What does covin mean?
Covin is a noun of medieval English law meaning a conspiracy or secret agreement between two or more people, typically formed to defraud someone or to defeat the purposes of justice. In its strictest legal sense it described a collusive arrangement designed to cheat another person out of property or legal rights — for example, a trustee and a purchaser secretly combining to buy land at an unfair price. Courts could set aside transactions tainted by covin, and the phrase 'fraud and covin' appears repeatedly in older statutes and pleadings. Beyond the courtroom, the word was used more loosely for any deceitful combination. Covin derives from the Old French covine, ultimately from Latin convenire, 'to come together', making it a cousin of convene and covenant. Today it survives chiefly in legal history, where its connotation of secretive joint wrongdoing gives it a distinctly formal, archaic flavour.
nounA conspiracy or collusive agreement between two or more people, especially one formed to defraud others or to cheat the law; in old English law, a secret combination to commit fraud.
- (Law, chiefly historical) A conspiracy or confederacy between two or more persons to defraud others, especially of their legal rights.
- (Archaic, general) Any deceitful combination or collusive agreement.
"The deed was set aside on the ground that it had been procured by covin between the trustee and the buyer."
"The conveyance was declared void because it had been made in covin between the executor and his associate."
"Medieval statutes punished covins formed to pervert the course of justice."
Standard plural; used when referring to multiple separate conspiracies.
"The assize records list numerous covins prosecuted during the reign."
Covin is the reason an old English court could void a contract — proof that two people secretly agreed to cheat you was enough to unravel the whole deal.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of covin
Covin entered Middle English from the Old French covine, meaning a plot or deceit, which itself descends from the Late Latin conventio or the verb convenire, 'to come together, agree'. The same Latin root produced covenant, convene, and convention, all built on the idea of coming together — though only covin took on the sinister sense of coming together to defraud. It has been part of English legal vocabulary since the medieval period, when statutes specifically condemned covinous combinations.
How covin is actually used
Covin is now rare, surviving mainly in legal history and in the fixed legal phrase 'fraud and covin'. It carries a formal, archaic register and always implies secrecy and joint wrongdoing rather than simple dishonesty.
Easily confused with covin
Cozen is a verb meaning to deceive or cheat through trickery, while covin is a noun denoting the conspiratorial agreement itself.
A coven is a gathering or group of witches; despite the near-identical spelling and shared French root, covin is a legal term for a fraudulent conspiracy with no occult sense.