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Wiktionary

breeches

Contents

EnglishEdit

 
A man wearing breeches.

Alternative formsEdit

EtymologyEdit

From Middle English breches pl (also brechen), a variant of Middle English breche, brech, brek (“breeches”), from Old English brēċ (“breeches”), from Proto-Germanic *brōkiz pl (nom.acc.), from Proto-Germanic *brōks (“trousers”); akin to Old Norse brók (“breeches”), Danish brog, Dutch broek, German Bruch f; compare Latin bracae ( > French braies) which is of Celtic origin. Compare brail.

PronunciationEdit

  • (plural of breech):
    IPA(key): /ˈbɹiːtʃɪz/
    Audio (US)
    		(file)
  • (smallclothes; trousers):
    IPA(key): /ˈbɹɪtʃɪz/ (traditional)
    IPA(key): /ˈbɹiːtʃɪz/ (more recent spelling pronunciation)
    Audio (US)
    		(file)
  • Rhymes: -ɪtʃɪz, -iːtʃɪz

NounEdit

breeches

  1. plural of breech
  2. A garment worn by men, covering the hips and thighs; smallclothes.
    • 1829, Samuel Taylor Coleridge and Robert Southey, "The Devil's Thoughts,"
      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.
  3. (informal) Trousers; pantaloons.
    Synonyms: trousers, pants

Derived termsEdit

TranslationsEdit

See alsoEdit

Further readingEdit

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