[tres.pass] n [ME trespas, fr. OF, crossing, trespass, fr. trespasser to go across] (14c) 1 a: a violation of moral or social ethics: transgression; esp: sin b: an unwarranted infringement
2. a: an unlawful act committed on the person, property, or rights of another; esp: a wrongful entry on real property b: the legal action for injuries resulting from trespass
[2]trespass vb [ME, fr. MF trespasser, fr. OF, lit., to go across, fr. tres across (fr. L trans) + passer to pass--more at through, pass] vi (14c) 1 a: err, sin b: to make an unwarranted or uninvited incursion
2: to commit a trespass; esp: to enter unlawfully upon the land of another ~ vt: violate "~ the bounds of good taste" -- tres.pass.er n syn trespass, encroach, infringe, invade mean to make inroads upon the property, territory, or rights of another. trespass implies an unwarranted, unlawful, or offensive intrusion "hunters trespassing on farmland". encroach suggests gradual or stealthy entrance upon another's territory or usurpation of another's rights or possessions "the encroaching settlers gradually displaced the native peoples". infringe implies an encroachment clearly violating a right or prerogative "a product that infringes an existing patent". invade implies a hostile and injurious entry into the territory or sphere of another "accused of invading their privacy".