ˈbrēchiŋ, -chēŋ also especially in rural areas ˈbrich- or -chə̇n noun
( -s )
Etymology: breech (I) + -ing
1. : the part of a harness that passes around the breech of a draft animal and enables him to hold back a vehicle — see harness illustration
2. obsolete : a whipping on the buttocks
3. : the short coarse wool on the breech and hind legs of a sheep or goat ; also : the hair on the corresponding parts of a dog
4. : a rope formerly rove through the cascabel of a cannon used for securing the cannon to the side of a ship
5. : the breech or breech action of a gun
6. : a sheet-iron or sheet-steel casing at the end of boilers for conveying the smoke from the flues to the smokestack
7. : a metal fitting, often containing a valve, that serves to connect two lines of hose or to divide a hose into two legs