Noah Webster
Breeches
BREECHES, noun plural brich'es. [Low Latin braccoe.]
A garment worn by men, covering the hips and thighs. It is now a close garment; but the word formerly was used for a loose garment, now called trowsers, laxoe braccoe.
To wear the breeches is, in the wife, to usurp the authority of the husband.