▪ I. dress, v.
(drɛs)
Forms: 4 dresce, 4–6 dres, 4–7 dresse, (5 drisse, drysse), 4– dress. β. 5 dirse, dyrse, 9 north. derse. pa. tense and pple. 5–6 dreste, 4– dressed, drest.
[a. OF. dresse-r (earlier drecier, drescer) to arrange = Pr. dressar, dre{cced}ar, OSp. derezar, It. d(i)rizzare:—L. type *dīrectiāre, f. dīrect-us direct.]
I. To make straight or right; to bring into proper order; to array, make ready, prepare, tend.
† 1. a. trans. To make straight; to erect, set up.
| 13.. Coer de L. 2554 He dressyd hys bak unto the maste. 1375 Barbour Bruce xvii. 372 Dressand vp ledderis douchtely. 1450–1530 Myrr. our Ladye 28 Myne eres shall be dressed vp, to here his prayer. c 1489 Caxton Sonnes of Aymon xxii. 476 That the gibet be dressed all hie vpon the gate. 1530 Palsgr. 528/2, I dresse, I set upryght..Dresse this old ymage agaynst the wall. 1585 T. Washington tr. Nicholay's Voy. ii. iii. 73 b, To dresse up the pavillion. [1892 Black & White 22 Oct. 474/2 He..dressed his figure still more uprightly.] |
† b. refl. and intr. To raise oneself, to rise.
Obs.| 13.. Gaw. & Gr. Knt. 566 He..dressez on þe morn, Askez erly hys armez. c 1374 Chaucer Troylus iii. 22 (71) Troilus..dressede hym vpward. 1481 Caxton Godfrey cxcviii. 288 He dressyd hym on his steroppes. |
† 2. a. trans. To put (things) ‘straight’ or ‘to rights’ (
lit. and
fig.); to set in order; to manage. Also with
up.
Obs.| c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 327 Wardeyns wise, To kepe þe lond and dres þe folk forto justise. ? a 1400 Morte Arth. 46 Danmarke he dryssede alle by drede of hym selvyne. 1570 Satir. Poems Reform. x. 117 All thing ȝeid weill and wes weill drest, In..peace. 1672 Acc. Bk. Sir J. Foulis (1894) 9 To the wright..for dressing some things about y⊇ house. |
† b. To right, redress, remedy.
Obs.| c 1560 A. Scott Poems xx. 7 Scho..Quhilk suld thy dolour dress. |
† c. To arrange
amongst; to divide.
Obs.| c 1400 Gamelyn 36 Dresseth my londes among my sonis thre. c 1400 Destr. Troy 2112 Till ho duly were ded & dressit in pesis. c 1420 Liber Cocorum (1862) 21 Take onyons..And dresshe hom smalle. |
† 3. a. To place or set in position; to put on (with a connotation of adjustment).
Obs.| c 1386 Chaucer Clerk's T. 325 A coroun on hir heed thay han i-dressed. 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) VII. 71 Gerebertus dressed hym [se occuluit] under a treen brugge and heng by þe armes. c 1400 Melayne 835 Thay dressede on hym a dyademe. c 1530 Ld. Berners Arth. Lyt. Bryt. (1814) 347 How Arthur dressed downe one of the corners of her keuerchefe aboute her necke. |
b. Printing. See
quot.| 1823 Crabb Technol. Dict., To Dress a Chase (Print.) or a Form, to fit the pages and the chase, or form, of the matter that has been composed. |
4. Mil. a. trans. To draw up (troops) in proper alignment.
| 1746 Rep. Cond. Sir J. Cope 54 The Artillery to have been posted on the Right of the Line, and dressed straight with it. 1796 Stedman Surinam I. viii. 185 The whole party being dressed in one rank, face to the right. 1833 Regul. Instr. Cavalry i. 23 No rank..ought ever to be dressed, without the person..appointed to dress it, determining..a line on which the rank..is to be formed. 1868 Kinglake Crimea (1877) III. i. 220 The battalion dressed its ranks with precision. |
| transf. 1840 Evid. Hull Docks Com. 27 Pull down the whole front of the warehouses and dress them back. 1859 F. A. Griffiths Artil. Man. (1862) 159 The subalterns dress and correct the line of tents. |
b. intr. To ‘form’ in proper alignment.
| 1796 Instr. & Reg. Cavalry (1813) 51 When marching in line, each squadron dresses to its own center. 1803 Compl. Drill Serjeant 10 At the word Dress, each man will cast his eyes to the point he is to dress to. 1853 Stocqueler Milit. Encycl. s.v., Soldiers dress by one another in ranks, and the body collectively by some given object. |
| transf. 1888 N. & Q. 7th Ser. V. 344 All that remains of the west sides of the square..is continued on the same plan as the brick house, and dresses with it in height. |
† 5. a. trans. To make ready or prepare for any purpose; to order, arrange, draw up. Also with
up.
Obs. exc. as
transf. from 7.
| 13.. K. Alis. 479 Neptanabus Made so strong sorcerye, And dressed hit by the skye. 1382 Wyclif John i. 23 Dresse ȝe the wey of the Lord, as Ysaye..seyde. a 1400 Pistill of Susan 274 Nou þei dresse hire to deþ. c 1440 York Myst. xxxvi. 240 A draughte..of drinke haue I dreste. a 1533 Ld. Berners Huon cxvii. 422 And dresse vp tubbes with water of the see, and halowe you it, and chrysten them therin. a 1605 Montgomerie Minde's Melodie Ps. lvii. 35 A ditche is drest For me—bot loe! my foes therein doe fall. 1676 Phil. Trans. XI. 681 Galilæus..undertook to dress Tables of their Motions. 1763 J. Brown Poetry & Mus. v. 50 There was neither History nor Philosophy..but what was dressed by the Muses. 1834 Medwin Angler in Wales I. 34 To employ ourselves in dressing a few flies. |
† b. intr. To make arrangements, arrange.
