breech
noun
[ briːtʃ ]
• the part of a cannon behind the bore.
• a person's buttocks.
breech
adjective
• relating to or denoting presentation of a fetus in which the buttocks, rump, or legs are nearest the cervix and emerge first at birth.
• "breech presentation occurs in up to 3 per cent of pregnancies at term"
breech
verb
• dress (a boy) in breeches after he had been in petticoats since birth.
• "in those days it wasn't customary to breech a boy until he was about four"
Origin:
Old English brēc (plural of brōc, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch broek ), interpreted as a singular form. The original sense was ‘garment covering the loins and thighs’ (compare with breeches), hence ‘the buttocks’ (breech (sense 2 of the noun), mid 16th century), later ‘the hind part’ of anything.
