms in English-language legal dictionaries, and the distinction matters more to Roman law scholars than to common law researchers. Where a distinction was drawn, fraus was considered the more expansive term — potentially including negligent or constructive wrongdoing — while dolus malus required conscious, deliberate intent to deceive. Researchers using civil law materials or comparative law sources should be alert to context: an author relying on classical Roman law may be preserving this distinction, while a common law author citing the term is likely using fraus and dolus interchangeably to mean intentional fraud.

Why It Matters in Research

Fraus is rarely a standalone operative term in modern American or English common law — it almost always appears embedded in a Latin maxim or as part of a civil law source. Researchers should approach it accordingly:

Maxim research: The three maxims noted above (fraus dans locum contractui, fraus est celare fraudem, fraus latet in generalibus) each have independent doctrinal lives. Searching for the maxim as a unit will yield better results than searching for fraus alone.

Civil law and equity sources: Fraus appears with greater frequency in equity decisions, Scottish law, Louisiana law, and civilian treatises, where Roman law concepts were imported more directly. Researchers working in those bodies of law should be prepared to encounter fraus as a functional term rather than merely a decorative one.

Bouvier and Anderson cross-usage: Both dictionaries embed fraus within longer discussions of fraud, guaranty, and conveyancing doctrine. The term often serves as an entry point that redirects the reader to substantive common law fraud analysis. Historical researchers should follow those internal cross-references rather than treating the fraus entry as self-contained.

Statute of frauds connections: The historical dictionaries gesture toward connections between fraus-based maxims and Statute of Frauds doctrine (agreements on consideration of marriage, guaranty, etc.). These connections are structural and historical, not etymological — the English Statute of Frauds takes its name from the same conceptual root.

Historical Dictionary Support

The sources are in substantial agreement on the core meaning of fraus as the Latin equivalent of fraud, with some variation in emphasis. Black's (both editions) notes the preference in civil law for dolus and dolus malus while preserving the classical distinction between the two terms, citing Calvin's Lexicon. This is a reliable baseline.

Anderson's entry is the most practically useful of the four: it defines fraus concisely, provides the two principal maxims (fraus est celare fraudem and fraus latet in generalibus), and redirects to substantive common law discussions of promise, guaranty, and settlement. The partial fraus dans locum contractui entry in Black's 2nd edition supplements this picture by defining that maxim's doctrinal content in contract law terms.

Bouvier's entry, as extracted here, does not directly define fraus but addresses fraudulent conveyance doctrine — illustrating how fraus-based analysis fed into creditor protection law. The principle that a conveyance made in bad faith is void as to creditors but valid between the parties reflects Roman law's treatment of fraus creditorum (fraud on creditors), a doctrine Bouvier treats under the broader fraud heading.

What the historical dictionaries collectively miss is the evidentiary and procedural significance of fraus latet in generalibus in contract interpretation — a principle that continued to influence American equity courts well into the nineteenth century but receives only passing treatment in the dictionary literature.

Jurisdictional Note

Louisiana retains the strongest living connection to fraus-based civil law doctrine given its civilian legal tradition. Researchers working with Louisiana contract or conveyance law should expect to encounter civilian terminology, including fraus-derived concepts, in both historical and modern sources. In other American jurisdictions, fraus appears almost exclusively in historical sources and Latin maxims rather than as operative legal vocabulary.

FRAUSmain

Black's Law Dictionary • 1891

Lat. Fraud. More commonly called, in the civil law, "dolus" and "dolus malus," (q. v.) A distinction, however, was sometimes made between 'fraus" and "dolus," the former being held to be of the most extensive import. Calvin.