Obs.| 1596 Dalrymple tr. Leslie's Hist. Scot. x. 445 He sendis Bischop Monluch..to handle with her, and dres anent the transporteng of the armie frome the Jnglis bordouris. |
† 6. refl. and intr. To prepare oneself, make ready; in many
quots. coloured by sense 14, and so
= to apply oneself, direct one's skill or energies, turn the attention
to.
Cf. address v. III.
Obs.| c 1386 Chaucer Man of Law's T. 1002 Alla gan hym dresse, And eek his wyf, this Emperour to meete. c 1400 Destr. Troy 5195 Þes drest for þe dede and droghen to ship. Ibid. 8425 Of Andromaca drem I dresse me to telle. 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 67 Let vs dresse our selfe to go forth the iourney of lyfe. 1596 Dalrymple tr. Leslie's Hist. Scot. viii. 75 The Hammiltounis vrges the Douglas, to dres him for the morne. |
7. a. trans. To array, attire, or ‘rig out’, with suitable clothing or raiment; to adorn or deck with apparel; in later use often simply, to clothe.
spec. To make or provide clothes for (an undressed doll); to put clothes on (an undressed doll).
| c 1440 York Myst. xvii. 91 Dresse vs in riche array. 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 201 b, The spouse..hath many women to adorne and dresse her. 1621 Burton Anat. Mel. iii. ii. ii. iii. (1676) 296/1 Some light housewife..dressed like a May-lady. 1727 Ld. Hervey Let. 7 Nov. in Lett. Lady M. W. Montagu (1966) II. 88 Your pretending to be young enough to take a Pleasure in dressing Babys. 1762 Goldsm. Cit. W. xiv, I was dressed after the fashion of Europe. 1800 Jane Austen Let. 1 Nov. (1932) I. 24 My Mother is very happy in the prospect of dressing a new Doll. 1803 M. Wilmot Let. 31 July in Russ. Jrnls. (1934) i. 26, I have heard people..regret that..they had not collected specimens of the fashion of every year by dressing a Doll as every flash of fashion flitted by. 1825 H. Wilson Memoirs 22 Romping with her lovely children, dressing their dolls, and teaching them to skip. 1830 M. R. Mitford Our Village IV. 213 Good Mr. Norris..dressed his little daughter's doll. 1839 Thirlwall Greece VI. xlvii. 101 He..came out drest in white. 1844 Disraeli Coningsby iv. iv. 44 Miss Millbank..was sitting at a round table covered with working materials, apparently dressing a doll. 1864 C. M. Yonge Trial I. ii. 23 Ethel, are they too big for Mary to dress some dolls for them? 1866 Mrs. Carlyle Lett. III. 319, I was up and dressed at seven. 1968 B. Drew (title) Let's dress a doll. |
b. refl. (and
pass.) To attire oneself with attention to fashion or artistic effect;
spec. to put on the more elaborate costume proper for a dinner or evening party or for a ceremonial occasion; also, simply, to attire oneself, put on one's clothes.
| 1641 J. Jackson True Evang. T. ii. 99 Our Saviour..sets up little children as looking-glasses of grace to dresse ourselves in. 1667 Pepys Diary 25 Mar., By and by comes Mr. Lowther and his wife and mine..into a box, forsooth, neither of them being dressed. 1749 Fielding Tom Jones xviii. xi, He had barely time left to dress himself. 1750 Johnson Rambler No. 27 ¶4 He was come back to dress himself for a ball. 1894 Baring-Gould Kitty III. 9 He saw the lawyer dressing himself and shaving. |
c. intr. in reflexive sense. Esp.
to dress for dinner.
| 1703 Rowe Ulyss. Prol. 15 They..Dress'd at Her, danc'd, and fought and..did all that Men could do to have her. 1710 Swift Lett. (1767) III. 77 While I was dressing. 1730–6 Bailey (folio) s.v., To dress at a person, is to dress and adorn in order to enamour or gain the affection of a person. 1741 Richardson Pamela III. xxx. 184 The three Gentlemen rode out, and returned just Time enough to dress before Dinner. 1771 Franklin Autobiogr. in Writings (1905) I. 237 One does not dress for private company as for a publick ball. 1782 L. L. Dalrymple Jrnl. (1871) 34 We are dressing for dinner. 1800 Oracle in Spirit Pub. Jrnls. (1801) IV. 23 When he gets up in the morning, let him dress off in the sprucest style. 1802 G. Rose Diaries (1860) I. 505, I went up to dress for dinner. 1815 Elphinstone Acc. Caubul (1842) II. 51 They..dress like Khyberees. 1841 F. A. Kemble Let. 28 Mar. in Rec. Later Life (1882) II. 67 It is close upon time to dress for dinner. 1865 Trollope Belton Est. (1866) I. iii. 62 We'd better get ready for dinner now. I always dress, because papa likes to see it. 1885 Manch. Exam. 12 Jan. 6/2 The ladies..dress in blacks and drabs. 1887 Daily News 7 June 6/1 That section of the world that ‘dresses’ in contradistinction to merely wearing clothes. 1922 W. S. Maugham On Chinese Screen xlix. 193 He always dressed, and..expected the three boys to wait at table. 1931 V. Woolf Waves 129 She has not dressed, because she despises the futility of London. |
d. trans. (and
intr. for
refl.)
to dress up: to attire elaborately, or in a manner appropriate to a superior position or to a part which one aspires to play; also
intr., of children: to attire oneself in a costume or in various clothes as a game.
to dress down: to wear clothes less formal than would be expected; to dress informally.
to dress out († forth): to deck out with dress.
