2021-12-31 ศัพท์ น่าสับสน ชุด – B – breach & breech

2021-12-31

ศัพท์ น่าสับสน ชุด – B – breach & breech

แนะนำการใช้ ตามที่ส่วนใหญ่ใช้ แต่ละท้องถิ่น 

ความหมาย อาจผันแปร ตาม ตำแหน่ง/หน้าที่ ในประโยค

 

Dictionary.com

ออกเสียง Breach + breech noun = ‘BREECH’

ออกเสียง verb – breech = ‘BRICH’

 

Dictionary.com

SYNONYM STUDY FOR BREACH

Breach, infraction, violation, transgression 

all denote in some way the breaking of a rule or law 

or the upsetting of a normal and desired state. 

 

Breach is used infrequently in reference to laws or rules, 

more often in connection with desirable conditions or states of affairs: 

a breach of the peace, of good manners, of courtesy. 

 

Infraction most often refers to clearly formulated rules or laws: 

an infraction of the criminal code, of university regulations, of a labor contract. 

 

Violation, a stronger term than either of the preceding two, often suggests intentional, even forceful or aggressive, refusal to obey the law or to respect the rights of others: 

repeated violations of parking regulations; a human rights violation. 

 

Transgression, with its root sense of 

“a stepping across (of a boundary of some sort),” 

applies to any behavior that exceeds the limits imposed by a law, 

especially a moral law, a commandment, or an order; 

it often implies sinful behavior: 

a serious transgression of social customs, of God's commandments.

 

Dictionary.com

VOCAB BUILDER

What does breach mean?

A breach is a physical break or rupture, as in the hull of a ship. 

It also means a violation or infraction, as in a breach of trust.

 

It can also be used as a verb 

referring to the action that leads to each of these things.

 

Breach is often used in phrases 

like security breach, data breach, breach of trust, breach of etiquette, and breach of contract. 

Example: We view these ethical violations as an unforgivable breach of the public trust, and we call on the senator to resign.

 

Where does breach come from?

Breach has been in use since before 1000. 

It comes from the same roots as the word break, 

and all of its senses relate to breaking or breaking through something.

 

In a physical sense, to breach something is to break through it. 

This is often applied to things that aren’t supposed to break, 

such as the hull of a ship or a thick wall, 

as in They’ve breached the castle gate! The resulting hole is called a breach.

 

The figurative sense of breach follows the same pattern. 

To breach something in this way is to violate it. 

It’s often applied to abstract things, 

as in breach the peace. 

In its figurative sense, it’s perhaps more commonly used as a noun, 

as in phrases like 

breach of trust and breach of friendship 

(in which cases it often refers to a betrayal) 

 

and breach of etiquette (meaning a violation of proper behavior). 

In a legal sense, you can breach a contract by not following it 

(resulting in a breach of contract). 

When someone bypasses security, it’s called a security breach. 

 

When hackers steal information, 

it’s called a data breach.

 

A little more specifically, 

it’s called a breach when a whale breaches the surface of the water 

by thrusting itself up out of it.

 

Breach should not be confused with the homophone breech, 

which generally refers to the lower part of something.

 

Dictionary.com

“Breach” vs. “Breech”: Don’t Confuse The Two!

English is full of homophones, 

or words that have the same pronunciation 

but vastly different meanings, origins, and spelling. 

 

Some of the most confused homophones 

include their/they’re/there; affect and effect; and complement and compliment.

 

Let’s add another pair to the list: breach and breech.

Are you a whale watcher? A lawyer? A gun owner? 

You might know the definition of these words. 

But do you know how to spell them correctly? 

This is a refresher for all of us.

 

Heaven forbid we catch a whale breaching and confuse it with breech.

One word implies you’re part of a whale-watching tourist group; 

the other that you’re … the whale’s birth coach.

Confused? Don’t be. We’re about to break down these two easily confused words.

 

What does breach mean?

The word breach means “the act or result of a breaking” 

or a “gap, rift, fissure” when used as a noun. 

 

Breach can also be used as a verb, 

“to make a breach or opening in” 

or “to break a contract.” 

(This is the definition lawyers should recognize.)

 

And animal lovers may know it can be used to describe 

when a whale leaps completely or partially out of the water 

and returns back to the ocean with a splash.

 

Breach has an old history. It comes from the Old English bræc for “breaking,” and the Middle English breche.

 

What does breech mean?

On the other hand, breech has a few very different uses including 

“the hinder or lower part of something,” 

especially when talking about the rear part of 

the gun that allows the insertion of ammunition.

 

When a baby is incorrectly positioned feet first in the womb at delivery, 

it’s also described as a breech. 

 

A whale is a mammal that is born tail first, 

so this would be considered a breech birth.

 

You may also recognize that a pirate has breeches, not just regular pants. 

The word breech has roots in old Germanic languages from before the year 1000, including Old Norse, Old English, and Middle English. 

The Old English root for breech, which is brēc, was actually a plural 

for a word that referred to leg coverings. Hold on to your breeches!

 

So, how do we use these words correctly?

 

First, remember that breach can be thought of as metaphorical, and breech is physical.

We breach a contract or form, but we load the breech of a gun 

or deliver a breech birth by cesarean section.

 

Should you be more visually inclined, 

think of the word breach as breaking the double ee‘s in breech. 

 

This trick will clue you in to the meaning of both words.

Let’s try an example.

Can you tell which word should go in the blank based on context clues?

