dress

dress
\ \ [14] Dress originally meant literally ‘put right, put straight’. It comes via Old French dresser from Vulgar Latin *dīrectiāre, a derivative of Latin dīrectusstraight’ (from which English gets direct). Traces of this underlying sense survive in the word’s application to the correct aligning of columns of troops, but its main modern signification, ‘clothe’, comes via a more generalized line of semantic development ‘prepare’ (as in ‘dress a turkey for the oven’), and hence ‘array, equip’. (English address developed in parallel with dress, and comes from the same ultimate source.) Dressersideboard’ [15] was borrowed from Old French dresseur, a derivative of dresser in the sense ‘prepare’.
\ \ Cf.ADDRESS, DIRECT

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

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  • Dress — (dr[e^]s), v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Dressed} (dr[e^]st) 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… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Dress-up — is a game played mainly by children. It involves dressing up, usually to impersonate someone or something, like an animal or character in a fairy tale. The type of clothes they dress up in often resembles who they are trying to be, either adults… …   Wikipedia

  • dress — [dres] vt. dressed or drest, dressing [ME dressen, to make straight, direct < OFr drecier, to set up, arrange < VL * directiare < L directus: see DIRECT] 1. to put clothes on; clothe 2. to provide with clothing 3. to decorate; trim;… …   English World dictionary

  • Dress — Dress, v. i. 1. (Mil.) To arrange one s self in due position in a line of soldiers; the word of command to form alignment in ranks; as, Dress right, dress! [1913 Webster] 2. To clothe or apparel one s self; to put on one s garments; to pay… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Dress-Up — is a game played mainly by girls. It involves dressing up, usually to impersonate someone. The type of clothes they dress up in often resembles who they are trying to be, either adults clothing or special play clothes designed specifically for… …   Wikipedia

  • Dress me Up — Single par Olivia extrait de l’album Synchronicity Face A Dress me Up Face B So Beautiful Sortie 19 avril 2000 …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Dress — Dress, n. 1. That which is used as the covering or ornament of the body; clothes; garments; habit; apparel. In your soldier s dress. Shak. [1913 Webster] 2. A lady s gown; as, silk or a velvet dress. [1913 Webster] 3. Attention to apparel, or… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • dress — ► VERB 1) (also get dressed) put on one s clothes. 2) put clothes on (someone). 3) wear clothes in a particular way or of a particular type: she dresses well. 4) decorate or arrange in an artistic or attractive way. 5) clean, treat, or apply a… …   English terms dictionary

  • dress|er — dress|er1 «DREHS uhr», noun. 1. a person who dresses (himself, another person, a shop window, or a wound): »the dresser for an actress. He…prided himself on being an immaculate dresser (Newsweek). 2. a tool or machine to prepare things for use.… …   Useful english dictionary

  • dress — [n] clothing; woman’s garment accouterment, apparel, attire, attirement, civvies*, costume, covering, drape, dry goods, duds*, ensemble, evening clothes, frock, garb, gear, gown, guise, habiliment, habit, muumuu, outfit, raiment, robe, shift,… …   New thesaurus

  • dress|y — «DREHS ee», adjective, dress|i|er, dress|i|est. Informal. 1. fond of wearing showy clothes: »... especially the gangsters, who were always the dressiest of the lot (Atlantic) …   Useful english dictionary

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