| 1674 S. Vincent Gallant's Acad. 29 Being neatly and Taylor-like drest up. 1721 Berkeley Prev. Ruin Gt. Brit. Wks. III. 201 The direct way to ruin a man is to dress him up in fine clothes. 1749 Fielding Tom Jones iv. x, Dress forth his wenches in such gaudy style. 1766 Goldsm. Vic. W. iv, Down came my wife and daughters, drest out in all their former splendour. 1857 Trollope Barchester T. III. v. 83 Them two walloping gals, dressed up to their very eyeses. 1870 L. M. Alcott Old-Fashioned Girl v. 65, I ain't going to dress up for nothing; I look so lovely, some one must admire me. 1876 Trevelyan Macaulay I. i. 16 The Frenchmen..dressed out with women's gowns and petticoats. 1876 [see nine n. 6 b]. 1888 Mrs. H. Ward R. Elsmere I. i. iv. 85 He could see her dressing up with him on wet days, reciting King Henry to his Prince Hal. 1903 Little Folks Feb. 115/1 We began to dress up... Humphrey had on my white flannel pyjamas with a red sash... Violet had on the lace window-curtain. 1914 C. Mackenzie Sinister Street II. iii. vi. 618 You'd be the first to laugh..if I dressed up..half-a-dozen of my friends in velvet jackets. 1959 D. Campbell Evening under Lamp-Light 21 Let's play grown-ups. Let's dress up in their clothes. 1960 Harper's Bazaar July 50 A predilection for dressing down at casual dinner parties. 1963 Sunday Express 17 Feb. 22/4, I want to be recognised as a good actress. That's why I dress down, rather than dress up. 1968 D. E. Allen Brit. Tastes vii. 175 On Tyneside the different income-groups differ less sharply than elsewhere in the styles and standard of clothing that they purchase, as if the better-off deliberately chose to dress ‘down’. |
e. transf. and
fig. (of 7 and 7 d.)
| 1615 J. Stephens Satyr. Ess. A viij, Such a most busie Daw did seeme to dresse My Characters with saucinesse. 1699 Bentley Phal. 162 A sort of Declamation, to dress up and to varnish the Story of Pausanias. 1725 Watts Logic iii. iii. §1 They dress up the opinion of their adversary as they please. 1873 M. Arnold Lit. & Dogma (1876) 315 Dressing the popular doctrine out with fine speculations. |
f. intr. Of a male: to allow the sexual organs to be on one side or the other of the fork of the trousers.
| 1966 Guardian 18 Mar. 10/4 You..find an amusing piece by John Morgan on Carnaby Street—‘We are {oqq}dressing{cqq} in the middle this year, man,’ a pop singer explains. 1967 New Statesman 31 Mar. 450/2, I detected some sag on the right-hand side of the trouser front and got the fitter to pin it back. ‘No no no!’ said Roy... ‘Mr. Silver dresses to the left.’ The fullness on the right was critical. 1969 Guardian 31 July 6/1 All those little male problems like dressing to the right or left. |
8. a. To array, equip; to adorn, deck; also with
out,
† up.
to dress a ship: to deck it out with flags, etc.
to dress a (shop) window: to decorate it with goods artistically or attractively displayed.
| c 1400 Rowland & O. 362 Thay..dressede hym in his armours. c 1460 Play Sacram. 165, I haue dyamantis dere wourthy to dresse. 1530 Palsgr. 528/2, I dressed my house gayly against my housbandes comynge home. 1648 Gage West Ind. viii. 23 The Chamber was richly dressed and hung with many pictures, and with hangings. 1769 Falconer Dict. Marine (1789), Faire la Parade, to dress a ship, or to adorn her with flags. 1844 Dickens Christmas Carol 27 It was made plain enough, by the dressing of the shops, that here too it was Christmas time again. 1879 Sala Paris Herself Again I. xviii. 292 His windows are not yet ‘dressed’. |
b. To equip or provide (a play, etc.) with the appropriate costumes.
| 1741 T. Betterton Eng. Stage vi. 9 The Play..was acted before the Court and very richly Drest. 1881 Daily News 12 Sept. 2/1 The opera will be newly dressed. |
c. Arch. To decorate (a window, etc.) with mouldings or the like.
Cf. dressing vbl. n. 4 e.
| 1726 Leoni Designs 5/2 The Windows of the upper Apartments are dressed. ― Alberti's Archit. II. 57/2 A door dressed after the manner of the Doric or Ionic Order. |
d. To fill (a theatre, etc.) by means of complimentary tickets.
Cf. paper v. 4 b.
| 1896 G. B. Shaw Our Theatres in Nineties (1932) II. 234 The theatrical deadhead gets his ticket on the implied condition that he ‘dresses the house’. If he comes in morning dress, or allows the ladies who accompany him to look dowdy, he is struck-off the free list. 1933 P. Godfrey Back-Stage ix. 131 A large number of complimentary tickets is distributed to keep the stalls ‘dressed’. 1961 Bowman & Ball Theatre Lang. 116 Dress the house,..to assign seats to an audience with artful spacing so that the theatre appears to be more crowded than it really is. |
9. To treat (a person) ‘properly’,
esp. (in ironical use) with deserved severity; hence, to give a thrashing or beating to, to chastise; to reprimand severely, scold. Now usually with
down. (
App. associated with 13 f, and kindred uses.)
| 1423 Jas. I. Kingis Q. clxxiii, From day to day so sore here artow drest. 1573 Satir. Poems Reform. xl. 268 The Apostillis..Reioysit that for Christ sa thay were drest. 1679 Essex Freeholders 6 They dressed the Rogues..as they were never dressed in their lives. 1785 Spanish Rivals 9 He would dress my jacket, an I were to tell him on't. 1850 Blackie æschylus II. 302 So we say allegorically to trim one handsomely, to dress him, when we mean to punish. |
10. To treat (a wounded man or his wounds) with remedies or curative appliances.
| 1471 Sir J. Paston in Paston Lett. No. 668 III. 3 He is hurt with an arow..and I have sent hym a serjon, whyche hathe dressid hym. 1526 Tindale Luke x. 34 [He] brought hym to a commen hostry and drest him. 1603 Knolles Hist. Turks (1638) 120 The wound..had bin..well dressed by the..Surgeons. 1758 J. S. Le Dran's Observ. Surg. (1771) 149, I dressed him..with the common Digestive. c 1850 Arab. Nts. (Rtldg.) 156 He had his wound dressed. |
11. a. To treat or prepare (things) in some way proper to their nature or character; to subject to processes requisite for cleansing, purifying, trimming, smoothing, etc. See also 13.
