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encroach

 [en-krohch]   Example Sentences Origin

en·croach

   [en-krohch]
verb (used without object)
1.
to advance beyond proper, established, or usual limits; make gradual inroads: A dictatorship of the majority is encroaching on the rights of the individual.
2.
to trespass upon the property, domain, or rights of another, especially stealthily or by gradual advances.
Origin:
1275–1325; Middle English encrochen < Anglo-French encrocher, Old French encrochier to catch hold of, seize, equivalent to en- en-1 + -crochier, verbal derivative of croc hook < Germanic; see crooked, crook

Related forms
en·croach·er, noun
un·en·croached, adjective
un·en·croach·ing, adjective

Synonyms
1, 2. See trespass.

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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Encroach is one of our favorite verbs.
So is subtilize. Does it mean:
to introduce subtleties into or argue subtly about.
to expurgate (a written work) by removing or modifying passages considered vulgar or objectionable.
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Example Sentences
  • For years, he has watched it encroach from the shores that face the sound and the sea.
  • Opponents say the law will encroach on privacy and jeopardize civil liberties.
  • As a result, they sometimes encroach on territory private-equity firms consider their own.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
encroach (ɪnˈkrəʊtʃ)
 
—vb (often foll by on or upon)
1.  to intrude gradually, stealthily, or insidiously upon the rights, property, etc, of another
2.  to advance beyond the usual or proper limits
 
[C14: from Old French encrochier to seize, literally: fasten upon with hooks, from en-1 + croc hook, of Germanic origin; see crook]
 
en'croacher
 
—n
 
en'croachingly
 
—adv
 
en'croachment
 
—n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

encroach
early 14c., from O.Fr. encrochier "seize, fasten on, perch," lit. "to catch with a hook," from en- "in" + croc "hook," from O.N. krokr "hook." Sense of "trespass" is first recorded 1530s. Related: Encroached; encroaches; encroaching.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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