What was the original definition of the word “infringe” in the 1700s?
Look it up in the Webster’s Dictionary from the early 1800’s (see above), the first English dictionary printed in America. You’ll find that the definition of “infringe” meant something different in those days. Entering our language from French (the language of diplomacy because of its precise and stable meanings) and derived from the Latin infrango, it meant to break, abolish, or cancel. Not, as has become common in today’s usage — to trespass upon, restrict, limit, abridge, or impinge. I suspect its use in “copyright infringement” has had something to do with the weakening of the definition over the years. Proper grammar dictates that one “infringes something,” one does not “infringe upon something.” This is the big error in Second Amendment interpretation today. And of course, no one is seriously advocating abolishing gun use by United States citizens, merely keeping guns out of the hands of those who would hurt others. Interestingly enough, every word for word examination of the Se
