Etymologically
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infringement

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Pronunciation

  • /ɪnˈfɹɪnd͡ʒmənt/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English infringe + -ment.[2][3][4][5] The verb infringe is recorded from the mid-15th century as enfrangen, to violate,[3] and in its present form from 1533.[2] It comes from Latin infringō (“to break off, damage, make void”),[2][3][6] formed from in- (“in”) and frangō (“to break”),[2][3][4] which Etymonline traces to Proto-Indo-European *bʰreg- (“to break”).[3] Klein notes that the vowel of the simple verb changed in the compound.[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Refutation or contradiction, now obsolete: 1593, in Thomas Nashe's Strange Newes.[2][3][4]

Semantic evolution

The first sense followed a sense of infringe, to refute or contradict, which was used from 1590 to 1660;[2] the noun kept it until about 1664.[2][4] The main modern sense, the breaking of a law, obligation or right, is recorded from 1628, in George Wither's Britain's Remembrancer,[2][7] and the sense of encroachment or intrusion from 1673.[2] It matches the verb's main sense, to violate a law or oath, recorded from 1533; the verb took on the sense "to encroach on" in the 18th century.[2][3] Johnson (1755) defined the noun as "breach; violation".[5] Its use for the unlawful copying or sale of a protected work or invention, as in copyright infringement and patent infringement, is now one of its most frequent uses.[7][4]

Timeline

  • 1593 – refutation, contradiction (obsolete by 1664).[2]
  • 1628 – a breach of a law, obligation or right.[2][7]
  • 1673 – an encroachment or intrusion.[2]
  • 1755 – Johnson defines it as "breach; violation".[5]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A breaking of a law, rule or agreement; a violation or breach: a minor infringement of the regulations.[8][9][10]
  2. An encroachment on a right or privilege: an infringement of their freedom of speech.[8][9][2]
  3. In law, the unauthorized use, copying or sale of something protected by a patent, copyright or trademark.[7][4]

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c d e f Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b c Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
  6. ^ a b Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  7. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  8. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  9. ^ a b Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  10. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins