# breeches

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈbɹiː.t͡ʃɪz/ · frequency rank #43,066

## Definitions
1. plural of breech

## Etymology
Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *bʰreg-
Proto-Germanic *brōks
Proto-West Germanic *brōk
Old English brōc
Old English brēċ
Middle English brek
Middle English breches
English breeches
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.

## Easily confused with
- **breezes** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/breeches-vs-breezes)
- **breech** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/breech-vs-breeches)
- **beaches** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/beaches-vs-breeches)
- **benches** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/benches-vs-breeches)
- **Beecher** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/beecher-vs-breeches)
- **branches** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/branches-vs-breeches)
- **breached** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/breached-vs-breeches)
- **breaches** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/breaches-vs-breeches)
- **breathes** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/breathes-vs-breeches)

## Common misspellings (12)
`bbreeches`, `bereches`, `brecehes`, `breches`, `breecches`, `breecehs`, `breechess`, `breechhes`, `breechse`, `breehces`, `brreeches`, `rbeeches`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/breeches