FRAUSmain

Anderson's Dictionary of Law • 1890

L. A cheating; deceit; imposition; fraud. Compare DOLUS. Fraus est celare fraudem. It is a fraud to conceal a fraud. Concealment (q. v.) may amount to fraud. Fraus latet in generalibus. Fraud See PROMISE, Original; GUARANTY, 2. (3) To charge lurks in general expressions. any person upon any agreement made upon consideration of marriage. See SETTLEMENT, Marriage. (4) To charge any person upon any contract or sale of lands, or any interest in or concerning them. See LAND. (5) To charge any person upon any agreement that is not to be performed within one year from the making thereof, unless, in each case (1-5), the agreement or some note or memorandum thereof is in writing and signed by the party to be charged therewith or by his agent thereunto lawfully authorized in writing (sec. 4).3 If the performance of the contract depends upon a contingency which may happen within a year, the contract need not be in writing. It is sufficient if the possibility of performance exists. (6) That in a contract for the sale of goods, wares, or merchandise, for the price of ten pounds or upward, the buyer must actually receive and accept part of the goods, etc., or give something in earnest or in part payment, or the parties, or their agents, sign some note or memorandum of the bargain (sec. 17). See EARNEST; PAYMENT, Part. (7) That judgments against lands shall bind purchasers from the day of signing, and against goods when the writ of execution is delivered to the sheriff (secs. 14, 15). (8) Provides for additional solemnities in the execution of wills. See WILL, 2, Statute of wills. The provisions as to the transfer of interests in land, and to promises, which at common law could be effected by parol, that is, without writing, comprise all that in professional use is meant by the statute. The theory is that the writing required in any case will secure an exact statement and the best evidence of the terms and conditions of a promise made." See AGREEMENT; PAROL, Evidence. See also PERFORMANCE, Part; VERBUM, Verba illata. Statute of 9 Geo. IV (1829), c. 14, called Lord Tenterden's Act, enlarged the application of the Statute of Frauds, by rendering a written memorandum necessary in cases of a promise: to bar the Statute of Limitations; by an adult to pay a debt contracted during his infancy; as to a representation of ability in trade, 12 Bl. Com. 337, 259; 2 Whart. Ev. § 903. 22 Bl. Com. 466; 3 Pars. Contr. 19. 3 Bl. Com. 159; 3 Pars. Contr. 19, 29, 31, 35; 2 Whart. Εν. §§ 878-80; Mahan v. United States, 16 Wall. 146 (1872); Becker v. Mason, 30 Kan. 700-2 (1883), cases. • Stowers v. Hollis, 83 Ky. 548-49 (1886), cases; Doyle v. Dixon, 97 Mass. 211 (1867): 93 Am. Dec. 85-90, cases. 2 Bl. Com. 448; 3 Pars. Contr. 39; 2 Whart. Ev. § 869; 1 Law Q. Rev. 1-24 (1884); 37 Alb. L. J. 492 (1888). 2 Bl. Com. 376, 500, 515; 2 Whart. Ev. §§ 884-900. Browne, Stat. Fr. § 316. Pia fraus. Pious fraud: evasion of law to advance the interests of a religious institution. See MORTMAIN.

FRAUSmain

Bouvier's Law Dictionary • 1928

where a conveyance is malle mala fide, and the fraud is participated in by both parties thereto, it cannot be upheld in derogation of the claims of creditors; existing or sub- sequent; 39 Minn. 527; 50 Ark. 42; 36 Fed. Rep. 29. But although such conveyance is void as regards purchasers and creditors, it is valid as between the parties; 5 Binn. 109; 3 W. & S. 255; 4 Ired. 102; 20 Pick. 247, 354; 1 Ohio 469; 2 South. 738; 2 Hill, S. C. 488;7 Johns. 161; 1 W. Bla. 262; 77 Iowa 203. An offence within the 13 Eliz. c. 5, § 3, is also indictable; 6 Cox, Cr. Cas. 31. This subject is fully treated in a note to Twyne's case, 1 Sm. Lead. Cas. (continued in 18 Am. L. Reg. N. s. 187), and in Bump; May, Fraud. Conv. See BADGES OF FRAUD. FRAUS (Lat.). Fraud. The term of the civil law was, however, dolus (q. v.). It has been said that fraus was distinguished from dolus and had a more extended mean- ing. Calv. Lex. Calvin derives fraus from ferre, to bear, to bear away or take away, its object usually being to take away another's right of prop- erty. Burrill; Calv. Lex. See PIA FRAUS.

frausnoun

Wiktionary (English) • 2026

Wiktionary contributors • CC BY-SA 4.0 • via Kaikki
Extracted and formatted for display by Law Mind. Source link opens the current Wiktionary page and its contributor history; it is not a frozen copy of this extract.

plural of frau

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