dressingn.
/ˈdrɛsɪŋ/, U.S. /ˈdrɛsɪŋ/ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > providing with clothing > [noun]
clothingc1175
buskingc1330
shriding1340
dressingc1350
attiringa1375
enparelling1496
apparelling?1544
reparelling1579
induition1584
accoutrementa1616
suitinga1637
investiture1651
dress1680
investment1798
garbing1862
kitting1919
the world > action or operation > doing > activity or occupation > [noun] > conduct of affairs or dealing with
dressingc1350
handlinga1400
conduct1454
dale1469
orderinga1549
dress1559
convoy1565
management1598
politics1749
approach1905
c1350 Psalter (BL Add. 17376) in K. D. Bülbring Earliest Compl. Eng. Prose Psalter (1891) xliv. 8 Þe ȝerde of deescing [read drescing; L. virga directionis] is ȝerde of his kyngdome.
a1425 (c1395) Bible (Wycliffite, L.V.) (Royal) (1850) Psalms cxviii. 7 I schal knouleche to thee in the dressing [E.V. a1382 Douce 369(1) riȝt reuling] of herte.
Promptorium Parvulorum (Harl. 221) 131 Dressynge, directio.
2.
a. The action of preparing food for cooking or eating (now rare). Also (now chiefly): the preparation of the flesh of a newly slaughtered animal.Recorded earliest in compounds.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > food manufacture and preparation > preparation for table or cooking > [noun]
dressing1362
preparation?a1425
mess-making1742
mise en place1862
shackle-up1935
1362 in J. Raine Inventories & Acct. Rolls Benedictine Houses Jarrow & Monk-Wearmouth (1854) 44 (MED) In coquina..j dressing knyves.
1380 in A. H. Thomas Cal. Plea & Mem. Rolls London Guildhall (1929) II. 268 (MED) Dressyngburd.
?c1425 Recipe in Coll. Ordinances Royal Househ. (Arun. 334) (1790) 468 In the dressynge, save the culpons hole.
1482 W. Caxton tr. Higden's Prolicionycion iv. x. clxxxxviv Thanne fyl so grete cruelnes and honger in the cyte that byeng and sellyng seesid and so dyde rostyng and sethyng and dressyng of mete.
1486 Bk. St. Albans sig. eijv (heading) Of the Roo huntyng, brekyng, and dressyng.
1595 Plautus Menaechmi 37 That you shall see by the dressing of your meat. Go, go..whiles your dinner is making ready.
a1645 R. Baker Theatrum Triumphans (1670) 37 To make diversity of meats with diversity of dressing.
1699 A. Boyer Royal Dict. at Tuage Le tuage d'un Cochon (la peine de le tuer & de l'accommoder) the killing, or dressing of a hog.
1705 Act to restrain People from Labour on First Day of Week in Laws Province Pennsilvania (1714) v. 36 Nothing in this Act contained shall extend to prohibit the dressing of Victuals in Families, Cooks Shops or Victualing-houses.
1753 J. Collier Ess. Art of Tormenting ii. 194 Let the wife herself find fault with the dressing of every dish.
1816 Encycl. Perthensis (ed. 2) VII. 493/2 Dressing of meat by means of culinary fire is intended to loosen the compages or texture of the flesh, and dispose it for dissolution and digestion in the stomach.
1881 Official Gaz. (U.S. Patent Office) 5 July 32/2 Completing the dressing, and sawing the carcass into halves.
1944 M. B. Jacobs Chem. & Technol. Food & Food Products II. xxi. 658 The first step in the dressing of the carcass is that of leg breaking.
2015 D. S. Collins & R. J. Huey Gracey's Meat Hygiene (ed. 11) iii. 55/1 After stunning and bleeding, the process of dressing is divided up into several stages, each undertaken by a separate operator as the carcase reaches him.
b. Seasoning, stuffing, or sauce added in the process of preparing food. Now esp.: a sauce added to salad (compare salad-dressing n. at salad n. Compounds 1).French dressing, Italian dressing, Roquefort dressing, etc.: see the initial elements.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > additive > sauce or dressing > [noun]
sauce1340
dressing1504
embamma1623
ragout1653
dipa1825
dipping sauce1948
the world > food and drink > food > additive > sauce or dressing > [noun] > salad dressing
salad-dressing1836
dressing1853
salad-cream1858
1504 in W. H. Stevenson Rec. Borough Nottingham (1885) III. 319 For wyne at the eyting of the venesson..and for floure and peper, and dressing.
