GNU Dico
From GNU Collaborative International Dictionary of English, version 0.54:
Dress (drĕs), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Dressed (drĕst) 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.]
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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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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”.
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3. (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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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.”
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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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From GNU Collaborative International Dictionary of English, version 0.54:
Dressing, n.
1. Dress; raiment; especially, ornamental habiliment or attire.
B. Jonson.
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2. (Surg.) An application (a remedy, bandage, etc.) to cover a sore or wound.
Wiseman.
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3. Manure or compost over land. When it remains on the surface, it is called a top-dressing.
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4. (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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5. Gum, starch, and the like, used in stiffening or finishing silk, linen, and other fabrics.
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6. An ornamental finish, as a molding around doors, windows, or on a ceiling, etc.
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7. 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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