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tres·pass (trĕspəs, -păs)
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intr.v. tres·passed, tres·pass·ing, tres·pass·es
1. 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.
2. 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).
3. To commit an offense or a sin; transgress or err.
n. (trĕspăs, -pəs)
1. Law
a. The act of trespassing.
b. A suit brought for trespassing.
2. An intrusion or infringement on another.
3. The transgression of a moral or social law, code, or duty. See Synonyms at breach.

[Middle English trespassen, from Old French trespasser : tres-, over (from Latin trāns-; see TRANS-) + passer, to pass; see PASS.]

trespass·er n.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

    Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

    Indo-European Roots

    Semitic Roots

    The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.