Etymograph

English

defraud

Defraud comes from Old French defrauder, and perhaps goes back to Proto-Indo-European *d(w)is- ‘in two, apart’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*d(w)is-1‘in two, apart’uncertain
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*dis-1uncertain
  3. Old Frenchc. 842–1400defrauder2
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500defrauden2
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1611defraud2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin dis-
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English defraud
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1611, The Holy Bible, London: […] Robert Barker: “Defraud ye not one the other, except it be…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*d(w)is-Wiktionary, Latin dis-‘in two, apart’uncertain
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*dis-Wiktionary, Latin dis-uncertain
  3. Old Frenchc. 842–1400defrauderWiktionary, English defraud
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500defraudenWiktionary, English defraud
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1611defraudWiktionary, English defraud. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1611, The Holy Bible, London: […] Robert Barker: “Defraud ye not one the other, except it be…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *d(w)is- ‘in two, apart’

dissuade, 11 more

through Proto-Italic *dis-

debate, discover, discipline, disciplinary, disguise, dissent, disciple, diffuse, diss, 12 more

Today it means

verb To obtain money or property from (a person) by fraud; to swindle.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “defraud”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin dis-. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *d(w)is- / defraud

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