1578 T. Cooper Thesaurus (new ed.) at Simplex Meate alone without sauce or delicate dressyng.
1666 J. Davies tr. C. de Rochefort Hist. Caribby-Islands i. xvii. 114 They eat whatsoever they feed on without any dressing, or any other sauce.
1756 A. Russell Nat. Hist. Aleppo 55 Thus it is left till they judge it to be sufficiently roasted, when throwing a quantity of salt over it, they eat it without any further dressing.
1853 A. Soyer Pantropheon 75 Lettuces may also be eaten with a dressing of gravy and pickles.
1899 N. Newnham-Davis Dinners & Diners iv. 26 Artichokes good, though we preferred plain vinegar as a dressing to the hollandais one.
1947 Gourmet July 2/3 Two roasted quail stuffed with wild rice and onion dressing.
2007 BBC Good Food: Vegetarian Summer 74 Make the dressing by whisking together the oil, lemon juice, mustard and some seasoning.
3. † b. concrete. That which provides such a finish; spec. an agent such as glaze, size, or starch, which imparts a stiff finish to fabric. Obsolete.
a. The action of preparing, treating, or finishing a material or object by subjecting it to a process such as cleaning, trimming, smoothing, etc.; an instance of this.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > undertaking > preparation > [noun] > preparation of something for use
afaitementc1400
dressing1419
readyinga1500
dressing up1526
adighting1567
fitmenta1616
fit1883
pretreatment1899
1419–20 in M. Sellers York Memorandum Bk. (1912) I. 199 Pro chippyng cujuslibet centene arcuum..pro thwytyng..et pro dressyng.
1423 in R. W. Chambers & M. Daunt Bk. London Eng. (1931) 176 (MED) Delvynge of stones yn þe Allmashous, dressynge of tymber yn þe grete celer.
1480 Wardrobe Accts. Edward IV in N. H. Nicolas Privy Purse Expenses Elizabeth of York (1830) 125 For bynding gilding and dressing of a booke called Titus Livius.
?1529 R. Hyrde tr. J. L. Vives Instr. Christen Woman i. ii. sig. C.iiij The dressyng of wolle hath ben euer an honest occupacion for a good woman.
1562–3 Act 5 Elizabeth I c. 8 §39 in Statutes of Realm (1963) IV. i. 435 All currieng and dressing of Leather, commonly called drye curryeng & freesing, shalbe construed to bee dressing and currieng after the Maner of Spanishe Leather.
1608 in R. W. Cochran-Patrick Early Rec. Mining Scotl. (1878) 148 Money debursit vpoun the dressing of the ore. For ane wesching tub and ane wesching kitt, xviijs.
1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Affilement..a dressing, or stiffening with wire.
a1637 H. Calthrop Rep. Cases London (1655) 78 By reason of the many idle persons which have not means to be set on work, this Dying and dressing of clothes within our Kingdome, would give sufficient imployment unto them all.
1745 Gentleman's Mag. Jan. 24/1 A new composition for careening or dressing of ships, to preserve them from the Worms.
1818 J. Flint Let. 4 Aug. in Lett. from Amer. (1822) 7 Washing and dressing of shirts, neckcloths, &c. costs a dollar and half per dozen.
1874 Jrnl. Soc. Arts 14 Aug. 819/2 The Patent Machine Stone Dressing Company..display their Machine for the dressing of stone by power.
1971 U.S. Census of Manufactures, 1967 (U.S. Bureau of Census) III. b8 Those engaged in dyeing and dressing of furs.
1974 E. D. Andrews & F. Andrews Work & Worship (1982) 103 The fulling of cloth was a process distinct from and antecedent to the dressing or glossing of the material.
2005 Northern Echo 6 Sept. 6/4 (advt.) Steel dresser. Must have experience of dressing using grinding and sanding equipment.
ΚΠ
1823 J. Badcock Domest. Amusem. 72 The dressing thereof [sail-cloth], being a compound of meal and lime.
1853 C. Morfit Art of Tanning, Currying, & Leather-dressing (new ed.) 181 The hides..are put through the dressings, that is, subjected to the action of fermentable barley water.
