transgression 復習

　Arizona Republican Trent Franks has resigned amid an ethics investigation into claims he repeatedly asked female staff to be surrogate mothers.
　The announcement came after a congressional panel said it was opening an inquiry into sexual harassment allegations against Mr Franks.
　The lawmaker acknowledged discussing surrogacy with two female aides when he and his wife were facing infertility.
　He is the third member of Congress to resign in three days.
　The Associated Press reports one of Mr Franks' former aides accuses him of offering her $5m (£3.7m) to act as a surrogate mother, repeatedly pressing her to carry his child. …
　If the past is any guide, the worst transgressions and abuses of power come in institutions - Hollywood, the Catholic Church, the athletic department of a major state university - where authority is unchecked and accountability is limited. The halls of Congress all too often fit that description. (Skip the rest)

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-42274780

　今回取り上げる語は、transgression /trænsgréʃən/ です。
　まず意味を確認します。『ジーニアス英和大辞典』(大修館)をみると、「(1)違法、逸脱、(2)違反、犯罪、<宗教上の>罪、(3)海進」とあります。(3)の「海進」は「海岸線が陸地側に移動すること」を指します。
　次に語源を確認します。Oxford Dictionary of English (2nd Edition Revised)をみると、“late 15th cent. from Old French transgresser or Latin transgress- ‘stepped across’, from the verb transgredi, from trans- ‘across’+gradi ‘go’ ”とあります。『ジーニアス英和大辞典』(大修館)を合わせてみると、trans- が「超えて」の意で、-gress が「足を踏み入れる」の意とわかります。
　この語の類語に violate があります。「暴力を振るう」といった意味で使うイメージが強いですが、LDOCEをみると “to disobey or do something against an official agreement, law, principle etc” とあります。「公の合意や法、常識に反することをしたり、従わなかったりすること」を意味していることがわかります。(OkaUchi)