dress English · revision 3403

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1300|origins=la regō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /dres/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|dressen]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) [[bor|fro|dresser|t=to arrange, prepare, set up]], earlier drecier,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[la-vul|*dīrēctiāre|t=to make straight]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) from [[la|dīrēctus|t=straight]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) past participle of [[m|la|dīrigere|t=to set straight]], from [[m|la|dis-]] and [[m|la|regere|t=to direct, guide]],^(Etymonline) from [[ine-pro|*reg-|t=to move in a straight line]].^(Etymonline) The noun is from the verb.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) It is related to [[direct]] and [[address]].^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ To make straight; to direct, guide, control: probably before 1300, in ''Arthour and Merlin'',^(Barnhart 1988) and about 1300 in Etymonline, where it also means “to prepare for cooking”.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The original idea was making something straight or putting it right, which survives in the military ''dress ranks'', to align soldiers.^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) To prepare food, a wound, land or stone came from the sense “to make ready”.^(Hoad 1986)^(AHD) “To decorate, adorn” is from 1381,^(Barnhart 1988) and “to put on clothes” from about 1395, in Chaucer.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) The noun meant “a setting to rights” in 1565,^(OED 1989)^(Hoad 1986) and clothing, especially clothing suited to rank or a ceremony, from 1606, in Shakespeare's ''Antony and Cleopatra''.^(Barnhart 1988) A woman's garment of skirt and bodice is from 1638.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) ''Dress up'' is from the 1670s, ''dress down'' “to wear less formal clothes” by 1960, and ''dress someone down'', “to scold”, by 1876.^(Etymonline) The ''dress rehearsal'' is from 1828.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1300 – to make straight, direct.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1381 – to adorn.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1395 – to put on clothes.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1565 – noun, a setting right.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1606 – noun, clothing.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1638 – a woman's garment.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1828 – ''dress rehearsal''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1876 – ''dress down'', to scold.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To put clothes on; to [[clothe]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To wear clothes of a particular kind, or formal clothes.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To decorate or arrange: ''to dress a shop window''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To clean and apply a [[bandage]] or medication to a wound.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To prepare food for cooking, or add a [[dressing]] to a salad.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To arrange troops in a straight line.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # A one-piece garment for a woman or girl, with a skirt and bodice.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Clothing, especially of a particular kind: ''evening dress''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Suitable for formal occasions: ''a dress shirt''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[hairdresser]]

+ * [[outdress]]

+ * [[overdress]]

+ * [[redress]]

+ * [[underdress]]

+ * [[dresser]]

+ * [[dressing]]

+ * [[dressing-down]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[dressage]]

+ * [[undressed]]

+ * [[direct]]

+ * [[address]]

+ * [[right]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}