Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
Definition: Breeches |
BreechesNoun1. Trousers ending above the knee. Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
Date "breeches" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1350. (references) |
| Domain | Definition |
Bible | Breeches (Ex. 28:42), rather linen drawers, reaching from the waist to a little above the knee, worn by the priests (Ezek. 44:17, 18). Source: Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary. |
Literature | Breeches To wear the breeches. Said of a woman who usurps the prerogative of her husband. Similar to The grey mare is the better horse. (See Grey. ) The phrase is common to the French, Dutch, Germans, etc., as Elle porte les braies. Die vrouw die hosen anhaben. Sie hat die Hösen. Source: Brewer's Dictionary. |
Slang in 1811 | BREECHES. To wear the breeches; a woman who governs her husband is said to wear the breeches. Source: 1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
Synonyms: BreechesSynonyms: knee breeches (n), knee pants (n), knickerbockers (n), knickers (n). (additional references) |
| Context | Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus). |
Authority | Have the upper hand, get the upper hand, have the whip, get the whip; gain a hold upon, preponderate, dominate, rule the roost; boss; override, overrule, overawe; lord it over, hold in hand, keep under, make a puppet of, lead by the nose, turn round one's little finger, bend to one's will, hold one's own, wear the breeches; have the ball at one's feet, have it all one's own way, have the game in one's own hand, have on the hip, have under one's thumb; be master of the situation; take the lead, play first fiddle, set the fashion; give the law to; carry with a high hand; lay down the law; "ride in the whirlwind and direct the storm"; rule with a rod of iron; (severity). |
Clothing | Pants, trousers, trowsers; breeches, pantaloons, inexpressibles, overalls, smalls, small clothes; shintiyan; shorts, jockey shorts, boxer shorts; tights, drawers, panties, unmentionables; knickers, knickerbockers; philibeg, fillibeg; pants suit; culottes; jeans, blue jeans, dungarees, denims. |
Money | Currency, circulating medium, specie, coin, piece, hard cash, cold cash; dollar, sterling coin; pounds shillings and pence; Ls.d.; pocket, breeches pocket, purse; money in hand, cash at hand; ready money, ready cash; slug, wad wad of bills, wad of money, thick wad of bills, roll of dough; rhino, blunt, dust, mopus, tin, salt, chink; argent comptant; bottom dollar, buzzard dollar; checks, dibs. |
Treasury | Purse strings; pocket, breeches pocket. |
| Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus. | |
Crosswords: Breeches |
| English words defined with "breeches": Breeches buoy, britches, Brogues, buckskins ♦ codpiece ♦ family Fumariaceae, Fumariaceae, fumitory family ♦ Galligaskins, Gaskins, genus Acanthus ♦ Hanselines ♦ Inexpressibles ♦ knee breeches ♦ Sans-culotte, Smallclothes ♦ trunk hose ♦ Unbreech, Unmentionables. (references) |
| Specialty definitions using "breeches": Breeches Bible, Buffs, Bungay ♦ Cavalry twill, COD PIECE ♦ FARTING CRACKERS ♦ GALLIGASKINS, Go to! ♦ HAMCASES Breeches, HAMS ♦ INEXPRESSIBLES ♦ KICKSEYS ♦ LITTLE BREECHES ♦ Mendoza, Misers ♦ Pickwick, Procession of the Black Breeches ♦ QUEER KICKS ♦ REVERSED, RUM KICKS, RUMFORD ♦ SHE HOUSE, SILVER LACED, SITTING BREECHES ♦ Vanity ♦ WRY MOUTH AND A PISSEN PAIR OF BREECHES. (references) |
| Etymologies containing "breeches": trousers. (references) |
| Domain | Usage | |
Movie/TV Titles | Working the Breeches Buoy (1901) The Breeches Buoy (1899) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
| Domain | Title |
References |
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Books | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Thumbnail | Description & Credit | Thumbnail | Description & Credit |
 | Crew of a 5"/51 secondary battery gun in action during early 1920s exercises. Note gas masks in use, and breeches of two 3-pdr saluting guns at the bottom of the picture. Credit: NAVY. |  | "Commanding Officer of the Marine "Devilcats" Squadron (VMF-212) returns aboard the escort carrier USS Rendova (CVE-114) from the British destroyer HMS Comus. Brilliant was shot down by enemy anti-aircraft fire and after bailing out of his damaged plane, was rescued at sea by the Comus. Photograph and quoted portion of caption released by Commander Naval Forces, Far East, under date of 20 October 1951. Note details of breeches bouy used for the transfer, and crew working jackets marked with Rendova's hull number. Credit: NAVY. |
