breech
See also: breach
English
Etymology
From Middle English breche, from Old English brēċ, from Proto-Germanic *brōkiz pl, from Proto-Germanic *brōks (“clothing for loins and thighs”). Cognate with Dutch broek, Alemannic German Brüch, Swedish brok.
Pronunciation
- Lua error in Module:parameters at line 290: Parameter 1 should be a valid language or etymology language code; the value "UK" is not valid. See WT:LOL and WT:LOL/E. IPA(key): /bɹiːtʃ/
- Rhymes: -iːtʃ
- Homophone: breach
Noun
breech (countable and uncountable, plural breeches)
- (historical, now only in the plural) A garment whose purpose is to cover or clothe the buttocks. [from 11th c.]
- (now rare) The buttocks or backside. [from 16th c.]
- 1624, John Smith, Generall Historie, in Kupperman 1988, p. 157:
- And he made a woman for playing the whore, sit upon a great stone, on her bare breech twenty-foure houres, onely with corne and water, every three dayes, till nine dayes were past […]
- 1736, Alexander Pope, Bounce to Fop:
- When pamper'd Cupids, bestly Veni's, / And motly, squinting Harvequini's, / Shall lick no more their Lady's Br—, / But die of Looseness, Claps, or Itch; / Fair Thames from either ecchoing Shoare / Shall hear, and dread my manly Roar.
- 1749, Henry Fielding, The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, Book III ch viii
- "Oho!" says Thwackum, "you will not! then I will have it out of your br—h;" that being the place to which he always applied for information on every doubtful occasion.
- 1624, John Smith, Generall Historie, in Kupperman 1988, p. 157:
- The part of a cannon or other firearm behind the chamber. [from 16th c.]
- (nautical) The external angle of knee timber, the inside of which is called the throat.
- A breech birth.
Derived terms
Translations
Garment that clothes the buttocks
|
part of a cannon or other firearm
|
Adverb
breech (not comparable)
- With the hips coming out before the head.
Adjective
breech (not comparable)
- Born, or having been born, breech.
Translations
Born, or having been born, breech
|
Verb
breech (third-person singular simple present breech, present participle es, simple past and past participle breeched)
- (dated, transitive) To dress in breeches. (especially) To dress a boy in breeches or trousers for the first time.
- 1748-1832, Jeremy Bentham, The Works of Jeremy Bentham, Volume 10:
- […] it occurred before I was breeched, and I was breeched at three years and a quarter old;
- (Can we date this quote by Macaulay and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)
- A great man […] anxious to know whether the blacksmith's youngest boy was breeched.
- 1748-1832, Jeremy Bentham, The Works of Jeremy Bentham, Volume 10:
- (dated, transitive) To beat or spank on the buttocks.
- (transitive) To fit or furnish with a breech.
- to breech a gun
- (transitive) To fasten with breeching.
- (poetic, transitive, obsolete) To cover as if with breeches.
- (Can we date this quote by Shakespeare and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)
- Their daggers unmannerly breeched with gore.
- (Can we date this quote by Shakespeare and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)
Derived terms
Terms derived from the adjective, adverb, or noun breech
See also
Anagrams
Categories:
- English terms inherited from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms inherited from Old English
- English terms derived from Old English
- English terms inherited from Proto-Germanic
- English terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- English 1-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- Rhymes:English/iːtʃ
- English terms with homophones
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English uncountable nouns
- English countable nouns
- English terms with historical senses
- English terms with rare senses
- English terms with quotations
- en:Nautical
- English adverbs
- English uncomparable adverbs
- English adjectives
- English uncomparable adjectives
- English verbs
- English dated terms
- English transitive verbs
- Requests for date/Macaulay
- English poetic terms
- English terms with obsolete senses
- Requests for date/Shakespeare
- en:Buttocks
- en:Obstetrics