dolus

D2O1L1U1S1
UK/ˈdəʊləs/US/ˈdoʊləs/

noun

Evil intent: malice or fraud.

OriginLatin dolus ← Ancient Greek δόλος →
Scrabble 6
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Meanings

noundolus (countable and uncountable, plural doli)

plural doli

  1. countableuncountablelawEvil intent: malice or fraud.

    Every actual delict presupposes a dolus or culpa, with the concomitant consciousness and prepense

    1849, James G. Butler, A Summary of the Roman Civil Law

Origin

  1. Ancient Greekδόλος“bait, ruse”
  2. Latindolus“deceit, trickery”
  3. Englishdolus

Borrowed from Latin dolus (“deceit, trickery”); akin to Ancient Greek δόλος (dólos, “bait, ruse”). Compare dolose, dolosity.

More words from Latin, Ancient Greek

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with dolus

bolusgladiolusbolas
All rhymes →

Anagrams

Sudol
Cite this entry
APA

dolus. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dolus

MLA

“dolus.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dolus. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “dolus,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dolus.

Source: dolus on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.