GNU Collaborative International Dictionary of English

last match results

Found 2 definitions

1.       
   Dress , v. t. [imp. & p. p. Dressed  or 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.]
   To direct; to put right or straight; to regulate; to order. [Obs.]
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   At all times thou shalt bless God and pray Him to dress thy ways.
   Chaucer.
   
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   ☞ Dress is used reflexively in Old English, in sense of “to direct one's step; to address one's self.”
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   To Grisild again will I me dresse.
   Chaucer.
   
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   (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.
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   (Med.) To treat methodically with remedies, bandages, or curative appliances, as a sore, an ulcer, a wound, or a wounded or diseased part.
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   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.
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   And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it.
   Gen. ii. 15.
   
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   When he dresseth the lamps he shall burn incense.
   Ex. xxx. 7.
   
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   Three hundred horses . . . smoothly dressed.
   Dryden.
   
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   Dressing their hair with the white sea flower.
   Tennyson
   .
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   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.
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   Dressed myself in such humility.
    Shak.
   
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   Prove that ever Idress myself handsome till thy return.
   Shak.
   (d) To break and train for use, as a horse or other animal.
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   To dress up or To dress out, to dress elaborately, artificially, or pompously. “You see very often a king of England or France dressed up like a Julius Cæsar.” 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.
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2.       
   Dressing, n.
   Dress; raiment; especially, ornamental habiliment or attire.
   B. Jonson.
   
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   (Surg.) An application (a remedy, bandage, etc.) to cover a sore or wound.
   Wiseman.
   
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   Manure or compost over land. When it remains on the surface, it is called a top-dressing.
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   (Cookery) (a) A preparation, such as a sauce, to flavor food for eating; a condiment; as, a dressing for salad. (b) The stuffing of fowls, pigs, etc.; forcemeat.
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   Gum, starch, and the like, used in stiffening or finishing silk, linen, and other fabrics.
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   An ornamental finish, as a molding around doors, windows, or on a ceiling, etc.
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   Castigation; scolding; -- often with down. [Colloq.]
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   Dressing case, a case of toilet utensils. -- Dressing forceps, a variety of forceps, shaped like a pair of scissors, used in dressing wounds. -- Dressing gown, a light gown, such as is used by a person while dressing; a study gown. -- Dressing room, an apartment appropriated for making one's toilet. -- Top-dressing, manure or compost spread over land and not worked into the soil.
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