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)
 

Dressing \Dress"ing\, n.

1. Dress; raiment; especially, ornamental habiliment or attire. --B. Jonson.

2. (Surg.) An application (a remedy, bandage, etc.) to a sore or wound. --Wiseman.

3. Manure or compost over land. When it remains on the surface, it is called a top-dressing.

4. (Cookery)
   (a) A preparation to fit food for use; a condiment; as, a dressing for salad.
   (b) The stuffing of fowls, pigs, etc.; forcemeat.

5. Gum, starch, and the like, used in stiffening or finishing silk, linen, and other fabrics.

6. An ornamental finish, as a molding around doors, windows, or on a ceiling, etc.

7. Castigation; scolding; -- often with down. [Colloq.]

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.

Dressing table, a table at which a person may dress, and on which articles for the toilet stand.

Top-dressing, manure or compost spread over land and not worked into the soil.

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)