[dres] Pronunciation Key noun, adjective, verb, dressed or drest, dress·ing. | 1. | an outer garment for women and girls, consisting of bodice and skirt in one piece. |
| 2. | clothing; apparel; garb: The dress of the 18th century was colorful. |
| 3. | formal attire. |
| 4. | a particular form of appearance; guise. |
| 5. | outer covering, as the plumage of birds. |
| 6. | of or for a dress or dresses. |
| 7. | of or for a formal occasion. |
| 8. | requiring formal dress. |
| 9. | to put clothing upon. |
| 10. | to put formal or evening clothes on. |
| 11. | to trim; ornament; adorn: to dress a store window; to dress a Christmas tree. |
| 12. | to design clothing for or sell clothes to. |
| 13. | to comb out and do up (hair). |
| 14. | to cut up, trim, and remove the skin, feathers, viscera, etc., from (an animal, meat, fowl, or flesh of a fowl) for market or for cooking (often fol. by out when referring to a large animal): We dressed three chickens for the dinner. He dressed out the deer when he got back to camp. |
| 15. | to prepare (skins, fabrics, timber, stone, ore, etc.) by special processes. |
| 16. | to apply medication or a dressing to (a wound or sore). |
| 17. | to make straight; bring (troops) into line: to dress ranks. |
| 18. | to make (stone, wood, or other building material) smooth. |
| 19. | to cultivate (land, fields, etc.). |
| 20. | Theater. to arrange (a stage) by effective placement of properties, scenery, actors, etc. |
| 21. | to ornament (a vessel) with ensigns, house flags, code flags, etc.: The bark was dressed with masthead flags only. |
| 22. | Angling.
|
| 23. | Printing. to fit (furniture) around and between pages in a chase prior to locking it up. |
| 24. | to supply with accessories, optional features, etc.: to have one's new car fully dressed. |
| 25. | to clothe or attire oneself; put on one's clothes: Wake up and dress, now! |
| 26. | to put on or wear formal or fancy clothes: to dress for dinner. |
| 27. | to come into line, as troops. |
| 28. | to align oneself with the next soldier, marcher, dancer, etc., in line. |
| 29. | dress down,
|
| 30. | dress up,
|
| 31. | dress ship,
|
] Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
| dress
(drěs) Pronunciation Key
v. dressed, dress·ing, dress·es v. tr.
v. intr.
n.
adj.
Phrasal Verb(s): dress down
To wear formal or fancy clothes: They dressed up and went to the prom. Idiom(s): dress ship Nautical To display the ensign, signal flags, and bunting on a ship. [Middle English dressen, to arrange, put on clothing, from Old French drecier, to arrange, from Vulgar Latin *dīrēctiāre, from Latin dīrēctus, past participle of dīrigere, to direct; see direct.] Word History: A dress is such a common article of modern attire that it is difficult to imagine that the word dress has not always referred to this garment. The earliest noun sense of dress, recorded in a work written before 1450, was "speech, talk." This dress comes from the verb dress, which goes back through Old French drecier, "to arrange," and the assumed Vulgar Latin *dīrēctiāre to Latin dīrēctus, a form of the verb dīrigere, "to direct." In accordance with its etymology, the verb dress has meant and still means "to place," "to arrange," and "to put in order." The sense "to clothe" is related to the notion of putting in order, specifically in regard to clothing. This verb sense then gave rise to the noun sense "personal attire" as well as to the specific garment sense. The earliest noun sense, "speech," comes from a verb sense having to do with addressing or directing words to other people. |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
dress (v.)