1894 A. S. Robertson Provost o' Glendookie 20 The feck o' them hae the smell o' dressin' i' their noses a' the week.
4.
a. The action of cleaning and treating a wound or sore; spec. the application of a clean or sterile covering to a wound. Also: an instance of this.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > healing > medical treatment > treatment by topical applications > [noun] > dressing wound
dressing1525
pansing1576
dress1679
pansement1842
longuette1939
1525 tr. H. von Brunschwig Noble Experyence Vertuous Handy Warke Surg. sig. G.ii/2 The dressynge and clensynge shall be with cotton.
1563 T. Gale Certaine Wks. Chirurg. Index sig. ⋆.v How Vnguentum Egiptiacum, is an excellent remedie at the first dressing for woundes made with gunshotte.
a1617 S. Hieron Penance for Sinne in Wks. (1620) II. 207 One stroke may cause it [sc. a wound], but many stirrings and dressings cannot cure it.
1641 Contin. Hist. Forreine Martyrs 58/2 Asking whither hee was not put to great paine when his finger was cut off, as likewise touching the dressing of his arme.
1723 tr. R. J. C. de Garengeot Treat. Chirurg. Operations iii. 43 The Dressingsought to be speedy, in order to avoid the Impression of the Air.
1785 E. Rigby Ess. Theory Production Animal Heat xxiii. 318 It is at present an universal practice to open them very seldom after the first dressing.
1833 Lancet 10 Aug. 618/1 Proceed at once to the dressing of the wound.
1873 Sci. Health 3 128 First in order, in the dressing of the young infant, comes the inevitable bandage.
1929 H. W. Haggard Devils, Drugs, & Doctors vi. 127 The dressing and treating of wounds.
1965 Z. Cope Hist. Acute Abdomen vii. 72 At every dressing new material of the same kind escaped.
2011 P. A. Adamson & J. A. Litner Aesthetic Otoplasty viii. 55/1 Postoperative dressing of the surgical field is usually taken as an afterthought.
b. A clean or sterile covering applied to a wound or sore; a bandage. Also in figurative contexts.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > healing > medical appliances or equipment > equipment for treating wound or ulcer > [noun]
languet1578
dressing1672
apparatus1684
1672 R. Wiseman Treat. Wounds i. iv. 39 We concluded him dead, and took the dressings hastily off the wound.
1695 W. W. Novum Lumen Chirurg. Extinctum 43 He was not strong enough to keep on the Dressings against such violent Eruptions of Blood and Air.
1713 T. Parnell in Guardian 27 May 1/1 To tear off the Dressings, as I may say, from the Wounds.
1773 W. Bromfield Chirurg. Observ. I. v. 175 Small pledgets of the digestive ointment..will prevent the sticking of the dressings.
1826 Lancet 11 Nov. 192/2 A cloth made wet with spirit lotion, was applied over the dressings.
1861 R. T. Hulme tr. C. H. Moquin-Tandon Elements Med. Zool. ii. iii. iii. 95 Dressings for blisters.
1958 Nursing (St. John Ambulance Assoc.) i. 14 Any cut or crack should be covered with a suitable adhesive dressing.
2010 Daily Tel. 29 Mar. 24/4 It was left to my husband to change my dressing.
5. † c. A personal ornament or accessory; a decorative item of dress. Also occasionally as a mass noun: vestment, dress (rare). Also figurative. Obsolete.
a. The action of covering oneself with (attractive) clothing and adornments; manner or style of adornment. Formerly spec.: the action of attiring oneself in smart or elegant clothes in preparation for a formal occasion. Now more usually: the general action of putting on clothes. Also in figurative contexts.
ΚΠ
a1530 W. Bonde Pylgrimage of Perfeccyon (1531) iii. f. CCiv The spouse..hath many women to adorne & dresse her, and yet she werketh with them to her owne dressynge.
1614 G. Meriton Christian Mans Assuring House 28 A woman should bestow more labour vpon the dressing of her body.
1678 P. Porter tr. M.-M. de La Fayette Zayde 167 She presented Zayde to him, whose Beauty was increased by the care she took in her Dressing.
1753 Universal Advertiser 1 May 40 I am tired with the Follies of young Men, their Dressing, Speeching, and above all Perfuming.
1788 G. Eunson Anc. & Present State Orkney 87 Too much puffed up with..superfluity in fine dressing.
1825 L. B. Picard Gil Blas of Revol. II. xxvi. 343 He continued with his dressing. He put on a white waistcoat.
1862 J. W. Carlyle Let. 2 July in Coll. Lett. T. & J. W. Carlyle (2010) XXXVIII. 112 There is no elaborate dressing for dinner here.
