fraudulent

the word fraudulent is built directly upon the latin noun fraus, which meant deceit, cheating, or injury. the suffix -ulentus was added to nouns to form adjectives indicating a fullness or abundance of the root's quality, much like the english suffix '-ful'. therefore, the literal construction from latin is 'full of deceit'. this term entered english via old french in the late 15th century, carrying the sense of something characterized by or involving deceit. the semantic logic remains transparent: something fraudulent is thoroughly imbued with the nature of fraud.

Structure: fraud (deceit) + ulent (full of) fraud (from latin fraus, fraud- meaning 'deceit, injury'). ulent (a latin adjectival suffix -ulentus meaning 'full of, abounding in').