| 1480 Wardr. Acc. Edw. IV (1830) 225 For bynding gilding and dressing of a booke called Titus Livius. 1523 Fitzherb. Husb. §132 Dresse the wode and bowe it clene. 1535 Coverd. Exod. xxx. 7 Whan he dresseth the lampes. 1559 Morwyng Evonym. 15 Hoate oyles chymistically drest and prepared. 1696 De la Pryme Diary (Surtees) 85 As her father was dressing a great pond..there was cast up out of it 60 or 80 little images. 1793 Smeaton Edystone L. §239 The trenails having been previously dressed with a plane. 1802 Trans. Soc. Arts XX. 277 These stones..require to be..oftener dressed than French Burr-stones. 1851 Offic. Catal. Gt. Exhib. I. 302 The usual mode of dressing flour is to brush it through a cylinder clothed with wire. 1894 Labour Commission Gloss. s.v. Dressing Lime, The slaked lime powder is passed through a sieve to remove coarse particles, and this operation is known as dressing lime. 1879 Cassell's Techn. Educ. IV. 50/1 The surface..is dressed with a little oxide. |
b. intr. = passive.
| 1802 Naval Chron. IX. 293 A rove-ash oar that will dress clean and light, is too pliant. 1854 H. Miller Sch. & Schm. (1858) 269 It was a hard..stone, but dressed readily to pick and hammer. |
12. To take away or remove (anything) in the process of preparing, purifying or cleansing.
| 1701 C. Wolley Jrnl. in N. York (1860) 50 They fence..their graves about..dressing the weeds from them. 1769 Mrs. Raffald Eng. Housekpr. (1778) 301 Kill your pig, dress off the hair. 1851 Offic. Catal. Gt. Exhib. I. 229 For the purpose of dressing the remaining sand off it [a casting]. 1858 Jrnl. R. Agric. Soc. XIX. i. 218 Vast quantities of the seeds of the cotton-plant are dressed out of the cottons. |
13. Specific and technical uses.
a. To prepare for use as food, by making ready to cook, or by cooking (also
intr. = passive); also, to season (food,
esp. a salad).
| 13.. Coer de L. 3510 Or ye come the flesch was dressyd. c 1430 Two Cookery-bks. 13 Put yn þe Oystrys þer-to, and dresse it forth. 1582 N. Lichefield tr. Castanheda's Conq. E. Ind. iv. 10 b, To dresse their meate with salt water. 1632 Milton L'Allegro 86 Their savoury dinner..Of herbs and other country messes, Which the neat-handed Phillis dresses. 1736 T. Sheridan in Swift's Lett. (1768) IV. 163 We dress them with carp sauce. 1766 Goldsm. Vic. W. xxxii, A very genteel entertainment..dressed by Mr. Thornhill's cook. 1795 tr. Moritz's Travels 240 The sallad, for which they brought me all the ingredients, I was always obliged to dress myself. 1796–7 Jane Austen Pride & Prej. (1813) II. xvi. 188 These two girls had been..dressing a sallad and cucumber. 1885 Manch. Exam. 28 May 5/1 The carcase of a..cow dressed ready for sale. 1942 C. Spry Come into Garden, Cook ix. 114 It [sc. an American-type salad] may contain grape-fruit, orange, pineapple, grapes, peaches, and so on. Dressed with mayonnaise, it is often finished off with a sprinkling of ground nuts. Ibid. 115 In the happy days when..one might have little melons to serve as a first course, I have filled them with cubes of their own flesh mixed with diced cucumber and dressed them with a thin cream dressing. |
| 1806 Culina 27 This dish will dress very well with the cheese of our own country. 1858 Jrnl. R. Agric. Soc. XIX. i. 75 Potatoes so grown..dress badly. |
b. To comb, brush, and do up (the hair).
| 1509 Hawes Past. Pleas. xxx. vii, Her shining here so properly she dresses. 1663 Pepys Diary 13 July, Her hair dressed à la negligence. 1773 Johnson Let. Mrs. Thrale 24 Sept., [She] dresses her head very high..I wish her head⁓dress was lower. 1835 Thirlwall Greece I. viii. 333 He dressed his hair and crowned himself for a battle as others for a feast. |
c. To till, cultivate, prune, or tend (a field, garden, or plant); to treat
with manure, etc.
| 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 11 They laboured and dressed the vynyarde of god by holy werkes of fayth. 1593 Shakes. Rich. II, iii. iv. 56 He had not so trim'd And drest his Land, as we this Garden. 1635 E. Pagitt Christianogr., Relig. Britons 36 Some wrought in the Gardens, others dressed the Orchards. 1727 De Foe Syst. Magic i. iv. (1840) 93 In planting and dressing the Vines. 1821 Dwight Trav. II. 343 Lands, dressed with gypsum. 1843 Jrnl. R. Agric. Soc. IV. i. 22 The leaves are allowed to rot and dress the ground. 1881 Whitehead Hops 8 Sets are cut in the early spring.. when the plants are dressed. |
| fig. 1651 Hobbes Leviath. i. xi. 51 This seed of Religion..to nourish, dresse, and forme it into Lawes. a 1708 Beveridge Priv. Th. ii. (1730) 72 St. Paul, who had planted a Church..left him to dress and propagate it. |
† d. To train or break in (a horse or other animal).
Obs.| c 1400 Destr. Troy 6207 Two dromoudarys drowe hit, dressit þerfore. 1593 Shakes. Rich. II, v. v. 80 That horse, that I so carefully haue drest. a 1639 Wotton in Reliq. Wotton. 157 The great horse whom already dressed, no man can more skilfully manage, or better break if rough and furious. 1771 R. Berenger Hist. Horsem. I. 169 They all having been carefully handled, dressed, or maneged. |
e. To groom or curry (a horse).
| 1530 Palsgr. 528/2 Hosteller, dresse my horse well, and thou shalte have a penny. 1614 Markham Cheap Husb. (1623) 61 Dress your horse twice a day, when hee rests, and once when he travels. 1789 Mrs. Piozzi Journ. France I. 7 The gentlemen have commonly a good horse under them, but certainly a dressed one. 1870 D. P. Blaine Encycl. Rur. Sports 304 It is not only to remove dirt and to make the coat shine that we dress horses, but..to ensure their health. |
f. To prepare and finish, as leather; to curry.