"One of those fine old dressy things, who thinks to conceal her age, by everywhere exposing her person" [Goldsmith, 1768].
dress (n.)
| dress | |
adjective | |
| 1. | suitable for formal occasions; "formal wear"; "a full-dress uniform"; "dress shoes" [syn: full-dress] |
| 2. | (of an occasion) requiring formal clothes; "a dress dinner"; "a full-dress ceremony" |
noun | |
| 1. | a one-piece garment for a woman; has skirt and bodice |
| 2. | clothing of a distinctive style or for a particular occasion; "formal attire"; "battle dress" [syn: attire] |
| 3. | clothing in general; "she was refined in her choice of apparel"; "he always bought his clothes at the same store"; "fastidious about his dress" [syn: apparel] |
verb | |
| 1. | put on clothes; "we had to dress quickly"; "dress the patient"; "Can the child dress by herself?" [ant: discase] |
| 2. | provide with clothes or put clothes on; "Parents must feed and dress their child" [ant: discase] |
| 3. | put a finish on; "dress the surface smooth" |
| 4. | dress in a certain manner; "She dresses in the latest Paris fashion"; "he dressed up in a suit and tie" |
| 5. | dress or groom with elaborate care; "She likes to dress when going to the opera" [syn: preen] |
| 6. | kill and prepare for market or consumption; "dress a turkey" |
| 7. | arrange in ranks; "dress troops" |
| 8. | decorate (food), as with parsley or other ornamental foods [syn: trim] |
| 9. | provide with decoration; "dress the windows" |
| 10. | put a dressing on; "dress the salads" |
| 11. | cultivate, tend, and cut back the growth of; "dress the plants in the garden" [syn: snip] |
| 12. | cut down rough-hewn (lumber) to standard thickness and width |
| 13. | convert into leather; "dress the tanned skins" |
| 14. | apply a bandage or medication to; "dress the victim's wounds" |
| 15. | give a neat appearance to; "groom the dogs"; "dress the horses" |
| 16. | arrange attractively; "dress my hair for the wedding" |
dress (drěs)
v. dressed, dress·ing, dress·es
To apply medication, bandages, or other therapeutic materials to an area of the body such as a wound.
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Main Entry: dress
Pronunciation: 'dres
Function: verb
: to apply dressings or medicaments to
Dress
Ad*dress"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Addressed; p. pr. & vb. n. Addressing.] [OE. adressen to raise erect, adorn, OF. adrecier, to straighten, address, F. adresser, fr. [`a] (L. ad) + OF. drecier, F. dresser, to straighten, arrange. See Dress, v.]1. To aim; to direct. [Obs.] --Chaucer. And this good knight his way with me addrest. --Spenser. 2. To prepare or make ready. [Obs.] His foe was soon addressed. --Spenser. Turnus addressed his men to single fight. --Dryden. The five foolish virgins addressed themselves at the noise of the bridegroom's coming. --Jer. Taylor. 3. Reflexively: To prepare one's self; to apply one's skill or energies (to some object); to betake. These men addressed themselves to the task. --Macaulay. 4. To clothe or array; to dress. [Archaic] Tecla . . . addressed herself in man's apparel. --Jewel. 5. To direct, as words (to any one or any thing); to make, as a speech, petition, etc. (to any one, an audience). The young hero had addressed his players to him for his assistance. --Dryden. 6. To direct speech to; to make a communication to, whether spoken or written; to apply to by words, as by a speech, petition, etc., to speak to; to accost. Are not your orders to address the senate? --Addison. The representatives of the nation addressed the king. --Swift. 7. To direct in writing, as a letter; to superscribe, or to direct and transmit; as, he addressed a letter. 8. To make suit to as a lover; to court; to woo. 9. (Com.) To consign or intrust to the care of another, as agent or factor; as, the ship was addressed to a merchant in Baltimore. To address one's self to. (a) To prepare one's self for; to apply one's self to. (b) To direct one's speech or discourse to.
