breeches

Contents

EnglishEdit

A man wearing breeches.

Alternative formsEdit

• britches (Appalachia, Southern US)

EtymologyEdit

From Middle English breches (plural) (also brechen), a variant of Middle English breche, brech, brek (“breeches”), from Old English brēċ (“breeches”), from Proto-Germanic *brōkiz (nominative/accusative plural), 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; britches.

Related termsEdit

• breeches buoy
• breeches pipe: a forked pipe forming two branches united at one end
• knee-breeches
• open-kneed breeches
• wear the breeches: see wear the pants, wear the trousers
• too big for one's britches

TranslationsEdit

a garment worn by men, covering the hips and thighs

• Catalan: calçons (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 五分褲, 五分裤 (wǔfēnkù), 半長褲, 半长裤 (bànchángkù), 馬褲 (zh), 马裤 (zh) (mǎkù)

• Dutch: kniebroek (nl) f
• Finnish: polvihousut
• French: culotte (fr) f, haut-de-chausses (fr) m
• German: Breeches (de) pl
• Greek: βράκα (el) f (vráka)
• Italian: brache

• Japanese: 半ズボン (han-zubon), ブリーチズ (burīchizu)
• Kyrgyz: бриджи (ky) f (bridci), ооз.шым m (ooz.şım)
• Norwegian: knebukser m, f
• Persian: تنبان‎‎ (fa) (tombân)
• Polish: bryczesy (pl)
• Portuguese: calções (pt)
• Russian: бри́джи (ru) pl (brídži)
• Spanish: calzones (es)
• Swedish: knäbyxor

See alsoEdit

• pantaloons
• britches
• jodhpurs