Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Encroach

Encroach , intransitive verb

[Old French encrochier to perch, prop., to hook, fasten a hook (perh. confused with acrochier, French accrocher, to hook, get hold of, English accroach); pref. en- (Latin in) + French croc hook. See Crook, and compare Accroach.]

To enter by gradual steps or by stealth into the possessions or rights of another; to trespass; to intrude; to trench; -- commonly with on or upon; as, to encroach on a neighbor; to encroach on the highway.
No sense, faculty, or member must encroach upon or interfere with the duty and office of another. — South
Superstition,... a creeping and encroaching evil. — Hooker
Exclude the encroaching cattle from thy ground. — Dryden

Encroach , noun

Encroachment. [Obsolete] — South