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Trespassed

 - 4 dictionary results

tres⋅pass

  [tres-puhs, -pas]
Use Trespassed in a Sentence
–noun
1. Law.
a. an unlawful act causing injury to the person, property, or rights of another, committed with force or violence, actual or implied.
b. a wrongful entry upon the lands of another.
c. the action to recover damages for such an injury.
2. an encroachment or intrusion.
3. an offense, sin, or wrong.
–verb (used without object)
4. Law. to commit a trespass.
5. to encroach on a person's privacy, time, etc.; infringe (usually fol. by on or upon).
6. to commit a transgression or offense; transgress; offend; sin.
Origin:
1250–1300; (n.) ME trespas transgression, offense < OF, deriv. of trespasser, equiv. to tres- (< L trāns- trans- ) + passer to pass; (v.) ME trespassen, deriv. of the n.

Related forms:
tres⋅pass⋅er, noun

Synonyms:
4, 5. Trespass, encroach, infringe, intrude imply overstepping boundaries and assuming possession of others' property or crowding onto the right of others. To trespass is to pass unlawfully within the boundaries of another's property: Hunters trespass on a farmer's fields. To encroach is to creep, gradually and often stealthily, upon territory, rights, or privileges, so that a footing is imperceptibly established: The sea slowly encroached upon the land. To infringe is to break in upon or invade rights, customs, or the like, by violating or disregarding them: to infringe upon a patent. To intrude is to thrust oneself into the presence of a person or into places or circumstances where one is not welcome: to intrude into a private conversation.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To Trespassed
tres·pass   (trěs'pəs, -pās')   
intr.v.   tres·passed, tres·pass·ing, tres·pass·es

  1. To commit an offense or a sin; transgress or err.

  2. Law To commit an unlawful injury to the person, property, or rights of another, with actual or implied force or violence, especially to enter onto another's land wrongfully.

  3. To infringe on the privacy, time, or attention of another: "I must . . . not trespass too far on the patience of a good-natured critic" (Henry Fielding).

n.   (trěs'pās', -pəs)

  1. Transgression of a moral or social law, code, or duty.

  2. Law

    1. The act of trespassing.

    2. A suit brought for trespassing.

  3. An intrusion or infringement on another. See Synonyms at breach.


[Middle English trespassen, from Old French trespasser : tres-, over (from Latin trāns-; see trans-) + passer, to pass; see pass.]
tres'pass·er n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

trespass  (v.)
1303, "transgress, offend, sin," from O.Fr. trespasser "pass beyond or across," from tres- "beyond" (from L. trans-) + passer "go by, pass" (see pass (v.)). Meaning "enter unlawfully" is first attested in forest laws of Scottish Parliament (c.1455). The noun is recorded from c.1290. The modern descendant of O.Fr. trespasser, Fr. trépasser has come to be used euphemistically for "to die" (cf. cross over, and obituary).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Legal Dictionary

Main Entry: trespass
Function: intransitive verb
: to commit a trespass; especially : to enter wrongfully or without proper authority or consent upon the real property of another transitive verb : to commit a trespass against
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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