Dress
Di*rect"\, a. [L. directus, p. p. of dirigere to direct: cf. F. direct. See Dress, and cf. Dirge.]1. Straight; not crooked, oblique, or circuitous; leading by the short or shortest way to a point or end; as, a direct line; direct means. What is direct to, what slides by, the question. --Locke. 2. Straightforward; not of crooked ways, or swerving from truth and openness; sincere; outspoken. Be even and direct with me. --Shak. 3. Immediate; express; plain; unambiguous. He nowhere, that I know, says it in direct words. --Locke. A direct and avowed interference with elections. --Hallam. 4. In the line of descent; not collateral; as, a descendant in the direct line. 5. (Astron.) In the direction of the general planetary motion, or from west to east; in the order of the signs; not retrograde; -- said of the motion of a celestial body. Direct action. (Mach.) See Direct-acting. Direct discourse (Gram.), the language of any one quoted without change in its form; as, he said "I can not come;" -- correlative to indirect discourse, in which there is change of form; as, he said that he could not come. They are often called respectively by their Latin names, oratio directa, and oratio obliqua. Direct evidence (Law), evidence which is positive or not inferential; -- opposed to circumstantial, or indirect, evidence. -- This distinction, however, is merely formal, since there is no direct evidence that is not circumstantial, or dependent on circumstances for its credibility. --Wharton. Direct examination (Law), the first examination of a witness in the orderly course, upon the merits. --Abbott. Direct fire (Mil.), fire, the direction of which is perpendicular to the line of troops or to the parapet aimed at. Direct process (Metal.), one which yields metal in working condition by a single process from the ore. --Knight. Direct tax, a tax assessed directly on lands, etc., and polls, distinguished from taxes on merchandise, or customs, and from excise.
Dress
Dress\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Dressedor Drest; p. pr. & vb. n. Dressing.] [OF. drecier to make straight, raise, set up, prepare, arrange, F. dresser. (assumed) LL. directiare, fr. L. dirigere, directum, to direct; dis- + regere to rule. See Right, and cf. Address, Adroit, Direct, Dirge.]1. To direct; to put right or straight; to regulate; to order. [Obs.] At all times thou shalt bless God and pray Him to dress thy ways. --Chaucer. Note: Dress is used reflexively in Old English, in sense of "to direct one's step; to address one's self." To Grisild again will I me dresse. --Chaucer. 2. (Mil.) To arrange in exact continuity of line, as soldiers; commonly to adjust to a straight line and at proper distance; to align; as, to dress the ranks. 3. (Med.) To treat methodically with remedies, bandages, or curative appliances, as a sore, an ulcer, a wound, or a wounded or diseased part. 4. To adjust; to put in good order; to arrange; specifically: (a) To prepare for use; to fit for any use; to render suitable for an intended purpose; to get ready; as, to dress a slain animal; to dress meat; to dress leather or cloth; to dress or trim a lamp; to dress a garden; to dress a horse, by currying and rubbing; to dress grain, by cleansing it; in mining and metallurgy, to dress ores, by sorting and separating them. And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it. --Gen. ii. 15. When he dresseth the lamps he shall burn incense. --Ex. xxx. 7. Three hundred horses . . . smoothly dressed. --Dryden. Dressing their hair with the white sea flower. --Tennyson. If he felt obliged to expostulate, he might have dressed his censures in a kinder form. --Carlyle. (b) To cut to proper dimensions, or give proper shape to, as to a tool by hammering; also, to smooth or finish. (c) To put in proper condition by appareling, as the body; to put clothes upon; to apparel; to invest with garments or rich decorations; to clothe; to deck. Dressed myself in such humility. -- Shak. Prove that ever Idress myself handsome till thy return. --Shak. (d) To break and train for use, as a horse or other animal. To dress up or out, to dress elaborately, artificially, or pompously. "You see very often a king of England or France dressed up like a Julius C[ae]sar." --Addison. To dress a ship (Naut.), to ornament her by hoisting the national colors at the peak and mastheads, and setting the jack forward; when dressed full, the signal flags and pennants are added. --Ham. Nav. Encyc. Syn: To attire; apparel; clothe; accouter; array; robe; rig; trim; deck; adorn; embellish.
