Infringement

How to spell infringement

12 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce infringement

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does infringement mean?

1. nounThe act of breaking a law, rule, or agreement, or of trespassing on someone's right.

Infringement in a sentence

• The company faced a lawsuit for copyright infringement after reusing the photographs.

• Parking on the private lane was treated as an infringement of the landlord's rights.

Where does infringement come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word reaches back to the Latin verb infringere, which combined the prefix in- with frangere, meaning 'to break', so its literal sense was 'to break in upon' or 'to shatter'. Latin frangere is the same root that gives us 'fracture', 'fragment', and 'fragile', all of which carry the idea of something breaking. English took the verb 'infringe' in the sixteenth century, originally in the sense of breaking or violating a law, oath, or agreement, and the noun 'infringement' followed soon after to name the act of breaking a rule or trespassing on a right. Over time the word narrowed toward legal and commercial contexts, especially the violation of patents, copyrights, and trademarks. The spelling trap is the silent 'g' tucked before the 'e', a leftover from the Latin frangere; remembering the family link to 'fringe' and 'fracture' helps keep that 'g' in place.

How the word is built

• in- (intensive/into)
• fring (from Latin frangere: to break)
• -ment (noun suffix: act or result)