Legal Definitions - purprise

purprise (pər-prIz), vb.[Law French] Hist. To encroach on land illegally; to make a purpresture.

Purprise is a legal term that refers to the act of encroaching on someone else's land without permission. This is considered illegal and is also known as making a purpresture. In simpler terms, it means taking over someone else's land without their permission.

• John built a fence that extended beyond his property line and onto his neighbor's land. This is an example of purprise.
• When the construction company started building on the protected wetlands, they were committing purprise.

These examples illustrate how purprise is the act of taking over someone else's land without permission. In both cases, the individuals or companies were encroaching on land that did not belong to them, which is illegal.