Impinge vs Infringe - What's the difference?
impinge | infringe |
To make a physical impact (on); to collide, to crash (upon).
* , vol.1, New York Review Books, 2001, p.287:
(figuratively) To interfere with; to encroach (on, upon).
*
To have an effect upon; to limit.
* {{quote-book, year=1913, author=
, chapter=4, title= Break or violate a treaty, a law, a right etc.
*{{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-08, volume=407, issue=8839, page=55, magazine=(The Economist)
, title= Break in or encroach on something.
In intransitive terms the difference between impinge and infringe
is that impinge is to have an effect upon; to limit while infringe is break in or encroach on something.As verbs the difference between impinge and infringe
is that impinge is to make a physical impact (on); to collide, to crash (upon) while infringe is break or violate a treaty, a law, a right etc.impinge
English
Verb
(imping)- The ordinary rocks upon which such men do impinge and precipitate themselves, are cards, dice, hawks, and hounds […].
Lord Stranleigh Abroad, passage=“I have tried, as I hinted, to enlist the co-operation of other capitalists, but experience has taught me that any appeal is futile that does not impinge directly upon cupidity. …”}}
Usage notes
* The transitive use is less common, not included in many small dictionaries, and not favored by Garner's Modern American Usage (2009).Derived terms
* impingement * impingent * impingerinfringe
English
Alternative forms
* enfringeVerb
(en-verb)Obama goes troll-hunting, passage=According to this saga of intellectual-property misanthropy, these creatures [patent trolls] roam the business world, buying up patents and then using them to demand extravagant payouts from companies they accuse of infringing them. Often, their victims pay up rather than face the costs of a legal battle.}}