| 1511–12 Act 3 Hen. VIII, c. 10 Preamb., Whiche Ledder..the same persones corye and dresse in theyr owne houses. 1607 Topsell Four-f. Beasts (1658) 113 The skins of Dogs are dressed for Gloves, and close Boots. 1791 Boswell Johnson (1831) III. 352, I observed them..dressing sheep⁓skins. 1837 Whittock Bk. Trades (1842) 173 In dressing leather..the first operation on the skins is steeping them until they are thoroughly wetted. |
g. To finish (textile fabrics), so as to give them a nap, smooth surface, or gloss.
| 1513–14 Act 5 Hen. VIII, c. 3 Preamb., Marchauntes should be bounden to dresse every white Cloth..on this side the See after they have bought theym. 1530 Palsgr. 528/2, I dresse an olde garment, I rayse the woll of it to make it seme newe agayne. 1570 Levins Manip. 84/33 To Dresse cloth, concinnare. 1879 Cassell's Techn. Educ. IV. 235/2 The white cloths..sent to Holland to be dyed and dressed. |
h. To cleanse (corn) from chaff and the like.
| 1635 Quarles Embl. ii. x. (1718) 90 Teach me the skill To dress and chuse the corn, take those the chaff that will. 1710 Prideaux Orig. Tithes ii. 76 Corn Threshed, Winnowed, and Dressed. 1732 Acc. Workhouses 79 Their bread is wheat dressed down. 1851 Offic. Catal. Gt. Exhib. I. 371 A machine for dressing grain, being an improved winnowing machine. |
i. To prepare (ore) for smelting by the removal of the non-metallic portion.
| 1753 Chambers Cycl. Supp., Dressing of ores; the preparing of them as they come rough from the mine, for the working by fire. 1851 Offic. Catal. Gt. Exhib. I. 161 Apparatus used for dressing the inferior copper ores..for dressing the poorer portion of the mineral from the tye. |
j. Type-founding. To finish (types or lines of type) after casting, by grooving and smoothing them and adjusting their height and alignment.
| 1683 Moxon Mech. Exerc., Printing xxi. ¶ 2 This pair of Dressing-sticks will serve to Dress Brevier, Long-Primmer, and Pica. 1839 W. Nichol in T. C. Hansard Print. & Type-founding 231 The letters are then set up in a long stick, and again dressed. 1888 Encycl. Brit. XXIII. 699/2 The types are then dressed and the picker takes them in hand. |
k. intr. To weigh (a specified amount) on removal of the skin and offal.
| 1872 J. G. Bourke Jrnl. 25 Nov. (MS.), A black tailed deer which dressed about..200 lbs. 1895 Daily News 12 Sept. 5/5 The sheep..should dress about 75 lbs. each. |
II. To direct.
† 14. a. trans. To make straight the course of (a person or thing); to turn or send in some given direction; to direct, guide. (
lit. and
fig.)
Obs.| a 1325 Prose Psalter xxiv. [xxv.] 5 Dresce me, Lord, in thy sothenesse. c 1374 Chaucer Boeth. iv. pr. vi. 110 (Camb. MS.) God hym self..ordeynyþ and dressyþ alle þinges to goode. 1382 Wyclif Num. xxiv. 1 He..dressynge his chere aȝens the deseert..sawȝ Irael in the tentis dwellynge. c 1500 Melusine vi. 30 Yf you knowe not the way wel I shall dresse you to it. 1591 Florio 2nd Fruites 75, I had beene wisely drest, if I had playd that Knight. |
| refl. 1556 Aurelio & Isab. (1608) H iij, All her entreprises..dressethe them all unto the dishoneste parte. |
† b. To reach or hold forth; to offer.
Obs.| 1382 Wyclif Matt. vii. 9 Who of ȝou is a man, whom ȝif his sone axe breed, wher he shal dresse to hym [1388 take hym] a stoon? ― Luke xxiv. 30 He took bred, and blesside, and brac, and dresside to hem. c 1430 Lydg. Min. Poems (Percy Soc.) 9 Thes ladies gan her gyftes dresse. |
† 15. refl. and intr. To direct one's course; to betake oneself, repair; to proceed, move, go.
Obs.| 13.. Gaw. & Gr. Knt. 1415 Þe douthe dressed to þe wod. c 1386 Chaucer Clerk's T. 951 To Grisilde agayn wol I me dresse. 1470–85 Malory Arthur iv. xxviii, They dressyd to gyders and eyther gaf other suche strokes. 1500–20 Dunbar Poems lxxiii. 10 Dress fro desert, draw to thy dwelling-place. 1513 Douglas æneis x. x. 18 Syne baldly..Agane Eneas can Tarquytus dres. 1572 Forrest Theophilus 1064 in Anglia VII, Unto the busshoppe he dreste him forth. |
† 16. trans. To direct (spoken words or a written message)
to any one; to
address.
Obs.| c 1430 Lydg. Min. Poems (Percy Soc.) 242 (Mätz.) Hir suster..gan unto me dresse A wooful bille. c 1449 Pecock Repr. Prol. 2 These same wordis..bi Seint Poul dressid to Thimothe..mowe weel ynow be..dressid ferthir to ech lay persoon. c 1500 Melusine ix. 38 A knyght..dressed hys wordes toward her, & said [etc.]. 1664 Floddan F. ii. 17 His Letters fast he forth did dress. |
▪ II. dress, n. (
drɛs)
[f. prec. vb.] † 1. The act of dressing.
