breeches

[brich-iz] /ˈbrɪtʃ ɪz/
noun, (used with a plural verb)
1.
Also called knee breeches. knee-length trousers, often having ornamental buckles or elaborate decoration at or near the bottoms, commonly worn by men and boys in the 17th, 18th, and early 19th centuries.
2.
riding breeches.
3.
Informal. trousers.
Idioms
4.
too big for one's breeches, asserting oneself beyond one's authority or ability.
Origin
1125-75; Middle English, plural of breech
Can be confused
breeches, britches.

breech

[n. breech; v. breech, brich] /n. britʃ; v. britʃ, brɪtʃ/
noun
1.
the lower, rear part of the trunk of the body; buttocks.
2.
the hinder or lower part of anything.
3.
Ordnance. the rear part of the bore of a gun, especially the opening and associated mechanism that permits insertion of a projectile.
4.
Machinery. the end of a block or pulley farthest from the supporting hook or eye.
5.
Nautical. the outside angle of a knee in the frame of a ship.
verb (used with object)
6.
Ordnance. to fit or furnish (a gun) with a breech.
7.
to clothe with breeches.
Origin
before 1000; Middle English breeche, Old English brēc, plural of brōc; cognate with Old Norse brōk, Old High German bruoh
Related forms
unbreeched, adjective
Can be confused
breach, breech (see synonym study at breach)
Examples from the web for breeches
  • Sad to say, that manner-born rule is now more honored in the breeches than the observance.
  • Shelby had a hole in the seat of its civic breeches for a generation.
  • Dam failure or levee breeches can occur with little warning.
  • breeches are considered as essential part of the formal uniform.
  • breeches are considered an essential part of the formal uniform.
  • breeches in confidentiality can affect your credibility.
  • Now that the oil paint has become more transparent with age, the original outline of her dress shows through his breeches.
  • breeches are traditional in color, usually white, tan, or beige.
  • breeches is a singular word which uses a plural form to reflect it has two legs.
  • breeches are also an item of protective clothing used in the martial art of fencing.
British Dictionary definitions for breeches

breeches

/ˈbrɪtʃɪz; ˈbriː-/
plural noun
1.
trousers extending to the knee or just below, worn for riding, mountaineering, etc
2.
(informal or dialect) any trousers
3.
too big for one's breeches, conceited; unduly self-confident

breech

noun (briːtʃ)
1.
the lower dorsal part of the human trunk; buttocks; rump
2.
the lower part or bottom of something: the breech of the bridge
3.
the lower portion of a pulley block, esp the part to which the rope or chain is secured
4.
the part of a firearm behind the barrel or bore
5.
(obstetrics) short for breech delivery
verb (transitive) (briːtʃ; brɪtʃ)
6.
to fit (a gun) with a breech
7.
(archaic) to clothe in breeches or any other clothing
See also breeches
Usage note
Breech is sometimes wrongly used as a verb where breach is meant: the barrier/agreement was breached (not breeched)
Word Origin
Old English brēc, plural of brōc leg covering; related to Old Norse brōk, Old High German bruoh
Word Origin and History for breeches
n.

c.1200, a double plural, from Old English brec "breeches," which already was plural of broc "garment for the legs and trunk," from Proto-Germanic *brokiz (cf. Old Norse brok, Dutch broek, Danish brog, Old High German bruoh, German Bruch, obsolete since 18c. except in Swiss dialect), perhaps from PIE root *bhreg- (see break (v.)). The Proto-Germanic word is a parallel form to Celtic *bracca, source (via Gaulish) of Latin braca (cf. French braies), and some propose that the Germanic word group is borrowed from Gallo-Latin, others that the Celtic was from Germanic.

Expanded sense of "part of the body covered by breeches, posterior" led to senses in childbirthing (1670s) and gunnery ("the part of a firearm behind the bore," 1570s). As the popular word for "trousers" in English, displaced in U.S. c.1840 by pants. The Breeches Bible (Geneva Bible of 1560) so called on account of rendition of Gen. iii:7 (already in Wyclif) "They sewed figge leaues together, and made themselues breeches."

breech

n.

"back part of a gun or firearm," 1570s, from singular of breeches (q.v.).

breeches in Medicine

breech (brēch)
n.
The lower rear portion of the human trunk; the buttocks.

breeches in the Bible

(Ex. 28:42), rather linen drawers, reaching from the waist to a little above the knee, worn by the priests (Ezek. 44:17, 18).