infringe

verb

Etymology: Borrowed from Latin infringere (“to break off, break, bruise, weaken, destroy”), from in (“in”) + frangere (“to break”).

1. To break or violate a treaty, a law, a right, etc.

   “Near-synonym: flout”

   “The patent situation, too, played a part in this, as often a firm sought to produce something which would achieve a given result, and yet not infringe a patent held by another; or a railway engineer would think of a device of his own that would free him of obligation to some manufacturer.”

2. To break in or encroach on something.

   “Near-synonym: impinge”

   “infringing on my personal freedom”

3. To furnish or embellish with a fringe.