Gaskins

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The thigh area of a horse's hind leg, between the stifle and the hock ; baggy, wide-legged breeches worn by men in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries
2. A horse's upper hind leg, lying between the stifle joint and the hock ; loose, full trousers fashioned in the Tudor and Stuart periods
3. The fleshy section of a horse's rear leg from knee-like joint to hock ; wide, roomy hose or breeches that were fashionable in early modern England

Etymology: "Gaskins" is the plural of "gaskin," and the singular form is the more basic one. Its origin is uncertain, but one proposal links it to "Gascoigne," the old English spelling of Gascony, the region of southwestern France. The idea is that the breeches were named after a place, or after the Gascon fashion of wearing them. The connection is plausible rather than proven, so it should be held loosely. The sense of the word has stayed narrow: it names a loose, full pair of breeches, and the plural form is the usual one in speech and writing.

Synonyms: breeches, trunk hose