breeches en · NOUN
Pronunciation
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *bʰreg- Proto-Germanic *brōks Proto-West Germanic *brōk Old English brōc Old English brēċ Middle English brek Middle English breches English breeches From Middle English breches, brechen pl, a variant of Middle English breche, brech, brek (“breeches”), from Old English brēċ (“underpants”), the plural of brōc (“legging, buttocks”), from Proto-West Germanic *brōk, from Proto-Germanic *brōks (“crotch, legging, trousers”). Akin to West Frisian broek (“leggings, over-trousers”), Dutch broek (“pair of trousers, underpants, long-johns”), obsolete German Bruch (“pair of hose, leggings, pants trousers”), Old Norse brók (“breeches”) (whence Danish brog); compare Latin brācae ( > French braies, Spanish bragas) which is immediately of Celtic origin, yet ultimately borrowed from the same Proto-Germanic source above. Compare brail.
Meanings
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(historical, plural, plural-only) A garment worn by men, covering the hips and thighs; smallclothes.
And how then was the Devil drest? / Oh! he was in his Sunday's best: / His jacket was red and his breeches were blue, / And there was a hole where the tail came through.
1834 [1799], Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Robert Southey, “The Devil's Thoughts”, in The Poetical Works of S. T. Coleridge, volume II, London: W. Pickering, page 83:"In the coach in which I rode, there was a vacant seat till our arrival in Birmingham. Leaving Birmingham I found it filled with a fat Englishman, in drab breeches and gaiter boots, the finest specimen of a thorough John Bull that I had seen—weight about sixteen stone. He wore two top coats, a broad brimmed hat, and an enormous red travelling shawl, behind the folds of which his portly double chin was entirely hidden.
1958 October 14, “Liverpool to London in 1842”, in Railway Magazine, page 682:
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(form-of, plural) plural of breech
form of breech
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(informal, plural, plural-only) Trousers; pantaloons.
But now there's only old Manning, and young William, and a new-fashioned woman gardener in breeches and such-like.
1920, Agatha Christie, The Mysterious Affair at Styles:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| britches | Appalachia, Southern-US, alternative | lexicographic | |
| breech | attributive | lexicographic | |
| breeks | Scotland, alternative | lexicographic |
Deriveds
Dutchman's breeches · wear the breeches · petticoat breeches · breechesless · too big for one's breeches · knee-breeches · bear's breeches · breeches-flower · breeches part · riding breeches · underbreeches · open-kneed breeches · breeches buoy · breeches role · trunk breeches · breechesmaker · breeches pipe
Descendants
Relateds
pantaloons · jodhpurs · britches
Synonyms
Translations (41)
sv knäbyxor (a garment worn by men, covering the hips and thighs) · sh kilòte (a garment worn by men, covering the hips and thighs) · af kuitbroek (a garment worn by men, covering the hips and thighs) · gl calzóns (a garment worn by men, covering the hips and thighs) · de Kniehose (a garment worn by men, covering the hips and thighs) · ru бриджи (a garment worn by men, covering the hips and thighs) · nl kniebroek (a garment worn by men, covering the hips and thighs) · uk бриджі (a garment worn by men, covering the hips and thighs) · gl bragas (a garment worn by men, covering the hips and thighs) · fa اندرورد (a garment worn by men, covering the hips and thighs) · de Breeches (a garment worn by men, covering the hips and thighs) · pt calções (a garment worn by men, covering the hips and thighs) · ru бри́джи (a garment worn by men, covering the hips and thighs) · ky бриджи (a garment worn by men, covering the hips and thighs) · ca calçons (a garment worn by men, covering the hips and thighs) · fi polvihousut (a garment worn by men, covering the hips and thighs) · cmn 馬褲 /马裤 (a garment worn by men, covering the hips and thighs) · af kuitbeenbroek (a garment worn by men, covering the hips and thighs) · gl calzón (a garment worn by men, covering the hips and thighs) · ota دیزلك (a garment worn by men, covering the hips and thighs) · bg брич (a garment worn by men, covering the hips and thighs) · es calzones (a garment worn by men, covering the hips and thighs) · fr haut-de-chausses (a garment worn by men, covering the hips and thighs) · cmn 半長褲 /半长裤 (a garment worn by men, covering the hips and thighs) · grc βράκαι (a garment worn by men, covering the hips and thighs) · ja 半ズボン (a garment worn by men, covering the hips and thighs) · el βράκα (a garment worn by men, covering the hips and thighs) · fr culotte (a garment worn by men, covering the hips and thighs) · cmn 五分褲 /五分裤 (a garment worn by men, covering the hips and thighs) · scn vrachi (a garment worn by men, covering the hips and thighs) · it brache (a garment worn by men, covering the hips and thighs) · lt bridžiai (a garment worn by men, covering the hips and thighs) · ja ブリーチズ (a garment worn by men, covering the hips and thighs) · ky ооз.шым (a garment worn by men, covering the hips and thighs) · no knebukser (a garment worn by men, covering the hips and thighs) · pl bryczesy (a garment worn by men, covering the hips and thighs) · ka ბრიჯი (a garment worn by men, covering the hips and thighs) · scn causi (a garment worn by men, covering the hips and thighs) · fa تنبان (a garment worn by men, covering the hips and thighs) · sh кило̀те (a garment worn by men, covering the hips and thighs) · uk брічи (a garment worn by men, covering the hips and thighs)