All 3 Uses of
breech
in
To Kill a Mockingbird
- When I went back for my breeches— they were all in a tangle when I was gettin' out of 'em, I couldn't get 'em loose.
p. 66.1breeches = pants
- I could not possibly hope to be a lady if I wore breeches; when I said I could do nothing in a dress, she said I wasn't supposed to be doing things that required pants.
p. 92.9 *
- In the far corner of the square the Negroes and Mr. Dolphus Raymond stood up and dusted their breeches.
p. 184.7
Definitions:
-
(1)
(breech) rear
Most commonly used today in the phrase breech birth in reference to a baby who comes out of the birth canal butt-first rather than head-first.More-archaic senses seen in classic literature include:- breechcloth -- a form of loincloth consisting in a strip of material passed between the thighs and held up in front and behind by a belt or string
- breeches -- pants
- a cannon's breech -- the rear of a gun
-
(2)
(meaning too rare to warrant focus) meaning too rare to warrant focus:
A breech birth refers to a child born bottom first. A less common sense of breech refers to the lower part of a pulley block.