breechen

== English == === Noun === breechen (plural breechens) (historical) A rope used to limit the recoil of a cannon on a ship 1839, The London Saturday Journal, No. XVIII, 4 May, 1839, London: William Smith, p. 274, [2] 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. 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 [4] 1884, Saddlers, Harness Makers, and Carriage Builders' Gazette, London: John Kemp, 1 November, 1884, Vol. XIV, pp. 155-6, [5] 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.