Dress \Dress\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Dressedor 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.

Note: 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.

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
 

Dress \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.

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
 

Dress \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.

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)