 | Is assisted into a breeches bouy for transfer from USS Monaghan (DD-354) to USS Enterprise (CV-6) on 31 May 1942, while the ships were en route to the Midway area. He had been picked up by the destroyer on 28 May, after his TBD-1 "Devastator" torpedo bomber had crashed attempting to land on the carrier. Aviation Radioman First Class Charles T. Granat is partially visible behind Lindsey, waiting his turn on the "high line". The other member of the plane's crew, Chief Aviation Pilot Thomas E. Schaeffer is standing with hands in pockets, just to left of the transfer group. Lindsey and Granat were killed in action attacking the Japanese fleet on 4 June 1942. Credit: NAVY. |  | U.S.S. Vesuvius, breeches of dynamite guns. Credit: Library of Congress. |
Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits. | |||
 |
| "Fungus at Yellow Breeches Cree" by Brian Corll Commentary: "Fungus at base of sycamore tree, Yellow Breeches Creek, Boiling Springs, PA." |
Source: photographs selected by the editor, with permission from the photographers. |
| Author | Quotation |
Henry David Thoreau | We know but a few men, a great many coats and breeches. |
Miguel De Cervantes | There's no taking trout with dry breeches. |
Robert Burton | Women wear the breeches... in a word, the world turned upside downward. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | |
| Title | Author | Quote |
A Christmas Carol | Dickens, Charles | It was a habit with Scrooge, whenever he became thoughtful, to put his hands in his breeches pockets |
Les Miserables | Hugo, Victor | Add to this short breeches and shoe buckles |
Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man | Joyce, James | So down with your breeches And out with your bum. |
Grapes of Wrath | Steinbeck, John | He wore riding breeches and laced boots |
Gulliver's Travels | Swift, Jonathan | But, as princes seldom get their meat hot, my legs were not scalded, only my stockings and breeches in a sad condition |
Walden | Thoreau, Henry David | We know but few men, a great many coats and breeches. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Subject | Topic | Quote |
Lexicography | Devil's Dictionary | VANITY, n. The tribute of a fool to the worth of the nearest ass. They say that hens do cackle loudest when There's nothing vital in the eggs they've laid; And there are hens, professing to have made A study of mankind, who say that men Whose business 'tis to drive the tongue or pen Make the most clamorous fanfaronade O'er their most worthless work; and I'm afraid They're not entirely different from the hen. Lo! the drum-major in his coat of gold, His blazing breeches and high-towering cap -- Imperiously pompous, grandly bold, Grim, resolute, an awe-inspiring chap! Who'd think this gorgeous creature's only virtue Is that in battle he will never hurt you? Hannibal Hunsiker |
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits. | ||
| "Breeches" is generally used as a noun (plural) -- approximately 93.04% of the time. "Breeches" is used about 158 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Noun (plural) | 93.04% | 147 | 25,998 |
| Noun (proper) | 5.06% | 8 | 124,375 |
| Lexical Verb (-s form) | 1.9% | 3 | 202,518 |
| Total | 100.00% | 158 | N/A |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
Expressions using "breeches": baggy breeches ♦ bear's breeches ♦ breeches buoy ♦ Breeches pipe ♦ breeches pocket ♦ Dutchman's breeches ♦ jodhpur breeches ♦ knee breeches ♦ leather breeches ♦ pair of breeches ♦ riding breeches ♦ that's another pair of breeches ♦ that's another story of shoes of breeches ♦ To wear the breeches ♦ too big for one's breeches ♦ wear the breeches. Additional references. | |
| Hyphenated Usage | |
Beginning with "breeches": breeches-pockets. | |
Ending with "breeches": knee-breeches. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Language | Translations for "breeches"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | |
Albanian | kilota (bloomers, galligaskins, plus fours). (various references) | |
Arabic | بنطلون خيشي قصير, بنطال الإنقاذ. (various references) | |
