the.com/transgressor
Someone who found the line, read the sign, and stepped over it anyway.
means A person who breaks a rule, law, or moral boundary.
from From Latin transgredi — 'trans' (across) plus 'gradi' (to step or walk) — literally 'to step across.' The same root that gives us 'gradual' and 'progress' here takes a darker turn: progress is stepping forward, transgression is stepping where you shouldn't. It entered English through Old French in the late medieval period, first in religious and legal contexts — sins and crimes as boundaries crossed — before settling into its broader modern sense.
- origin
- latin transgredi, to step across
- bible usage
- isaiah calls rebels transgressors, not criminals
- modern tone
- sounds biblical even when the sin is parking
- synonym drift
- once meant sinner, now sounds almost flattering