1915 V. Woolf Voy. Out iii. 51 They talk about art, and think us such poops for dressing in the evening.
2014 Daily Tel. 2 July 2/2 Hundreds of thousands of older people who struggle with tasks such as washing or dressing.
b. The brushing, arranging, or styling of a person's hair, or the provision of decorative attire for the head. Cf. head-dressing n. Now chiefly in hairdressing n.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > beautification > beautification of the person > beautification of the hair > [noun]
busk1516
barbery1540
dressing1557
buskinga1568
barbering1660
hairdressing1771
haircare1935
hair-styling1936
1557 R. Edgeworth Serm. very Fruitfull xi. f. cciiv I thinke that yf we sawe nowe in oure time the tiringe of her, the dressing of her head, and the whomelines of her raiment, it woulde make vs laughe, and yet it was good and huswyfely for that time I doubte not.
a1586 Sir P. Sidney Arcadia (1590) iii. v. sig. Ll4 The dressing of her haire and apparell..left to a neglected chaunce, which yet coulde no more vnperfect her perfections, then a Die..could loose his squarenesse.
1608 B. Jonson Masque of Blacknesse in Characters Two Royall Masques 215 The dressing of her head antique; & crown'd with a Luminarie, or Sphære of light.
1633 G. Herbert Brit. Ch. in Temple vii She..is so shie of dressing, that her hair doth lie About her eares.
1778 New London Toilet 99 The dressing of the hair in the present taste.
1843 J. Hartley Advice Human Hair 4 Whatever remedies are offered to the public to be applied to the Hair, as beautiful articles for dressing, they are only useful for that.
1993 C. Messenger For Love of Regiment vii. 104 The dressing of the hair with powder had been abolished in 1795.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > [noun]
clothesc888
hattersOE
shroudc1000
weedOE
shrouda1122
clothc1175
hatteringa1200
atourc1220
back-clout?c1225
habit?c1225
clothingc1275
cleadinga1300
dubbinga1300
shroudinga1300
attirec1300
coverturec1300
suitc1325
apparel1330
buskingc1330
farec1330
harness1340
tire1340
backs1341
geara1350
apparelmentc1374
attiringa1375
vesturec1385
heelinga1387
vestmentc1386
arraya1400
graitha1400
livery1399
tirementa1400
warnementa1400
arrayment1400
parelc1400
werlec1400
raiment?a1425
robinga1450
rayc1450
implements1454
willokc1460
habiliment1470
emparelc1475
atourement1481
indumenta1513
reparel1521
wearing gear1542
revesture1548
claesc1550
case1559
attirement1566
furniture1566
investuring1566
apparelling1567
dud1567
hilback1573
wear1576
dress1586
enfolding1586
caparison1589
plight1590
address1592
ward-ware1598
garnish1600
investments1600
ditement1603
dressing1603
waith1603
thing1605
vestry1606
garb1608
outwall1608
accoutrementa1610
wearing apparel1617
coutrement1621
vestament1632
vestiment1637
equipage1645
cask1646
aguise1647
back-timbera1656
investiture1660
rigging1664
drapery1686
vest1694
plumage1707
bussingc1712
hull1718
paraphernalia1736
togs1779
body clothing1802
slough1808
toggery1812
traps1813
garniture1827
body-clothes1828
garmenture1832
costume1838
fig1839
outfit1840
vestiture1841
outer womana1845
outward man1846
vestiary1846
rag1855
drag1870
clo'1874
parapherna1876
clobber1879
threads1926
mocker1939
schmatte1959
vine1959
kit1989
1603 in W. Fraser Memorials Montgomeries (1859) II. 248 For the making of ane dresing vith imoratis, and perll, and federis.
