This word is used in a metaphorical sense to denote that a thing is not complete, and for want of some quality it is either without power, or it possesses a limited power. A naked contract, is one made without consideration, and, for that reason, it is void; a naked authority, is one given without any right in the agent, and wholly for the benefit of the principal.
Law Dictionary – Alternative Legal Definition
As a term of jurisprudence, this word is equivalent to bare, wanting in necessary conditions, incomplete, as a. naked contract, (nudum pactum,) i.e., a contract devoid of consideration, and therefore invalid; or simple, unilateral, comprising but a single element, as a naked authority, i.e., one which is not coupled with any interest in the agent, but subsists for the benefit of the principal alone. As to naked “Confession,” “Deposit,” “Possession,” “Possibility,” “Power,” “Promise,” and “Trust,” see those titles.