encroach
pronunciation
How to pronounce encroach in British English:
UK [ɪnˈkrəʊtʃ]
How to pronounce encroach in American English:
US [ɪnˈkroʊtʃ]
-
- Verb:
- advance beyond the usual limit
- impinge or infringe upon
Word Origin
- encroach
- encroach: [14] Something that encroaches on something else literally seizes it with its ‘hooks’. The word was borrowed from Old French encrochier ‘catch in a hook’, hence ‘seize’. This was a compound formed from the prefix en- and croc ‘hook’ (source of English crochet, crocket, and croquet), a noun borrowed from Old Norse krókr ‘hook’ (source of English crook). The verb’s original use in English was transitive, in the sense ‘seize wrongfully’; the modern sense ‘intrude, trespass’ did not develop until the 16th century.=> crochet, crook, croquet
- encroach (v.)
- late 14c., "acquire, get," from Old French encrochier "seize, fasten on, hang on (to), cling (to); hang up, suspend," literally "to catch with a hook," from en- "in" (see en- (1)) + croc "hook," from Old Norse krokr "hook" (see crook (n.)). Sense extended to "seize wrongfully" (c. 1400), then "trespass" (1530s). Related: Encroached; encroaches; encroaching.
Example
- 1. In anekal farmers encroach on the forest , disrupting a migratory route .
- 2. Building sites often encroach onto busy streets , prompting impatient drivers to swerve onto sidewalks and cut across city parks .
- 3. Wi-fi direct has a wide array of potential uses , many of which encroach on bluetooth territory and threaten to make the competing wireless protocol obsolete .
- 4. Some analysts say this is a tactic to encroach on turf that nike normally owns with its myriad nba-star endorsements , including miami heat star lebron james .
- 5. Likewise in brazil , where its chinese rivals are starting to encroach .