1621 J. Molle tr. P. Camerarius Living Libr. iv. vi. 240 Dressings, bracelets, and attires.
1626 T. Hawkins tr. N. Caussin Holy Court I. 11 One piece of her gaudy dressings.
1703 Mirth & Wisdom 18 Fine Ladies are sometimes beholden to him for their best Dressings.
1844 Bell's Life in London 24 Nov. 2/2 Tickling the weak fancies of women with dressings.
1881 W. Besant & J. Rice Chaplain of Fleet I. iii. 44 Trees..in their beautiful spring dressing.
1903 Irish Times 3 Oct. 20/1 The more elaborate dressings are more suitable for elderly ladies.
6.
a. The action of treating, fertilizing, or preparing a piece of land for use; (also) the action of pruning or tending a plant.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > preparation of land or soil > [noun]
dressing1600
scaphage1610
vertilage1610
slighting1613
tew1644
screeding1854
1600 S. Gardiner Pearle of Price i. 13 It hath pleased him to work our saluation, as the parable of the vine sufficiently insinuateth, to the pruning, trimming, & dressing wherof, there were labourers successiuely.
1629 D. Loris Thresor des Parterres de l'Uniuers sig. ¶¶¶4 It is also required in the dressing of beds that the peece of grownd or square be broad.
1656 T. Blount Glossographia Putatory, of or belonging to cutting, dressing or pruining of Trees.
1712 J. James tr. A.-J. Dézallier d'Argenville Theory & Pract. Gardening 105 The Words Dressing, Leveling..signify the Action of harrowing or raking the Ground, to lay it every where smooth and eaven.
1832 R. Buist Amer. Flower Garden Directory 293 These always make two growths in the season, and the best time to perform the clipping or dressing of them is before the plants begin their second growth.
1889 W. Robinson Eng. Flower Garden 149 The annual dressing of flower beds is needed to get the best effects.
1963 Ann. Rep. Central Tobacco Res. Inst. (India) 21 Dressing of beds..appeared to influence the production of transplants.
b. A layer of manure, fertilizer, etc., applied to a plant or spread over land when preparing it for use.Cf. green dressing n. at green adj. and n.1 Compounds 1d(a), side dressing n., top dressing n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > preparation of land or soil > fertilizing or manuring > [noun] > fertilizer or manure
fatnessc1420
amendment1483
manure1532
manuring1577
battling1600
dressing1600
worth1609
sucken1615
folding1626
fertilizera1661
sumen1662
recuperativec1679
field dressing1743
top-dressing1744
sweetener1765
settera1793
mendment1798
side dressing1819
substratum1822
manurer1829
liquid manure1837
soil amendment1915
side dress1920
Growmore1944
soil conditioner1952
1600 R. Surflet tr. C. Estienne & J. Liébault Maison Rustique vii. xviii. 831 It [sc. the beech tree] craueth the like soile and dressing for the making of it to thriue and grow well.
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics ii, in tr. Virgil Wks. 89 No dressing they require... The Soil it self due Nourishment supplies.
1733 W. Ellis Chiltern & Vale Farming xliii. 362 Their Ashes..have been found to be a most excellent Dressing for any sort of Garden or Field Ware.
1750 G. Berkeley Querist (ed. 4) §198 Vegetables..plowed in for a Dressing of Land.
1816 Act 56 Geo. III c. 50 §11 Any Manure, Compost, Ashes, Sea-weed, or other Dressings intended for such Lands.
1842 J. Buel Farmer's Compan. 84 Some enterprising farmers however give their fields an intermediate dressing, on the sod, after they come into grass.
1899 T. A. Williams Millets (U.S. Dept. Agric. Farmers' Bull. No. 101) 21 A light dressing of barnyard manure..will usually give good results in the East.
1946 W. Stiles Trace Elem. in Plants iii. 87 Browning of cauliflower was completely eliminated by a dressing of 10 lb. of borax per acre.
1985 S. L. Tisdale et al. Soil Fertility & Fertilizers (ed. 4) viii. 321 For perennials, a further consideration is whether the requirement refers to a corrective fertilizer dressing or to an annual maintenance dressing.
7. Military. The action of aligning troops; (also) the correct position of a soldier in an alignment of troops.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > military operations > distribution of troops > [noun] > arrangement in line or file > proper alignment
dressing1760
1760 Apol. Oration on Extraordinary Occasion 17 He did not know, that this halt, and the frequent dressing of the line, were effects of orders.
1792 Rules & Regulations for Formations His Majesty’s Forces 6 Upon the word Attention, no one shall have materially lost his dressing in the line.
1859 Field Exercise Infantry (rev. ed.) i. 6 He will take up his dressing in line by moving..till he is just able to distinguish the lower part of the face of the second man beyond him.
1879 St. Louis Courier Med. & Collateral Sci. 20 Aug. 44 More judgement is at present displayed in the dressing of troops serving in hot climates, so that sunstroke is less frequent among them than formerly.
