infringe

Etymology

It was first inherited from Middle English enfrangen (“to violate”), recorded about 1467 for French enfraindre;^[2] the Middle English Dictionary compares enfrainen and the Latin verb,^[2] and Barnhart takes the form as made in English from en- and that verb.^[3] The modern form, found from the 16th century, is borrowed from Latin īnfringō (“to break, injure, make void”),^{[4][5][6][7][8]} though Barnhart allows that the Latin verb may only have influenced it.^[3] The Latin verb is formed from in- and frangō (“to break”),^{[4][9][10][11]} with the prefix read as “in” by some^[9][3][12] and “into” or intensive by others.^[8][13][10] Klein notes the change of vowel in the compound.^[11] The verb goes back to Proto-Indo-European *bhreg- (“to break”).^[9][10]

Earliest recorded meaning

To violate: the first record is the enfrange of about 1467.^[2][3][9] Of infringe itself, the OED's first quotation is of 1533, from Gross's Gild Merchant: “to infring or breke this sayde lawe”.^[4] Merriam-Webster Unabridged gives 1513 for this sense,^[14] Dictionary.com 1525–35^[15] and Barnhart 1553.^[3]

Semantic evolution

The Latin verb's literal “break” gave English a group of senses that did not last: to break down or frustrate (1543–1671), to refute (1590–1660) and to weaken (1604–94).^[4] Only the figurative breaking of a law, oath or right survived.^[4][6] Johnson (1755) kept “to violate” and “to destroy; to hinder”, quoting Measure for Measure for the first.^[16] The intransitive “encroach on” came in the 18th century: Barnhart dates it to 1760–72, and the OED's first quotation is of 1769, from Brooke's Fool of Quality.^[3][4][9] The noun infringement moved in the same way, from contradiction or refutation (1593) to violation (1628) and encroachment (1673).^[3]

Timeline

• c. 1467 – enfrangen, to violate.^[2][3]
• 1533 – infringe, to break a law or oath.^[4] Merriam-Webster Unabridged dates this sense to 1513.^[14]
• 1543 – to frustrate, defeat, destroy (obsolete after 1671).^[4]
• 1590 – to refute, contradict (obsolete after 1660).^[4]
• 1604 – to weaken, impair (obsolete after 1694).^[4]
• 1769 – intransitive, to encroach on or upon.^[4]

Meanings

Verb

1. To violate or break a law, treaty or agreement: The new rules infringe the terms of the charter.^[7][14][4]
2. To act against a right held by another, such as a patent or copyright: The firm was sued for infringing a rival's patent.^[14][10]
3. To encroach or trespass on or upon something: The extra meetings infringed on her free time.^[7][10][4]
4. (obsolete, 1543–1671) To break down or destroy; to frustrate or defeat.^[4][6][14]
5. (obsolete, 1590–1660) To refute or contradict.^[4][6][14]
6. (obsolete, 1604–94) To weaken or impair.^[4][6][14]

Word family

• infringer
• infringement

Related words

• infraction
• fraction
• fracture
• frangible
• fragile
• break
• impinge

Usage notes

The OED lists separately a rare verb infringe, “to furnish with a fringe”, formed from in- and fringe, known only from Florio's Italian dictionary of 1598: “Infrangiare, to infringe, or decke with fringe.”^[4]

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c d e Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
8. ^ a b Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
10. ^ a b c d e The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
11. ^ a b Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
12. ^ The Chambers Dictionary (2014), 13th ed., Edinburgh: Chambers
13. ^ Soanes, Catherine; Stevenson, Angus, eds. (2004), Concise Oxford English Dictionary, 11th ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
14. ^ a b c d e f g Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
15. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
16. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.