breech
Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
breech/briːtʃ/
▶noun
- 1 the part of a cannon behind the bore.
- 2 the back part of a rifle or gun barrel.
- 3 archaic a person's buttocks.
– origin OE brēc ‘garment covering the loins and thighs’, pl. of brōc (of Gmc origin), interpreted as a sing. form.
'breech' also found in these Oxford entries:
bear's breech
- bolt
- bolt-action
- breech birth
- breechblock
- breech-loader
- brogue
- magazine
- needle
- pump-action
- Winchester