1966 Listener 3 Mar. 317/3 ‘Come on, wake up. Get your dressing.’ The familiar barks jerked their limbs into making the mechanical actions.
2013 BusinessWorld (Philippines) (Nexis) 18 Feb. s1 The intricate prep for the parade and review, which includes the ‘dressing’ and alignment of troops,..is an exercise in coordination and planning.
8. A severe reprimand, rebuke, or admonition; (also) a beating or thrashing. Cf. dress v. 12. Now rare and English regional (northern).
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > punishment > corporal punishment > [noun] > beating > instance of
threshingOE
fustigation1428
breeching1520
trouncingc1550
bace1575
firking1594
belting1602
knave's grease1602
oil of baston1604
oil of birch1604
oil of hazel1604
oil of holly1604
oil of whip1604
lamb-pie1607
lamming1611
drubbing1650
vapulation1656
warming1681
floggation1688
working over1695
cullis1719
thrashing1720
halberd1756
licking1756
dressing1769
leathering1790
nointing1794
dusting1799
teasing1807
hiding1809
whopping1812
thrumming1823
toco1823
flaking1829
teaser1832
lathering1835
welting1840
pasting1851
towelling1851
whaling1852
hickory oil1855
swishing1859
slating1860
going-over1881
six of the best1912
belt beating1928
ass-kicking1943
stomping1958
seeing to1968
butt-kicking1970
1769 in Hist. MSS Comm.: Rep. MSS Earl of Eglinton (1885) 413 in Parl. Papers 1884–5 (C. 4575) XLIV. 1 For this he got a very severe dressing from Ld. North.
1789 E. Darwin Let. 12 Mar. (2007) 333 Dr. Robert Darwin has given him a dressing, He will not soon forget.
1809 B. H. Malkin tr. A. R. Le Sage Adventures Gil Blas II. v. i. 334 His fingers itched to give me another dressing.
1860 W. M. Thackeray in Cornhill Mag. Aug. 254 A criticism..in which an Irish writer had given me a dressing for a certain lecture on Swift.
1902 Scotsman 7 Mar. 4/2 Mr Brodrick's speech does not justify in the slightest degree the severe ‘dressing’ to which he was subjected.
1995 J. M. Sims-Kimbrey Wodds & Doggerybaw: Lincs. Dial. Dict. 84/1 Dressing, a beating.
9. Architecture. A projecting moulding on a surface (chiefly in plural). Also as a mass noun: the decorative moulding round a door, arch, etc.; = dress n. 10.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > architecture > architectural ornament > [noun] > moulding > projecting moulding(s)
tablementa1400
tabling1410
projecture1563
rib1608
watering table1609
tableting1610
ledge1611
quarter-round1664
cornice1670
bolection1708
dress1726
tablet?1756
dressing1789
1789 W. Pain Pract. House Carpenter (ed. 2) Pl. XXV Door and dressing with architraves and side pilasters.
1823 P. Nicholson New Pract. Builder 584 Dressings, all mouldings projecting beyond the naked of walls and ceilings.
1843 in R. Willis & J. W. Clark Archit. Hist. Univ. Cambr. (1886) III. iv. 214 The dressings round them [sc. doors] to be of scagliola.
1976 Ulster Archaeol. Soc. 39 33/1 Only two weathered and damaged dressings remained on the ruined top of the E. wall.
2013 Birmingham Post (Nexis) 28 Mar. 4 It has handsome elevations of multi-coloured brick with dressings of stone and timber under a pitched tiled roof.
10. Angling. The covering or adornment given to an artificial fly in fishing.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > condition of being external > covering > [noun] > a covering > like a garment
weedOE
robec1225
kirtle1398
vestment1483
vesture1526
apron1535
gabardine1542
garment1585
tire1594
dress1608
garb1613
cowl1658
investiture1660
dressing1835
pinafore1845
cloak1876
1835 Chambers' Edinb. Jrnl. 3 Jan. 390/3 Looped in the dressing, so as to slide along, and shorten or lengthen the tackle.