• You’ve ____ our agreement of honesty by lying, and I’m not sure if I can trust you again.

If you put breached in that spot, you’re correct! 

In this instance we’ll use the definition of “the act of a breaking,” 

because lying created a “gap or rift” in this metaphorical relationship.

 

How about another one?

• The data ____ affected the personal information of millions of customers.

Breach again! 

This example is seen often, and is a good marker to remember which word to use.

 

Remember: 

although these two words sound identical, 

there isn’t any overlapping meaning between them. 

Breach can be used in general for the breaking of something, while breech has a few very specific instances that would warrant its use.

 

How about this one?

• A baby that is  ____ at 20 weeks will typically change positions before the delivery.

That’s the highly specific breech, and the mention of birth should have tipped you off.

 

Merriam-Webster Dictionary

Into the breech or the breach?

If you are about to provide 

some much-needed assistance in a situation 

do you get ready to step (or leap, or jump) into the breach or the breech? 

 

The former. 

The sense of breach this expression applies to is 

“a gap (as in a wall) made by battering.” 

 

Breech, on the other hand, refers most often to a part of a rifle 

(near the rear of the barrel), the buttocks, 

or short pants which cover the hips and thighs 

(this sense is always found used in the plural, breeches). 

 

You may, if you are in a state of undress, 

step into your breeches before you step into the breach,

but you would never step into your breaches before stepping into the breech.

 

Merriam-Webster Dictionary

Usage Notes

'Breech' vs. 'Breach'

Mind the gap and hold on to your butts

What to Know

Breech is a noun referring to 

the rear of a gun or the rear, or buttocks, of a person. 

 

Most people are familiar with "breeches" meaning "pants." 

Breach on the other hand means "a break or violation" 

such as a "breach of conduct" or a "breach in a dam." 

The most common switch up occur in the phrase "into/unto the breach."

 

One of our intrepid editors recently stumbled upon an article from 2011 which argued that the Democrats needed a fiery female leader. 

The article claimed that the American political left in 2011 

lacked a strong progressive voice, and then went on to say, 

"This is exactly the breech into which progressive women should step."

 

Breech and Breach Meanings

Did you hear that record scratch, too? 

The issue is not with the use of progressive, 

but of breech, which in its singular form refers

either to the rear part of a gun or the (ahem) rear part of a person.

 

You're likely more familiar with the plural breeches, 

which refer to pants.

 

The word wanted here is one often confused with breech: breach. 

Breach refers to a break or violation of some sort: 

a breach of law, a breach in the dam, a breach of conduct.

 

Breech and breach go back over 1,000 years, 

and both stem ultimately to Old English: breech to the noun brēc, 

which was the plural of a word that referred to leg coverings; 

and breach to the noun brǣc, which means "an act of breaking." 

 

Though breech and breach had similar spellings in Middle English, 

they weren't often confused. 

The contexts generally made it clear which breche was being referred to:

Attempted the breche or violacion of the same statutes.
— Acts of Parliament, 1533-34

 

Get the a lynnen breche, and gyrde it aboute thy loynes.
— Bible (Jer. 13:1), 1535

 

How Often Are They Confused?

And while some usage commentators claim that 

misuse of breech and breach is widespread, 

our evidence shows that breach (break, violation) 

is rarely mistaken for breech (butt-end). 

 

There is no evidence in our files 

of breach births or babies in breach presentation. 

We do see some occasional misuse of breech for breach, however, 

and particularly in more abstract phrases like breach of contract.

 

But the misuse is relatively small: 

in one of our databases, breech of contract has a literal handful of uses, and in another, 

it accounts for 1% of all the citations for breech/breach of contract.

 

Much more common is the mistake that kicked off this article: 

into the breech.

But even that is relative—according to our evidence, 

the mistaken phrase makes up 10% of the total number of citations 

for into the breech/breach.

 

That doesn't mean that this is a non-issue. 

It's more likely that the confusion between breech and breach 

is a more recent problem that is only now revealing its head. 

It's easy enough to head confusion off at the pass, however. 

 

Remember that 

breech is almost always used of physical situations, 

not metaphorical ones: 

a breech birth, the breech of a rifle, the baby's breech presentation, a pair of breeches. 

 

Breach is used of more metaphorical situations: 

a breach of contract, moving into the breach, the law being breached. 

If that's still too abstract, perhaps rely on the mnemonic 

that to heal a breach requires a reach across something.

 

Breech refers either to pants or to the hind end of things 

(buttocks, the rear of a firearm). 

Breach is a violation of something (such as a contract) 

or a split or gap (as in "once more unto the breach").

 

Collins COBUILD English Usage

Breech

Usage: 

Breech is sometimes wrongly used as a verb 

where breach is meant: 

e barrier/agreement was breached (not breeched)

 

Common Errors in English Usage Dictionary

Breach & breech         

Substitute a K for the CH in “breach” 

to remind you that the word has to do with breakage: 

you can breach (break through) a dam 

or breach (violate the terms of) a contract.

 

As a noun, a breach is something broken off or open, 

as in a breach in a military line during combat. 

“Breech” however, refers to rear ends, as in “breeches” 

(slang spelling “britches”). 

 

Thus “breech cloth,” “breech birth,” or “breech-loading gun.” 

“Once more into the breach, dear friends,” 

means “let’s fill up the gap in the line of battle,” 

not “let’s reach into our pants again.”