address

address
\ \ [14] Address originally meant ‘straighten’. William Caxton, for example, here uses it for ‘stand up straight’: ‘The first day that he was washed and bathed he addressed him[self] right up in the basin’ Golden Legend 1483. This gives a clue to its ultimate source, Latin dīrectumstraight, direct’. The first two syllables of this seem gradually to have merged together to produce *drictum, which with the addition of the prefix ad- was used to produce the verb *addrictiāre. Of its descendants in modern Romance languages, Italian addirizzare most clearly reveals its source. Old French changed it fairly radically, to adresser, and it was this form which English borrowed. The central current sense of ‘where somebody lives’ developed in the 17th and 18th centuries from the notion of directing something, such as a letter, to somebody.
\ \ Cf.DIRECT

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

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  • Address — may refer to:*A memory address, a unique identifier for a memory location at which a computer can store a piece of data for later retrieval *A network address, the coded representation of the source or destination of a message (e.g. MAC addresses …   Wikipedia

  • address — I noun abode, box number, domicile, dwelling, dwelling place, habitation, headquarters, home, inhabitancy, inscriptio, legal residence, locus, lodging, lodging place, lodgment, place of business, residence, seat, street number associated concepts …   Law dictionary

  • address — vb 1 *direct, devote, apply Analogous words: bend (see CURVE): appeal, pray, sue, plead (see under PRAYER): aim, point, level (see DIRECT) 2 Address, accost, greet, salute, hail mean to speak to or less often to write or make a sign to a person… …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • Address — Ad*dress ([a^]d*dr[e^]s ), v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Addressed} ( dr[e^]st ); 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… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Address — Ad*dress, n. [Cf. F. adresse. See {Address}, v. t.] [1913 Webster] 1. Act of preparing one s self. [Obs.] Jer Taylor. [1913 Webster] 2. Act of addressing one s self to a person; verbal application. [1913 Webster] 3. A formal communication, either …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • address — [n1] place of residence or business where one can be contacted abode, box number, direction, domicile, dwelling, headquarters, home, house, living quarters, location, lodging, number, place of business, place of residence, street, whereabouts,… …   New thesaurus

  • address — [ə dres′; ] for n. 2, 3, & 7, also [ a′dres΄] vt. [ME adressen, to guide, direct < OFr adresser < a , to + dresser < VL * directiare, to direct < L dirigere: see DIRECT] 1. to direct (spoken or written words) to someone 2. to speak to …   English World dictionary

  • Address — Ad*dress ([a^]d*dr[e^]s ), v. i. 1. To prepare one s self. [Obs.] Let us address to tend on Hector s heels. Shak. [1913 Webster] 2. To direct speech. [Obs.] [1913 Webster] Young Turnus to the beauteous maid addrest. Dryden. [1913 Webster] Note:… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • address — ► NOUN 1) the details of the place where someone lives or an organization is situated. 2) Computing a number identifying a location in a data storage system or computer memory. 3) a formal speech. ► VERB 1) write someone s name and address on (an …   English terms dictionary

  • address to — index dedicate Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • address — The location to which the USPS is to deliver or return a mailpiece. It consists of certain elements such as recipient name, street name and house number, and city, state, and ZIP Code as required by the mail class …   Glossary of postal terms

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