Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun The lower rear portion of the human trunk; the buttocks.
  • noun A breech presentation or delivery.
  • noun A fetus in breech presentation.
  • noun Knee breeches.
  • noun Informal Trousers.
  • noun The part of a firearm behind the barrel.
  • noun The lower part of a pulley block.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun Breeches.
  • noun The lower part of the body behind.
  • noun The hinder part of anything; specifically, the mass of metal behind the bore of a cannon, or the part of a small arm back of the barrel, including the rear of the latter in breech-loaders.
  • noun Nautical, the angle of a knee-timber, the inside of which is called the throat.
  • To put into or clothe with breeches.
  • To cover to the breech or hilt.
  • [Various other readings and interpretations, such as reeched (soiled with a dark yellow), drenched, sheathed, etc., have been proposed by Shaksperian commentators.]
  • To whip on the breech.
  • To fit or furnish with a breech: as, to breech a gun.
  • To fasten by a breeching.
  • To suffer whipping on the breech.
  • noun The lowest quality or sort of wool from the fleece of the sheep: it is taken from the hinder part.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun The lower part of the body behind; the buttocks.
  • noun obsolete Breeches.
  • noun The hinder part of anything; esp., the part of a cannon, or other firearm, behind the chamber.
  • noun (Naut.) The external angle of knee timber, the inside of which is called the throat.
  • transitive verb To put into, or clothe with, breeches.
  • transitive verb Poetic To cover as with breeches.
  • transitive verb To fit or furnish with a breech.
  • transitive verb obsolete To whip on the breech.
  • transitive verb To fasten with breeching.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun nautical The external angle of knee timber, the inside of which is called the throat.
  • noun A breech birth.
  • adverb With the hips coming out before the head.
  • adjective Born, or having been born, breech.
  • verb dated, transitive To dress in breeches. (especially) To dress a boy in breeches or trousers for the first time.
  • verb dated, transitive To beat or spank on the buttocks.
  • verb transitive To fit or furnish with a breech.
  • verb transitive To fasten with breeching.
  • verb poetic, transitive, obsolete To cover as if with breeches.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun opening in the rear of the barrel of a gun where bullets can be loaded

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English brech, from Old English brēc, pl. of brōc, leg covering, Gaulish brāca, hose, trousers.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Old English brēċ, plural of *brōc, from Proto-Germanic *brōks (“clothing for loins and thighs”). Cognate with Dutch broek, Swiss German Brüch, Swedish brok.

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Examples

  • A new study has shown that pregnant women who have during the end of pregnancy have a thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) level above 2.5 -- a level that is considered within the "normal range" or reference range for the TSH test -- are at higher risk of for their baby to be in a breech position (The term breech refers to a baby that is not in the head-down position.)

    About.com Thyroid Disease 2010

  • Be advised, that I will be in breech of an agreement I made with that news corp. by referring to them in any way.

    Heroes or Villains? 2010

  • If these documents have not been released by the agency then at the very minimum the provider of the document is in breech of any contract related confidentiality regarding government documents not released to the public in their possession.

    NASA ESAS Study Appendices Show up on Pay-Per Use Site - NASA Watch 2009

  • For pumps, since the breech is locked, the average force with which the shotgun bumps your shoulder is equal to the mass of the shot and wad and gasses, multiplied by average acceleration.

    Whats the recoil "kick" of a pump action shotgun? is it like a semi auto? 2010

  • If it is a government employee then they are in breech of agency policy on the release of documents not approved for release by the agency.

    NASA ESAS Study Appendices Show up on Pay-Per Use Site - NASA Watch 2009

  • For pumps, since the breech is locked, the average force with which the shotgun bumps your shoulder is equal to the mass of the shot and wad and gasses, multiplied by average acceleration.

    Whats the recoil "kick" of a pump action shotgun? is it like a semi auto? 2010

  • Once the decision has been made to perform a second-trimester surgical abortion, the last thing a provider needs is to have to worry that the procedure could potentially evolve into a criminal act if a fetus in breech presentation should slip out intact through a partially dilated cervix.

    Balkinization 2007

  • Once the decision has been made to perform a second-trimester surgical abortion, the last thing a provider needs is to have to worry that the procedure could potentially evolve into a criminal act if a fetus in breech presentation should slip out intact through a partially dilated cervix.

    Balkinization 2007

  • I contacted Cingular today via email and asked if they would let me out of my contract because they are in breech of the privacy clause in their agreement.

    Think Progress » Telcos Could Be Liable For Tens of Billions of Dollars For Illegally Turning Over Phone Records 2006

  • If your baby is not in the head-down position in your uterus, you have what is called a breech presentation, and you should consider seeking help from a skilled doctor to turn the baby.

    OUR BODIES, OURSELVES The Boston Women’s Health Book Collective 2005

Comments

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  • "caring for your baby and young child" author steven shelov page 11

    November 2, 2010