Standard Lemma guide

breechen

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

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Pronunciation

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1

noun

Meaning 1

A rope used to limit the recoil of a cannon on a ship

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: historical

Examples

  • 1839, The London Saturday Journal, No. XVIII, 4 May, 1839, London: William Smith, p. 274, https://books.google.ca/books?id=ekEwAQAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false The gun is discharged by means of a lock screwed on to the side of a vent-patch near the touch-hole, and its recoil is limited by a stout piece of rope called a breechen, which is rove through a ring at the breech, the ends being secured to bolts on each side of the port-hole.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

The part of the harness that fits over the horse's rump and holds the load back or permits the horse to back it up https://web.archive.org/web/20160705124646/http://www.gaitedhorses.net/Articles/HorseGlossary.html

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • 1884, Saddlers, Harness Makers, and Carriage Builders' Gazette, London: John Kemp, 1 November, 1884, Vol. XIV, pp. 155-6, https://books.google.ca/books?id=YQ9LAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false Remember, when a horse is on its side the kicking-strap is useless, and the breechen nearly so, to prevent the swing of its hind legs; your aim is to get it away from the steps or wheel-plate of the trap, which, in its struggles, may cut its legs fearfully.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.