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Origin and history of transgress

transgress(v.)

late 15c., transgressen, "to sin," from Old French transgresser (14c.), from Latin transgressus, past participle of transgredi "step across, step over; climb over, pass, go beyond," from trans "across, beyond" (see trans-) + gradi (past participle gressus) "to walk, go" (from PIE root *ghredh- "to walk, go").

The notion is to "overpass" a prescribed rule or law. The general sense in English of "pass over or beyond, go beyond" any limit or bound is by 1610s, In geology, in reference to the spreading of the sea over land, by 1909. Related: Transgressed; transgressing.

transgress

also from late 15c.

Entries linking to transgress

transgressive(adj.)

1640s, "inclined to transgress, apt to sin," from transgress + -ive. Related: Transgressively.

*ghredh-

Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to walk, go." 

It might form all or part of: aggress; aggression; aggressive; centigrade; congress; degrade; degree; degression; digress; digression; egress; gradation; grade; gradual; graduate; grallatorial; gravigrade; ingredient; ingress; plantigrade; progress; progression; regress; regression; retrograde; retrogress; tardigrade; transgress; transgression.

It might also be the source of: Latin gradus "a step, a pace, gait," figuratively "a step toward something, a degree of something rising by stages;" gradi "to walk, step, go;" Lithuanian gridiju, gridyti "to go, wander;" Old Church Slavonic gredo "to come;" Old Irish in-greinn "he pursues."

trans-

word-forming element meaning "across, beyond, through, on the other side of; go beyond," from Latin trans (prep.) "across, over, beyond," perhaps originally present participle of a verb *trare-, meaning "to cross," from PIE *tra-, variant of root *tere- (2) "cross over, pass through, overcome" [Watkins].

Besides its use in numerous English words taken from Latin words with this prefix, it is used to some extent as an English formative .... It is commonly used in its literal sense, but also as implying complete change, as in transfigure, transform, etc. [Century Dictionary]

In chemical use indicating "a compound in which two characteristic groups are situated on opposite sides of an axis of a molecule" [Flood].

Many trans- words in Middle English via Old French arrived originally as tres-, due to sound changes in French, but most English spellings were restored later; trespass and trestle being exceptions.

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    Middle English kēpen, from late Old English cepan (past tense cepte) "to seize, hold; seek after, desire," also "to observe or carry out in practice; look out for, regard, pay attention to," from Proto-Germanic *kopjan, which is of uncertain origin. Old English cepan was used c.
    trespass
    c. 1300, "transgress in some active manner, commit an aggressive offense, to sin," from Old French trespasser "pass beyond or across, cross, traverse; infringe, violate," from tres- "beyond" (from Latin trans; see trans-) + passer "go by, pass" (see pass (v.)). Meaning "enter unl
    sin
    Middle English sinne, from Old English synn, syn "violation of divine law, offense against God; moral wrongdoing," also "injury, mischief; enmity, feud; guilt, crime, misdeed," from Proto-Germanic *sundiō "sin" (source also of Old Saxon sundia, Old Frisian sende, Middle Dutch son
    contravene
    1560s, of persons, "to transgress," from French contravenir "to transgress, decline, depart," from Late Latin contravenire..."to come against, oppose," in Medieval Latin "to transgress, break (a law)," from Latin contra "against" (see contra (prep...
    prevaricate
    praevaricari "to make a sham accusation, deviate" (from the path of duty), literally "walk crookedly;" in Church Latin, "to transgress...
    err
    c. 1300, from Old French errer "go astray, lose one's way; make a mistake; transgress," from Latin errare "wander, go astray...
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    spread
    late 12c., spreden, "stretch out, lay out (clothes, hide, etc.); diffuse, disseminate (beams of light, grace);" also, of groups of persons, "advance over a wide area" (intransitive); probably from Old English *sprædan "to spread, stretch forth, extend" (especially in tosprædan "t
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    early 15c., in an ecclesiastical sense, "take possession of (a prebend) not rightfully one's own," a back-formation from intrusion, or else from Latin intrudere "to thrust in, force in," from in- "in" (from PIE root *en "in") + trudere "to thrust, push," from PIE *treud- "to pres
    brake
    mid-15c., "instrument for crushing or pounding," from Middle Dutch braeke "flax brake," from breken "to break" (see break (v.)). The word was applied to many crushing implements, especially the tool for breaking up the woody part of flax to loosen the fibers. It also was applied

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