Bulgarian | брич (riding breeches), панталони (inexpressibles, pantaloons, pants, trousers, unmentionables). (various references) | |
Chinese | 后膛 (Breech). (various references) | |
Czech | krátké jezdecké kalhoty. (various references) | |
Danish | bukseroer (bifurcated pipe, breeches piece), forgreningsroer (breeches piece, manifold). (various references) | |
Finnish | polven alapuolelle kiinnitetyt, housut (drawers, knickers, panties, pants, shorts, trousers, underpants). (various references) | |
French | culotte. (various references) | |
German | Stiefelhose, Reithosen (jodhpurs), Kniehosen. (various references) | |
Greek | παντελόνι (pantaloons, pants, trousers). (various references) | |
Hebrew | מכנסיים (pants, trousers), אברקים (knickerbockers). (various references) | |
Hungarian | térdnadrág (britches, half hose, hose, knickerbockers, knickers), bricsesz (britches, full trousers, knee breeches, knee-breeches). (various references) | |
Indonesian | celana (pants, trousers). (various references) | |
Italian | calzoni alla zuava (plus fours). (various references) | |
Japanese Kanji | ライセンス生産 (license production, lighter, lighting, rider, riding, riding breeches, writer, writing, writing bureau, writing desk), ジョセフソン素子 (a stein, a tankard, amug, bit by bit, cardigan, dilemma, dilettante, dish with mutton and vegetables, Genghis Khan, gin, gin fizz, ginger, ginger ale, giraffe, jin, jingoism, jinx, jitterbug, job, job enlargement, job enrichment, job menu, job rotation, job title, jobhopper, jockey, jodhpurs, John, John Bull, John Travolta, Josephson device, riding breeches, suit, suitcase, super, super high decker, super Schottky diode, super size wide screen, super woofer, supercar, supercharger, supercomputer, superhighway, superimpose, superjet, supermarket, supermarket chain, supernova, super-size, supersonic, superstar, superstation, superstore, supertanker, superviser, supervisor, superwoman, synthesis, vest, waistcoat, Zimbabwe, Zinjanthropus, zirconium). (various references) | |
Japanese Katakana | ライディングブリーチズ (riding breeches), ジョッパーズ (jodhpurs, riding breeches). (various references) | |
Korean | 포미 (Breech). (various references) | |
Manx | breechyn (breeks, pants, trousers). (various references) | |
Pig Latin | eechesbray.(various references) | |
Portuguese | correias (breeches piece), calções até aos joelhos (knee-breeches). (various references) | |
Romanian | pantaloni de sport, pantaloni (continuation, nether garments, pair of bags, pantaloon, pants, trousers, unmentionables). (various references) | |
Russian | штаны (inexpressibles, trousers), бриджи (knee breeches, knee-breeches, knickerbockers, knickers, riding pants), бридж (bridge, britches). (various references) | |
Scottish | briogais (pants, trousers). (various references) | |
Serbo-Croatian | vrsta pantalona. (various references) | |
Spanish | pantalones (bags, pantaloons, pants, slacks, trousers). (various references) | |
Swedish | ridbyxor (riding breeches), knäbyxor (knee breeches, knee-breeches, knickerbockers, knickers, short pants, shorts). (various references) | |
Thai | กางเกงขาสั้นยาวแค่หัวเข่า (knee breeches). (various references) | |
Turkish | pantolon (a pair of trousers, bags, pair of bags, pantaloons, pants, trousers). (various references) | |
Ukrainian | штани (pantaloons, trousers), бриджі (corduroys, knickerbockers, knickers, riding breeches). (various references) | |
Welsh | llawdr (trousers). (various references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references. | ||
| Language | Period | Translations |
| Latin | 500 BCE-Modern | bracis. (various references) |
| Old French | 900-1400 | chauces. (various references) |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Language | Date | Source | Exodus Chapter 39, Verse 28 |
| Latin | 405 | Vulgate | Cingulum vero de bysso retorta hyacintho purpura ac vermiculo distinctum arte plumaria sicut praecepit Dominus Mosi |
| Renaissance English | 1526 | Tyndale | And a mytre off bysse, and goodly bonettes of bysse, and lynen breches off twyned bysse, |
| Jacobean English | 1611 | King James | And a mitre of fine linen, and goodly bonnets of fine linen, and linen breeches of fine twined linen, |
| Victorian English | 1833 | Webster | And a miter of fine linen, and goodly bonnets of fine linen, and linen breeches of fine twined linen, |
