Dress (dr&ebreve;s), v. t.
[imp. & p. p. Dressed (dr&ebreve;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 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.
&fist; 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
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.
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,
Right, dress!
2. To clothe or apparel one's self; to put on
one's garments; to pay particular regard to dress; as, to
dress quickly. "To dress for a ball."
Latham.
To flaunt, to dress, to dance, to
thrum.
Tennyson.
To dress to the right, To dress to the
left, To dress on the center
(Mil.), to form alignment with reference to the soldier on
the extreme right, or in the center, of the rank, who serves as a
guide.
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.
2. A lady's gown; as, silk or a velvet
dress.
3. Attention to apparel, or skill in
adjusting it.
Men of pleasure, dress, and
gallantry.
Pope.
4. (Milling) The system of furrows on
the face of a millstone. Knight.
Dress circle. See under Circle.
-- Dress parade (Mil.), a parade in full
uniform for review.
