Breach

Breach (Mid. Eng. breche, derived from the common Teutonic root brec, which appears in “break,” Ger. brechen, &c.), in general, a breaking, or an opening made by breaking; in law, the infringement of a right or the violation of an obligation or duty. The word is used in various phrases: breach of close, the unlawful entry upon another person’s land (see Trespass); breach of covenant or contract, the non-fulfilment of an agreement either to do or not to do some act (see Damages); breach of the peace, a disturbance of the public order (see Peace, Breach of); breach of pound, the taking by force out of a pound things lawfully impounded (see Pound); breach of promise of marriage, the non-fulfilment of a contract mutually entered into by a man and a woman that they will marry each other (see Marriage); breach of trust, any deviation by a trustee from the duty imposed upon him by the instrument creating the trust (q.v.).