Obs. † a. A setting ‘to rights’; redress.
| 1565 in Tytler Hist. Scot. (1864) III. 404 The Earls..haue received their dress, and so are in quiet. |
† b. Conduct (
lit. and
fig.).
| a 1572 Knox Hist. Ref. Wks. 1846 I. 434 To enter in the dresse of suche affaris. 1583 Satir. Poems Reform. xlv. 756 Daylie we may se his dress, When Monseir gaid vnto his mess. |
† c. The act or fact of attiring or arraying oneself,
esp. ornamentally.
| 1739 G. Ogle Gualth. & Gris. 107 Be ever on the Dress, and on the Rove. 1778 F. Burney Evelina lxxii, She and Mrs. Selwyn were gone up stairs to finish their dress. |
2. a. Personal attire or apparel:
orig. that proper to some special rank or order of person, or to some ceremony or function; but, in later use, often merely: Clothing, costume, garb,
esp. that part which is external and serves for adornment as well as for covering.
full dress (or, simply, ‘
dress’): the more elaborate apparel proper to a public ceremony, a dinner, or an evening party.
| 1606 Shakes. Ant. & Cl. ii. iv. 5 Till I shall see you in your Souldiers dresse. 1660 F. Brooke tr. Le Blanc's Trav. 93 The Merchants weare the Turkish dresse. 1693 Hum. & Conv. Town 35 Appeal'd to..in all nice points of Dress. 1748 Richardson Clarissa (J.), Full dress creates dignity, augments consciousness, and keeps at distance an encroacher. 1838 Dickens Nich. Nick. xix, Your black silk frock will be quite dress enough. 1856 Froude Hist. Eng. (1858) I. i. 15 Dress..was then the symbol of rank, prescribed by statute. 1868 Daily News 8 Aug., The male dancers were in every variety of costume..none, of course, in anything approaching to ‘dress’. a 1876 G. Dawson Fr. Mem. (1888) 249 History shows us people in full dress, biography shows them in undress, and diaries show them undressed. |
b. With
a and
pl.: A suit of garments or a single external garment appropriate to some occasion when adornment is required; now
spec. a lady's robe or gown made not merely to clothe but also to adorn.
| 1638 Ford Fancies iii. iii, Your dresses blab your vanities! 1711 Addison Spect. No. 69 ¶4 The single Dress of a Woman of Quality is often the Product of a hundred Climates. 1773 Goldsm. Stoops to Conq. ii. i, Changing our travelling dresses in the morning. a 1821 Keats Sonn. ‘Keen fitful gusts’, Lovely Laura in her light green dress. 1857 Ruskin Pol. Econ. Art i. (1868) 74 No good historical painting..can exist, where the dresses of the people of the time are not beautiful. Mod. She has had a new silk dress for the occasion. |
c. transf. An external covering and adornment, as the plumage of birds.
d. fig. The outward form under which anything is presented.
| 1618 Chapman Hesiod ii. 412 All the trim and dress Of those still-roaring-noise-resounding seas. 1661 Boyle Style of Script. (1675) 164 Eloquence, the dress of our thoughts. 1713 Derham Phys. Theol. iv. xii. (R.), Feathers are as commodious a dress to such as fly in the air, to birds, and some insects. 1797 Monthly Mag. III. 147 L'Histoire secrette de la Revolution, which work will speedily appear in an English dress. 1871 Darwin Desc. Man ii. xvi. (1888) 492 The adults [birds] in their winter dress. |
3. Technical senses.
† a. Dressing of a wound, etc.
Obs.| 1684 tr. Bonet's Merc. Compit. iii. 76 In about six weeks from the first dress the Skull scaled. 1780 Cowper Progr. Err. 299 Her form with dress and lotion they repair. |
† b. Arch. = dressing vbl. n. 4 e.
Obs.| 1726 Leoni Alberti's Archit. II. 62/2 The Arches must stand quite clear above the water: their dress may be taken from the Ionic or..the Doric Architrave. Ibid. 68/1 One principal door with all the dress of the door of a Temple. |
c. The arrangement of the furrows upon the surface of a millstone.
| 1870 Eng. Mech. 11 Feb. 535/1 Care must be taken to put the dress [of millstones] in the right way. |
d. Finish put upon anything to improve or set off its appearance;
e.g. the stiffening of a fabric with starch, glue, size, or the like.
| 1883 R. Haldane Workshop Receipts Ser. ii. 122 Boil or soak [the canvas] for an hour or so in a solution of soda and water to get out the ‘dress’. |
4. attrib. and
Comb. a. Of, for, or pertaining to apparel, or to a woman's dress, as
dress allowance,
dress-case,
dress-chamber,
dress-cutting,
dress designer,
dress-designing,
dress-goods,
dress-gown,
dress-pattern,
dress-protector,
dress shop,
dress show,
dress-silk,
dress-skirt,
dress-stand, etc.;
dress agency, an agency, shop, etc., that buys clothes privately and resells them;
dress-basket, a travelling case for a woman's dresses;
dress-conscious a., designating a person who is sensitive and particular about clothes;
dress-form chiefly
U.S. (see
quot. 1909);
dress-guard, an appliance fixed to a vehicle or cycle to prevent injury to dress from the wheels;
dress house (now
rare),
= brothel n. 3;
dress-improver, a pad, cushion, etc. at one time worn by women, to make the skirt stick out at the back;
= bustle n.2;
dress length, a piece of material sufficient to make a dress;
dress-parade,
dress parade, a display of clothes by mannequins (see also sense 4 b); also
fig.;
dress-preserver, (
a)
= dress-shield; (
b) ‘a leather-covered iron frame extending from the step of a carriage upward over the rim of the wheel, designed to prevent mud or water from being thrown into the carriage’ (
Cent. Dict. Suppl. 1909);
dress reform, a movement to make dress more practical; so
dress-reformer;
dress rehearsal, a rehearsal of a play in costume,
esp. the final rehearsal before the first public performance; also
transf. and
fig.; (
cf. quot. 1793
s.v. dressed ppl. a.);
dress sense (see
sense n.);
dress-shield, a piece of waterproof or other material fastened under the arms of a woman's bodice to protect it from perspiration;
dress-weight, (
a) a small lead weight placed in the hem of a dress, etc.; (
b) cloth of a weight suitable for making into dresses.