1861 T. Hughes Tom Brown at Oxf. I. vi. 90 Tom began..scrutinizing the dressings of the flies [for fishing].
1906 J. W. Martin My Fishing Days x. 92 List of chub flies and their dressings.
1957 Country Life 14 Nov. 1023/3 Actual dressings and itemised samples of silks and hackles.
2005 Mid Atlantic Fly Fishing Guide 52 Some fly tyers like to add the color red to a dressing.
2014 D. Hughes in D. Hughes et al. Tactics for Trout 13 If you were to peer into my nymph box..you would be certain to find a dressing that specifically covers each of the major food forms of moving-water trout.
11. The action of arranging goods attractively or artistically in a shop window to promote sales. See also window dressing n. 2.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > selling > [noun] > shopkeeping or shopwork > window-dressing
window trimming1842
dressing1843
window dressing1850
1843 C. Dickens Christmas Carol ii. 56 It was made plain enough, by the dressing of the shops, that here too it was Christmas time again.
1871 St. James's Mag. 7 22 The dressing of their shop windows gives great scope to the display of artistic taste.
1912 Scotsman 23 Sept. 7/2 The daily expert dressing of the model shop front.
1965 Irish Times 13 Mar. 14/3 The manufacturers will co-operate in the dressing of these windows.
2009 Cineaste Winter 84/2 One of his first jobs—assisting with the dressing of windows.
Compounds
C1. attributive, with the sense ‘used for or concerned with the clothing of a person’.Some of the more established compounds of this type are treated separately at Compounds 2a.
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1632 P. Massinger & N. Field Fatall Dowry ii. sig. E His dressing blocke, vpon whom my Lord layes all his cloathes..ere he vouchsafes 'em his owne person.
1668 W. Davenant Man's the Master in Wks. (1673) 332 Whether she be some Skeleton whose Beauties lye at night upon her dressing-cloth.
1712 R. Steele Spectator No. 478. ⁋13 A looking-glass and a dressing chair.
1822 W. Irving Bracebridge Hall I. 44 Having been dressing maid..to the late Mrs. Bracebridge.
1863 London Society Christmas No. 68/1 Our dressing-place..was merely a few stout planks nailed together by the stage carpenter; and it had been a portion of the paternal thoughtfulness of our spirited and enterprising manager to fix this dressing-bench on the opposite side of the cellar.
1866 A. Trollope Belton Estate I. vii. 166 He..had packed his coats, and dressing-bag, and desk.
1913 Delineator July 40/2 There is nothing as charming as a little dressing-jacket made of very fine all-over lace.
2004 J. Barrett tr. K. Ohno & Y.Ohno K. Ohno's World 76 A gown..won't do anything for him, no matter how much his dressing assistant tries to render it more attractive.
C2.
a. Compounds relating to the clothing of a person.See also dressing box n., dressing case n., dressing gown n., dressing hook n. 2, dressing room n., dressing table n.† dressing plate n. Obsolete a set of silverware articles used in applying make-up, arranging the hair, dressing, etc.; a toilet (toilet n. 4) made of silver.
dressing bell n. now historical a bell rung to indicate that it is time to dress for dinner.
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1808 S. H. Burney Geraldine Fauconberg I. 13 We all remained in the nursery..till dispersed to our several chambers by the sound of the dressing-bell.
a1848 F. Marryat Valerie (1849) II. iv. 221 The dressing-bell has rung.
2003 J. Flanders Victorian House (2004) vii. 232 In prosperous families, dressing bells rang some time before dinner to mark the moment when all were expected to retire to change for the meal.
dressing comb n. a comb for styling the hair.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > beautification > beautification of the person > beautification of the hair > implements used in styling the hair > [noun] > comb
comba700
pocket-tortoise1687
whisk-comb1688
dressing comb1782
tail comb1782
rake-comb1790
reding comb1795
fine-tooth comb1852
hackle1903
rat-tail comb1937
rake1966
Afro pick1971
pick1972
detangler1984
1782 J. Stewart Plocacosmos iii. 252 Collect all the long hair in your left, in the nape of the neck, and, with the dressing comb in your right hand, comb it from each side well.
1881 C. C. Harrison Woman's Handiwork Mod. Homes i. 57 Crewels..combed into fluffiness by a coarse dressing-comb.
2010 Herald Sun (Melbourne) (Nexis) 31 July 9 Lady Jayne dressing comb $4.70.
dressing glass n. a looking-glass, a mirror.
