Wiktionary

breeches

EnglishEdit

 
A man wearing breeches.

Alternative formsEdit

EtymologyEdit

From Middle English breches, brechen pl, 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 brācae ( > French braies) which is immediately of Celtic origin, and likely ultimately from the same Germanic origin above. Compare brail.

PronunciationEdit

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

NounEdit

breeches

  1. plural of breech

NounEdit

breeches pl (plural only)

  1. A garment worn by men, covering the hips and thighs; smallclothes.
    • 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:
      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.
  2. (informal) Trousers; pantaloons.
    Synonyms: trousers, pants

Derived termsEdit

TranslationsEdit

See alsoEdit

Further readingEdit

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