unˈdressed, ppl. a.
[un-1 8, 8 c.]
I. Not dressed by trimming, putting in order, or preparing in some way.
1. Of the hair. (Cf. dress v. 13 b.)
| 1445 tr. Claudian in Anglia XXVIII. 281 Gallia fers with heere vndressid stode with a coler of price, Holdyng in hande ij. dartys to gider. 1598 Florio, Scapigliata, desheueled, vnkembd, vndrest about the head. |
b. fig. Inelegant, unkempt.
| 1588 Shakes. L.L.L. iv. ii. 17 To show as it were his inclination after his vndressed, vnpolished..fashion. |
c. Of a horse: Ungroomed.
| 1731 Fielding Grub St. Op. i. ix, Have I not left my horses undrest, to whet thy knives? |
2. † a. Of places (or things) in respect of orderly appearance or arrangement.
Obs.| 1530 Nottingham Rec. III. 364 [He] suffreth the merkett places to be vndressed. 1611 Cotgr., Taudis,..a foule, sluttish, vnhandsome, or vndressed roome. 1635 Boston Rec. (1877) II. 4 That all the wood..shall bee gathered up, and layd or heaped in pyles,..upon the forfeyture of 6s. for every load left undressed up. 1649 G. Daniel Trinarch., Rich. II, ccxxxix, Ashes flew about The vndrest Hearth, and the ill house-wif'd roome Lay all on heaps. |
b. Of a shop-window. (
Cf. dress v. 8.)
| 1883 R. Broughton Belinda ii. vii, In the haberdashers' undressed windows..are to be seen nothing but bare boards and skeleton stands. |
3. a. Of textile fabrics or materials. (
Cf. dress v. 13 g and 11.)
| 1535 Act 27 Hen. VIII, c. 13 §1 Whiche white clothe..shalbe..solde for lesse price..then thei shuld be vndressed. 1557 N. T. (Genev.) Matt. ix. 16 No man peceth an olde garment with a pece of new clothe and vndressed. 1617 Moryson Itin. iii. 274 Strict Lawes are made..that the web vndressed be viewed by three skillfull men, and be marked according to the goodnes. 1670 R. Coke Disc. Trade 3 The Exportation of our White and Undrest Clothes. 1763 Act 4 Geo. III, c. 26 (heading), The Importation of..rough and undressed Flax. 1834 M{supc}Culloch Dict. Commerce (ed. 2) 646, Undressed hemp imported in 1831. |
b. Of skins or leather. (Cf
dress v. 13
f.)
| 1808 Scott Marm. v. v, The hunted red-deer's undress'd hide Their hairy buskins well supplied. 1853 Kane Grinnell Exp. v. (1856) 38 A black-locked Esquimaux, enveloped in an undressed seal-skin. 1898 Daily News 2 Dec. 5/1 The bindings in undressed morocco which mellows with age. |
c. Of stone or wood. (
Cf. dress v. 11.)
| 1846 Hull & Lincoln Railway Bill 11 All undressed materials for the repair of public roads. 1854 H. Miller Sch. & Schm. (1858) 101 Flat undressed stones lay thick amid the rank grass. 1893 Earl Dunmore Pamirs I. 22 Piers composed entirely of undressed logs. |
4. Of wounds or sores. (
Cf. dress v. 10.)
| 1597 A. M. tr. Guillemeau's Fr. Chirurg. 45 b/2 Simple Fractures, we keep sometimes sixe or seaven dayes vndressed. 1669 Earl of Orrery Parthen. (1676) 781 Those sleight hurts I had received, were still undrest. 1747 Doddridge Col. Gardiner 12 The poor Patient's Wound being still undressed. 1782 J. Warton Ess. Pope II. ix. 102 With their wounds undressed and putrifying. 1848 T. Aird Christian Bride iii. xxxii, That I may know if, still his wounds undressed, 'Tis safe to move him farther on his way. |
5. Of grounds, trees, etc. (
Cf. dress v. 13 c.)
| 1611 Bible Lev. xxv. 5 Thou shalt not..gather the grapes of thy Vine vndressed. ― 2 Esdras xvi. 78 Like as a field is..left vndressed. 1697 Dryden Virg. Past. ii. 104 Thy vineyard lies half-pruned, and half-undressed. 1780 A. Young Tour Irel. I. 264 Crossing some of this undressed ground, we came to the point of a hill. 1813 Scott Rokeby ii. xvii, Untrimm'd, undress'd, neglected now, Was alley'd walk and orchard bough. |
6. Of food. (
Cf. dress v. 13 a.)
| 1647 Cowley Mistress, Answ. Platonicks 10 Beasts..taste those pleasures as they do their food; Undrest they tak't. 1714 Advt. in Westm. Gaz. 18 Mar. (1909) 2/3 If any..bring with them their own Provisions for Eating, undressed,..they may have them dress'd after their own way. 1771 Goldsm. Haunch of Venison 21 So I cut it [sc. venison], and sent it to Reynolds undrest. 1806 A. Hunter Culina (ed. 3) 220 A dish, that..differs very little from the flesh of an undressed lobster. 1832 R. & J. Lander Exped. Niger I. i. 22 The chief was eating an undrest onion. |
II. 7. Not covered or invested with clothing; unclothed, naked (or nearly so).
| 1613 W. Browne Brit. Past. i. iv. 474 To see misfortune spending Her utmost rage on Truth, dispisde, distressed, Unhappy, unrelieved, yet undressed. 1649 Marvell in Lovelace Poems (1904) 5 The Ladies..all in mutiny though yet undrest Sally'd. 1749 Fielding Tom Jones i. iii, He..now..recollected his being undressed, and put an end to her terrors by desiring her to stay without the door. 1815 L. Simond Tour Gt. Brit. I. 3 The women highly dressed, or rather highly undressed, in extremely thin draperies. 1892 Daily Tel. 28 Apr. 3/2 What I would consider..indecent is a naked woman which represents an undressed woman. |
| fig. 1754 Warburton Bolingbroke's Philos. ii. 102 You catch his First Philosophy..undressed, and without a rag of form, but flaunting and fluttering in Fragments. |
8. Not properly or fully dressed; wearing informal dress or undress.
| 1605 Chapman All Fooles i. i. 73 Undressed, sluttish, nasty, to their husbands, Spung'd up, adorn'd, and painted to their lovers. 1668 Pepys Diary 31 Mar., Took up my wife and Deb., and to the Park, where, being in a hackney, and they undressed, was ashamed to go into the tour. 1693 W. Bowles in Dryden's Juvenal v. (1697) 96 Thus Blest, must Trebius to his Levees run,..Break off sweet Slumbers, drowsie, and undrest, To shew his Zeal. 1753 Richardson Grandison (1781) II. iv. 42 You came, though undressed, with your sword on. 1792 A. Young Trav. France 213 The orchestra powerful, yet..the musicians all so dirty and undressed. 1859 Habits of Gd. Society iii. 155 To be ‘undressed’ is to be dressed for work and ordinary occupations. |
b. transf. Not of a dressy character; not requiring formal or full dress.
| 1798 Jane Austen Northang. Abb. v, Neither at the upper nor lower rooms, at dressed or undressed balls, was he perceivable. 1809 Malkin Gil Blas i. xv. ¶3 Plain cloths..I threw aside with contempt, as thinking them too undrest. |