Dress
(1.) Materials used. The earliest and simplest an apron of fig-leaves sewed together (Gen. 3:7); then skins of animals (3:21). Elijah's dress was probably the skin of a sheep (2 Kings 1:8). The Hebrews were early acquainted with the art of weaving hair into cloth (Ex. 26:7; 35:6), which formed the sackcloth of mourners. This was the material of John the Baptist's robe (Matt. 3:4). Wool was also woven into garments (Lev. 13:47; Deut. 22:11; Ezek. 34:3; Job 31:20; Prov. 27:26). The Israelites probably learned the art of weaving linen when they were in Egypt (1 Chr. 4:21). Fine linen was used in the vestments of the high priest (Ex. 28:5), as well as by the rich (Gen. 41:42; Prov. 31:22; Luke 16:19). The use of mixed material, as wool and flax, was forbidden (Lev. 19:19; Deut. 22:11). (2.) Colour. The prevailing colour was the natural white of the material used, which was sometimes rendered purer by the fuller's art (Ps. 104:1, 2; Isa. 63:3; Mark 9:3). The Hebrews were acquainted with the art of dyeing (Gen. 37:3, 23). Various modes of ornamentation were adopted in the process of weaving (Ex. 28:6; 26:1, 31; 35:25), and by needle-work (Judg. 5:30; Ps. 45:13). Dyed robes were imported from foreign countries, particularly from Phoenicia (Zeph. 1:8). Purple and scarlet robes were the marks of the wealthy (Luke 16:19; 2 Sam. 1:24). (3.) Form. The robes of men and women were not very much different in form from each other. (a) The "coat" (kethoneth), of wool, cotton, or linen, was worn by both sexes. It was a closely-fitting garment, resembling in use and form our shirt (John 19:23). It was kept close to the body by a girdle (John 21:7). A person wearing this "coat" alone was described as naked (1 Sam. 19:24; Isa. 20:2; 2 Kings 6:30; John 21:7); deprived of it he would be absolutely naked. (b) A linen cloth or wrapper (sadin) of fine linen, used somewhat as a night-shirt (Mark 14:51). It is mentioned in Judg. 14:12, 13, and rendered there "sheets." (c) An upper tunic (meil), longer than the "coat" (1 Sam. 2:19; 24:4; 28:14). In 1 Sam. 28:14 it is the mantle in which Samuel was enveloped; in 1 Sam. 24:4 it is the "robe" under which Saul slept. The disciples were forbidden to wear two "coats" (Matt. 10:10; Luke 9:3). (d) The usual outer garment consisted of a piece of woollen cloth like a Scotch plaid, either wrapped round the body or thrown over the shoulders like a shawl, with the ends hanging down in front, or it might be thrown over the head so as to conceal the face (2 Sam. 15:30; Esther 6:12). It was confined to the waist by a girdle, and the fold formed by the overlapping of the robe served as a pocket (2 Kings 4:39; Ps. 79:12; Hag. 2:12; Prov. 17:23; 21:14). Female dress. The "coat" was common to both sexes (Cant. 5:3). But peculiar to females were (1) the "veil" or "wimple," a kind of shawl (Ruth 3:15; rendered "mantle," R.V., Isa. 3:22); (2) the "mantle," also a species of shawl (Isa. 3:22); (3) a "veil," probably a light summer dress (Gen. 24:65); (4) a "stomacher," a holiday dress (Isa. 3:24). The outer garment terminated in an ample fringe or border, which concealed the feet (Isa. 47:2; Jer. 13:22). The dress of the Persians is described in Dan. 3:21. The reference to the art of sewing are few, inasmuch as the garments generally came forth from the loom ready for being worn, and all that was required in the making of clothes devolved on the women of a family (Prov. 31:22; Acts 9:39). Extravagance in dress is referred to in Jer. 4:30; Ezek. 16:10; Zeph. 1:8 (R.V., "foreign apparel"); 1 Tim. 2:9; 1 Pet. 3:3. Rending the robes was expressive of grief (Gen. 37:29, 34), fear (1 Kings 21:27), indignation (2 Kings 5:7), or despair (Judg. 11:35; Esther 4:1). Shaking the garments, or shaking the dust from off them, was a sign of renunciation (Acts 18:6); wrapping them round the head, of awe (1 Kings 19:13) or grief (2 Sam. 15:30; casting them off, of excitement (Acts 22:23); laying hold of them, of supplication (1 Sam. 15:27). In the case of travelling, the outer garments were girded up (1 Kings 18:46). They were thrown aside also when they would impede action (Mark 10:50; John 13:4; Acts 7:58).
dress
dress: in CancerWEB's On-line Medical Dictionary
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