dresser French · revision 16764

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 1050, Vie de saint Alexis (drecent)|origins=la dīrēctus}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /dʁɛ.se/^(Wiktionary)

+ * IPA: /dʁe.se/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''dresser'''^(Wiktionary)

+ Old French [[m|fro|drecer]], [[m|fro|drecier]].^(DHLF 1992)^(Grand Robert 2005)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|fro|drecier]], [[inh|la-vul|*dīrēctiō|t=to straighten, set upright]],^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Grand Robert 2005)^(FEW|3, 83b)^(Wiktionary) derived from [[m|la|dīrēctus|t=straight]] (see [[direct]] and [[droit]]).^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) The same Latin verb gave [[it|drizzare]], [[m|it|dirizzare]] and [[osp|derezar|t=to direct]].^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Littré 1873)

+

+ The double ⟨s⟩ continues an Old French ⟨c⟩, as in [[caresser]], and its pronunciation long hesitated between a mute ⟨e⟩ and a full vowel before it.^(TLFi) Bloch and Wartburg note a former sense “to dress”, kept in [[en|dress]], Littré records it in Berry and Normandy dialects.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The ''Vie de saint Alexis'' (about 1050) has ''drecent lur sigle'' “they raise their sail”; the ''Chanson de Roland'' has the reflexive ''Franceis se dressent, si se mettent sur piez''.^(TLFi)^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ ''Dresser l'oreille'', said of an animal, meant figuratively “to pay attention” as early as 1179 (''Roman de Renart'').^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) Since vertical posture could express hostility, ''se dresser contre'' “to oppose” appears in 1172–74.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) Until the 17th century ''dresser'' also covered “to direct”, still in La Fontaine's ''dresser ses pas'', and Bloch and Wartburg think this may come from [[adresser]].^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989) Technical uses for making straight and flat (1169) survive in ironing, joinery and gardening.^(DHLF 1992)^(TLFi)

+

+ From “to arrange properly” (about 1200, ''le mangier… drechier'') modern French kept ''dresser la table, le couvert'' and ''dresser'' a document, a list or a report.^(DHLF 1992)^(TLFi) The sense “to break in, train an animal” is in Amyot (mid-16th century), and “to educate, train a person” in Montaigne (1580).^(TLFi)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1050 – “To raise”, ''Vie de saint Alexis''.^(TLFi)

+ * c. 1100 – ''Se drecer'', ''Chanson de Roland''.^(TLFi)

+ * 1169 – “To make straight and flat”, Wace.^(TLFi)

+ * 1172–74 – ''Se dresser contre'', Guernes de Pont-Sainte-Maxence.^(TLFi)

+ * 1179 – ''Drescier l'oreille'', ''Roman de Renart''.^(TLFi)

+ * c. 1200 – “To lay out (a meal)”, ''Aiol''.^(TLFi)

+ * 1285 – [[dressoir]].^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+ * Mid-16th century – “To train an animal”, Amyot.^(TLFi)

+ * 1791 – [[dressage]].^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To raise, hold upright: ''dresser la tête'', ''dresser l'oreille'', to prick up one's ears.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+ # To put up, [[m|en|erect]]: ''dresser une tente''.^(Wiktionary)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ # To set out, lay: ''dresser la table, le couvert''.^(Wiktionary)^(DHLF 1992)

+ # To draw up a document.^(Wiktionary)^(DHLF 1992)

+ # To [[m|en|train]] an animal, break in a horse, ''(familiar)'' to discipline a person.^(Wiktionary)^(TLFi)

+ # ''Dresser quelqu'un contre'': to set someone against.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+ # ''Se dresser'': to stand up, rise; to tower, ''se dresser contre'', to rise up against.^(Wiktionary)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[dressage]]

+ * [[dresseur]]

+ * [[dressoir]]

+ * [[redresser]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[adresser]]

+ * [[droit]]

+ * [[direct]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}