b. Characterized by, or pertaining to, ‘full dress’, as
† dress-box;
dress-ball,
dress-boots,
dress-coat (whence
dress-coated adj.),
dress cane,
dress cloak,
dress-clothes,
dress-dinner,
dress-glove,
dress-party,
dress-pumps,
dress-shirt,
dress-shoes,
dress-suit,
dress-sword,
dress-uniform, etc.;
dress-carriage, a carriage reserved for state or semi-state occasions;
dress-circle, a circular row of seats in a place of entertainment, the spectators in which were originally expected to be in dress-clothes; in a theatre, usually the gallery next above the floor;
dress-parade,
dress parade Mil., a formal parade in which officers and men wear dress-uniforms; also
fig.; (see also sense 4 a above). See also
dress-maker, etc.
| 1931 W. Holtby Poor Caroline iii. 76 She inspected the garments for sale in a Court *Dress Agency, wondering who wanted to buy tarnished tinsel slippers, and stained georgette frocks. 1965 R. Ferguson Woman with Secret ix. 59 A Belgian woman who ran a dress agency. |
| 1907 A. Bennett Grim Smile of Five Towns 83 A woman who had a generous *dress allowance. 1967 Guardian 16 Oct. 4/3 A girl..who used two years' dress allowance to buy a pony. |
| 1806–7 J. Beresford Miseries Hum. Life (1826) xiv. xliii, A *Dress-ball—alias a public parade of finery, dullness, and etiquette. |
| 1894 Country Gentlemen's Catal. 152 Solid leather portmanteaux, ladies' *dress baskets. 1911 ‘K. Mansfield’ German Pension 43 A dress-basket neatly covered in a black tarpaulin. |
| 1812 Dramatic Censor for 1811 Feb. 99/1 The space now alloted to the basket to be one entire anti-room to the *dress-boxes. 1849 Dickens Dav. Copp. xxiv. 383 We resolved to go downstairs to the dress-boxes. |
| 1836 ― Sk. Boz I. 303 George..carried a *dress cane. |
| 1897 Daily News 8 Feb. 5/4 Many of these are what one might call semi-state carriages, but are known as *Dress Carriages. |
| 1897 Westm. Gaz. 9 Dec. 3/2 The travelling ‘*dress-case’ that combines dressing-bag and trunk. 1899 Ibid. 3 Aug. 3/2 These..low broad dress-cases, that, if necessary, can go under a railway carriage seat. |
| 1825 News 30 Jan. 36/1 In the *dress circle there was not one lady. 1845 Mrs. Carlyle Lett. I. 341, I kept my seat in the dress circle. |
| 1885 E. Sheridan Let. 10 July in Jrnl. (1960) ii. 62 She was examining my *dress cloak and ask'd whether I thought it fit to dance in. 1890 C. M. Yonge More Bywords 161 She ran to fetch her dress cloak for Jane. |
| 1814 C. S. M. Bury Diary 21 May (1838) I. 312 All the gentlemen..looked beautiful in their *dress clothes. 1831 J. Porter Sir E. Seaward's Narr. II. 201 That our dress-clothes should be brought home in time. 1929 Wodehouse Mr. Mulliner Speaking 258 He was prepared to stand or fall by his dress-clothes. 1959 N. Mailer Advts. for Myself (1961) 117 He was changing into his dress clothes by the time I followed him to the dormitory. |
| 1767 J. Habersham Lett. (1904) 61, I want a *dress Coat. 1819 M. Wilmot Let. 17 Dec. (1935) 40 Servants dress'd in rich embroidered dress coats. 1858 Hawthorne Fr. & It. Jrnls. II. 138 Dress-coats, and such elegant formalities. |
| 1836–9 Dickens Sk. Boz, New Year, As if we were duly *dress-coated and pumped. |
| 1918 ‘Alpha of the Plough’ Leaves in Wind 146 He is as *dress-conscious as a milliner. 1958 Spectator 31 Jan. 130/3 Why is the bowler hat regarded by one whole class of very dress-conscious young men as untouchable? |
| 1889 Daily News 18 July 3/5 Mr. J. C. Horsley, R.A., afterwards addressed the students on *dress-cutting. |
| 1901 Westm. Gaz. 12 June 3/2 The tendency of the *dress designer is just now to study old pictures and prints. |
| 1903 Ibid. 31 Dec. 3/1 *Dress-designing was never in a more advanced stage of development than now. |
| 1856 Emerson Eng. Traits, Manners Wks. (Bohn) II. 51 The *dress-dinner generates a talent of table-talk. |
| 1893 T. Eaton & Co. Catal. Spring & Summer 97/2 Hall's patent *dress forms. 1909 Cent. Dict. Suppl., Dress-form, a frame, sometimes of wire, in the form of a woman, used in making dresses. 1916 L. I. Baldt Clothing for Women viii. 162 For the purpose of designing, it will be necessary to have a dress form, on which a close-fitting lining previously fitted to the person for whom the garments are to be designed, has been placed. |
| 1836 Dickens Sk. Boz II. 274 A strange chaos of *dress-gloves, boxing-gloves, caricatures, albums. |
| 1818 Scott Hrt. Midl. xxxvii, Damage..to *dress-gowns, in consequence of its [a spaniel's] untimely frolics. |
| 1895 Westm. Gaz. 3 Sept. 8/1 [A] skirt..short enough to clear cranks and pedals when the cyclist is seated, and make *dress-guards unnecessary. |
| 1823 *Dress-house [see accommodation house]. 1870 W. Acton Prostitution (ed. 2) ii. 9 The description of brothels called dress houses was much more prevalent a few years ago than..at present. Ibid. 13 The keepers of the old dress houses were mostly females of extreme avarice. |
| 1872 Young Englishwoman Oct. 548 (caption) Horsehair *dress improver. 1884 G. Moore Mummer's Wife (1887) 228 The skirts swung on the dress-improvers. |
| 1873 Young Englishwoman Apr. 202/1 A *dress length of 8 metres of the best quality costs 58 francs. 1889 Young Ladies' Jrnl. 1 Jan. 21/1 (Advt.), A full dress-length of beautiful cloth. 1907 Daily Chron. 16 May 5/7 The wife of a native chief who was given a dress length by Lord Kitchener. |
