breeches
/ˈbɹiː.t͡ʃɪz/ noun
Also a form of breech
- noun (historical) A garment worn by men, covering the hips and thighs; smallclothes.
- noun (informal) Trousers; pantaloons.
Synonyms
trousers pants knee breeches knee pants knickerbockers knickers
Etymology
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.
Webster’s 1913
- noun A garment worn by men, covering the hips and thighs; smallclothes.
- noun Trousers; pantaloons. [Colloq.] Breeches buoy, in the life-saving service, a pair of canvas breeches depending from an annular or beltlike life buoy which is usually of cork. This contrivance, inclosing the person to be rescued, is hung by short ropes from a block which runs upon the hawser stretched from the ship to the shore, and is drawn to land by hauling lines.
Etymology [OE. brech, brek, AS. brek, pl. of broc breech, breeches; akin to Icel. brok breeches, ODan. brog, D. broek, G. bruch; cf. L. bracae, braccae, which is of Celtic origin. Cf. Brail.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “breeches”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details