infringe

Alternative forms

• enfringe

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin infringere (“to break off, break, bruise, weaken, destroy”), from in (“in”) + frangere (“to break”).

Verb

infringe (third-person singular simple present infringes, present participle infringing, simple past and past participle infringed)

1. (transitive) Break or violate a treaty, a law, a right etc.
   • 2013 June 8, “Obama goes troll-hunting”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8839, page 55:

     According to this saga of intellectual-property misanthropy, these creatures [patent trolls] roam the business world, buying up patents and then using them to demand extravagant payouts from companies they accuse of infringing them. Often, their victims pay up rather than face the costs of a legal battle.

2. (intransitive) Break in or encroach on something.

Further reading

• infringe in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
• infringe in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
• infringe at OneLook Dictionary Search

Anagrams

• Infinger, enfiring, refining

Verb

infringe

1. second-person singular present active imperative of infringō

Verb

infringe

1. third-person singular (ele and ela, also used with você and others) present indicative of infringir
2. second-person singular (tu, sometimes used with você) affirmative imperative of infringir

Verb

infringe

1. Formal second-person singular (usted) present indicative form of infringir.
2. Third-person singular (él, ella, also used with usted^?) present indicative form of infringir.
3. Informal second-person singular (tú) affirmative imperative form of infringir.