| 1847 Army Regulations (U.S.) 91 All company-officers and men will be present at *dress-parades. 1870 L. M. Alcott Old-Fashioned Girl xvi. 271 The dress-parade is over, and I'm ever so much obliged to you..for..showing me how to make the best of things. 1873 Holland A. Bonnic. xiii. 210 A sort of dress parade of mediocrity. 1948 S. Gilbert tr. Camus's Plague ii. vi. 116 Daily, round about eleven, you see a sort of dress parade of youths and girls. 1960 Times 14 Sept. 12/6 We were..bundled off to a dress parade, my wife agog for the latest fashions... However, we found ourselves deposited in front of the local military academy just in time for their annual inspection. |
| 1825 H. Wilson Mem. III. 386 He is going to the Duke of Devonshire's *dress party. |
| 1844 Lexington (Ky.) Observer 25 Sept. 1/3 Just received..striped Chusans, in *dress patterns. 1895 Chicago Tribune 6 Apr. 1 An Eton dress pattern for 10 cents is displayed on page 16. |
| 1907 Yesterday's Shopping (1969) 840/2 *Dress Preservers. 1931 J. Cannan High Table xvii. 251 Mrs. Logan, already so hot that she couldn't think why dress preservers had gone out of fashion. 1951 M. Kennedy Lucy Carmichael i. v. 35 Have you sewed in dress preservers?.. You know how you perspire. |
| 1864 Rep. Comm. Pat. 1862 (U.S.) I. 506 *Dress protector... This article is intended for the use of infants, to protect their clothes and the dresses of their nurses. 1897 H. G. Wells Plattner Story 241 Little purchases:..dress-protectors, tape, and a pair of Lisle hose. |
| 1876 N.Y. Tribune 28 Sept., No man can involuntarily throw one leg over the other without a shortening of what the recent *Dress Reform convention calls the garmenture. 1889 Kansas Times & Star 16 Mar., Anna Jenness Miller's dress reform disciples now number about 400 here. |
| Ibid. 7 Mar., Mrs. Jenness Miller, *dress reformer, is back in New York from her Western lecture tour. |
| 1828 J. Ebers 7 Yrs. of King's Theatre iv. 81 On the preceding evening, a *dress rehearsal was given. 1854 A. C. Mowatt Autobiogr. of Actress 134 The night before that on which the play was to take place we had a dress rehearsal. 1897 Encycl. Sport I. 563/2 After several undress and dress rehearsals the master may venture to ask a field to meet him. 1917 Strand Mag. Dec. 538/1 If you'll have one dress rehearsal, I'll promise to leave you in peace for the duration of the war. 1925 Surv. Internat. Affairs 1920–23 i. 46 The work of the Brussels Conference..served as a ‘dress rehearsal’ for the First Session of the Assembly of the League of Nations. 1963 Times 24 May 5/1 Green's play had a slightly dress-rehearsal look about it. |
| 1926 E. Glyn Love's Blindness iii. 37 She had, naturally, that *dress sense,—that perception of chic. 1943 G. Battiscombe C. M. Yonge viii. 101 Most women..have some rudimentary feeling for dress, but Charlotte was born without dress-sense. |
| 1884 Queen 9 Feb. (Advt.), You have just ruined that new dress under the arms because you did not have a Canfield *Dress Shield. 1890 Ladies' Home Jrnl. June 18/4 The Canfield Seamless Dress Shield. 1905 Daily News 26 Sept. 5/1 Sewn on the inside of the bodice were two rubber dress-shields. |
| 1892 Harper's Mag. Dec. 159 Maybe it's a *dress-shirt shield. |
| 1806 in Doc. Hist. Amer. Industr. Soc. III. 73, I had not long worked for him before I got on to light *dress-shoes. 1828 J. Ebers 7 Yrs. of King's Theatre 294 Drab pantaloons..and dress shoes. |
| 1930 E. Waugh Labels vii. 171 The *dress shops..were advertising their end of the season sales. 1971 C. Whitman Death Suspended v. 94 Neville was in advertising and Isobel ran a dress shop. |
| 1930 London Mercury Feb. 320 They had had to cancel two fittings and three *dress shows. 1965 A. Christie At Bertram's Hotel xii. 113 The idea of patronising a dress show of any kind would not even have occurred to her. |
| 1904 M. Corelli God's Good Man 337 She had a figure which was the envy of all modellers of *dress stands. 1912 Cassell's Penny Bk. Dressmaking 6/1 The Dress-Stand.—There is one accessory which all home dress-makers should endeavour to procure, i.e. a padded dress-stand... Adjustable models..are obtainable that will screw and unscrew, upon which garments may be fitted for various figures. |
| 1806–7 J. Beresford Miseries Hum. Life (1826) xx. xlviii, A *dress-suit of clothes for a grand occasion. |
| 1833 R. Dyer 9 Yrs. of Actor's Life vii. 112 Presenting me with a *dress sword, with an inscription expressive of their regard. 1894 C. N. Robinson Brit. Fleet 509 Physicians and secretaries wore a dress sword with rapier blade. |
| 1899 in A. Adburgham Shops & Shopping (1964) xxii. 261 *Dress weights. 1939–40 Army & Navy Stores Catal. 637/2 An all wool dress weight fabric. 1950 H. McCloy Through Glass Darkly (1951) iii. 25 The lead dress-weights our grandmothers wore in the hems of their long skirts. 1959 Times 12 Jan. 11/5 Range of Terylene and cotton mixtures..used at present for lingerie..and dress-weights. |
▸
dress code n. an accepted or prevailing style of dress; (in later use) a set of rules or guidelines specifying the approved manner of dress at a school, place of work, social occasion, etc.
| 1889 Overland Monthly Apr. 443/1 A good many women have discarded the deforming compressions and dragging weights of the Parisian *dress code. 1961 NEA Jrnl. Sept. 57/1 Edison High School is by no means alone in suspending students who refuse to conform to the school's dress code. 1985 P. L. Cuyler Sumo 143 Outside the sumo hall, the dress code varies from stable to stable. 2001 Independent 6 Aug. i. 3/1 In a move to make the ‘builder's bum’ and unsightly beer bellies a distant memory, the contractor Amec had issued its staff..with a strict dress code. |