English
breech
Breech comes from Proto-Germanic *brōks ‘clothing for loins and thighs’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *bʰreg- ‘to break, crack, split’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰreg-‘to break, crack, split’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*brōks‘clothing for loins and thighs’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanic, derivedc. 500 BCE–200 CE*brōkizreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150brēċ
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500breche
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1606breech
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰreg-‘to break, crack, split’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*brōks‘clothing for loins and thighs’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanic, derivedc. 500 BCE–200 CE*brōkizreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150brēċ
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500breche
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1606breech
Earliest quotation: c. 1606, William Shakespeare, The Tragedie of Macbeth: “Their daggers unmannerly breeched with gore.”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *bʰreg- ‘to break, crack, split’
break, broken, broke, fraction, fragile, brake, brigade, fragment, fracture, refrain, suffrage, frail, bray, infringe, fret, fractal, refractory, 38 more
through Proto-Germanic *brōks ‘clothing for loins and thighs’
bracket, brogan, brogue, 2 more
through Middle English breche
Today it means
noun A garment whose purpose is to cover or clothe the buttocks.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *bʰreg- / breech