stellionate

American  

[stel-yuh-nit, -neyt] / ˈstɛl yə nɪt, -ˌneɪt /

noun

Civil Law, Scots Law.

1. any crime of unspecified class that involves fraud, especially one that involves the selling of the same property to different people.

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Etymology

Origin of stellionate

1615–25; < Latin stelliōnātus deceit, underhandedness, equivalent to stelliōn- (stem of stelliō ) lizard, crafty person + -ātus -ate ³

Example Sentences

It existed, indeed, in ancient Rome, and was comprehended under the general term of stellionate, from stelio, a little subtle serpent, common in Italy.

From Wilson's Tales of the Borders and of Scotland Volume 16 by Various

Thus a too artful fraud causes the aggravating crime called stellionate, and a cheat becomes a forger when he has the cunning to sap the very foundations of our security in written documents.

From Theodicy Essays on the Goodness of God, the Freedom of Man and the Origin of Evil by Huggard, E.M.