| Basic English | 1964 | Ogden | And the twisted head-dress for Aaron, and beautiful head-dresses of linen, and linen trousers, |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Language | Exodus Chapter 39, Verse 28 |
| Cebuano | Ug ang mitra nga lino nga fino, ug ang bonete nga lino nga fino, ug ang mga sapaw nga lino nga fino nga linubid, |
| Croatian | a naprave i mitru od lana i kape od lana; platnene gaæe naèine od prepredenog lana. |
| Danish | Hovedklædet af Byssus, Embedshuerne af Byssus, Linnedbenklæderne af tvundet Byssus, |
| Dutch | En den hoed van fijn linnen, en de sierlijke mutsen van fijn linnen, en de linnen onderbroeken van fijn getweernd linnen; |
| Finnish | käärelakki valkoisista pellavalangoista, koristepäähineet valkoisista pellavalangoista ja pellavakaatiot kerratuista valkoisista pellavalangoista, |
| French | la tiare de fin lin, et les bonnets de fin lin servant de parure; les caleçons de lin, de fin lin retors; |
| German | und den Hut von weißer Leinwand und die schönen Hauben von weißer Leinwand und Beinkleider von gezwirnter weißer Leinwand |
| Haitian Creole | Yo pran twal fen blan, yo fè mouchwa tèt la ak ganiti pou bonnèt yo pou moun rekonèt grad yo. Epi yo pran twal fen blan tise byen sere, yo fè kalson yo. |
| Indonesian-Bahasa Sehari-hari | juga serban, destar dan celana pendek dari linen, |
| Indonesian-Terjemahan Lama | dan lagi kulah dari pada bisus dan destarpun dari pada bisus dan serual dan kain rami dari pada bisus yang dipintal; |
| Italian | il turbante di bisso, gli ornamenti dei berretti di bisso e i calzoni di lino di bisso ritorto; |
| Maori | Me te potae tohunga ki te rinena pai, me etahi potae pai ki te rinena pai me nga tarautete rinema ki te rinena miro pai. |
| Norwegian | og huen av fint lin og de høie huer til pryd av fint lin og lerretsbenklærne av fint, tvunnet lingarn, |
| Portuguese | e a mitra de linho fino, e o ornato das tiaras de linho fino, e os calções de linho fino torcido, |
| Rumanian | mitra de in subyire, wi scufiile de in subyire cari slujeau ca podoabq; ismenele de in subyire rqsucit; |
| Russian | Й ЛЙДБТ ЙЪ ЧЙУУПОБ, Й ЗПМПЧОЩЕ РПЧСЪЛЙ ЙЪ ЧЙУУПОБ, Й ОЙЦОЕЕ МШОСОПЕ РМБФШЕ ЙЪ ЛТХЮЕОПЗП ЧЙУУПОБ, |
| Spanish | Hicieron de lino el turbante y los adornos de los otros turbantes. Y los pantalones fueron hechos de lino torcido. |
| Swedish | huvudbindeln av vitt garn, högtidshuvorna av vitt garn och linnebenkläderna av tvinnat vitt garn, |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
Derivations | |
Words ending with "breeches": unbreeches. (additional references) | |
| |
"Breeches" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: beechers, bergenhus, Berichte, breache, brechen, Brecher, Brechot, Bredekis, Breteche, Bretesche, Breughels, brueche. (additional references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |
| Words rhyming with "breeches" (pronounced 'Breech"es'): Arches, Boes, Chesses, Gamashes, Lendes, Mathes, Rhomboides, riches, Scatches, Spetches, Tunguses, Watches, Xeres. (additional references) |
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
| Words within the letters "b-c-e-e-e-h-r-s" | |
-1 letter: beeches, beseech. | |
-2 letters: breech, cheers, cheese, creese, creesh, rebecs. | |
-3 letters: beech, beers, brees, ceres, cheer, eches, hebes, herbs, heres, rebec, resee, scree, sheer. | |
-4 letters: beer, bees, bree, cees, cere, eche, hebe, herb, here, hers, rebs, recs, rees, resh, seer, sere. | |
-5 letters: bee, cee, ere, ers, her, hes, reb, rec, ree, res, sec, see, ser, she. | |
| Words containing the letters "b-c-e-e-e-h-r-s" | |
+2 letters: bedrenches, unbreeches. | |
+4 letters: bewitcheries, bleacherites, cheeseburger, chokeberries, debaucheries, hebephrenics, overbleaches, researchable. | |
+5 letters: bachelorettes, breechloaders, cheeseburgers, huckleberries. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
| 1. Definition 2. Synonyms 3. Crosswords 4. Usage: Modern | 5. Usage: Commercial 6. Images: Slideshow 7. Images: Photo Album 8. Images: Digital Art | 9. Quotations: Familiar 10. Quotations: Fiction 11. Quotations: Non-fiction 12. Usage Frequency | 13. Expressions 14. Expressions: Internet 15. Translations: Modern 16. Translations: Ancient | 17. Bible Trace 18. Derivations 19. Rhymes 20. Anagrams | 21. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