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the world > physical sensation > sight and vision > optical instruments > mirror > [noun] > looking-glass
looking-glass1526
Venice glass1527
tooting-glassc1560
seeing-glass1565
girdle-glassa1652
Venice looking-glass1655
considering-glass1660
peeper1673
long glass1680
table glass1688
dressing glass1697
keeking-glassa1724
toilet glass1729
long mirror1793
swing-glass1809
hand glass1832
cheval-glass1836
psyche1838
tire-glass1844
tiring-glass1844
driving mirror1907
wing mirror1925
swing mirror1930
vanity mirror1959
1697 Inventory in N. Cox & K. Dannehl Dict. Traded Goods & Commodities (2007) (O.E.D. Archive 2017) A Dressing Glasse with a sett of Japanned worke.
1714 London Gaz. No. 5214/3 Dressing Glasses, Union Suits, Dressing Boxes.
1823 J. Badcock Domest. Amusem. 121 Look for yourself in a mirror, or dressing glass.
2002 D. Harris Portable Writing Desks 12 This desk, c. 1720, may also have formed the base for a dressing glass.
dressing gong n. now historical a gong rung to indicate that it is time to dress for dinner.
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1861 London Rev. & Weekly Jrnl. 7 Sept. 295/1 With the dressing-gong will recommence the routine of the day before.
1929 Aussie (Sydney) Aug. 52/3 The dressing gong woke me a couple of hours later.
2016 Evening Standard (Nexis) 11 Mar. 41 It is about snobbery, beauty, ladies with baskets, watery sunshine, luminescent lawns and dressing gongs.
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1684 A. Behn Love-lett. between Noble-man & Sister 164 She fell to Commend my Lady's dressing Plate, and taking up the Box and opening it, found the Letter.
1716 Lady M. W. Montagu Let. 16 Aug. (1965) I. 253 I had wickedness enough to covet St. Ursula's pearl necklaces..and wished even she her selfe converted into dressing plate.
1827 J. Clancy Treat. Rights, Duties, & Liabilities Husband & Wife (ed. 3) iv. 277 The question was, whether jewels, rings, pictures, dressing plate, and other trinkets given to Mrs. Lewis before marriage were her separate estate.
dressing sack n. originally and chiefly U.S. (now somewhat rare) a light woman's jacket, typically worn over a dress.
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1849 Boston Daily Atlas 21 Sept. Collars, Bosoms, Suspenders, Dressing Sacks.
1907 Amer. Thresherman Sept. 25/1 A dainty dressing sack is a truly feminine garment.
1990 Times 22 Sept. (Saturday Review) 54 The little dressing sack I was wearing over my dress.
b. Compounds relating to the preparation of a material or object by cleaning, trimming, smoothing, etc.See also dressing board n., dressing hook n. 1, dressing knife n., dressing shed n. 1.† dressing-block n. Printing (Obsolete rare) a block of soft wood which is tapped against a face of type in order to ensure all letters are the same height.† dressing house n. Obsolete a building or room where ore is prepared for smelting by the removal of the non-metallic portion.† dressing leather n. Obsolete leather that has been dressed, treated, or cured.† dressing-stick n. Printing Obsolete rare an implement used to smooth and finish a newly cast letter.† dressing wheat n. Obsolete rare (perhaps) wheat from which chaff and other refuse matter have been separated.
dressing bench n. now rare a bench upon which the dressing (in various senses) of a material or object takes place.
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1683 J. Moxon Mech. Exercises II. 183 The Dressing-Bench.
1850 E. Dobson Rudimentary Treat. Manuf. Bricks & Tiles 73 Dressing Bench... This is simply a stout bench, to which is fitted a plate of cast iron.
1966 Foundry Trade Jrnl. 6 Oct. 461/2 The movement of the dust clouds above dressing benches fitted with various kinds of local exhaust ventilation was examined.
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1683 J. Moxon Mech. Exercises II. 31 The Dressing-Block..is to run over the Face of the Form, and..to be gently knock't upon.., that such Letters as may chance to stand up higher than the rest may be pressed down.
dressing floor n. an area where unwanted material is removed from something in preparation for further refinement or processing.
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1799 M. Culley Let. 28 June in M. Culley & G. Culley Farming Lett. (2006) 17 I have some thoughts of Cumberland slate for a cover, a granary over the mill and if convenient over the dressing floor &c.
1856 Mining Mag. 6 190 If the kibble contains mixed flucan and solid rock, the contents are shot on to a dressing floor, the soft part is separated by a man in attendance, and conveyed to the stamps.
2008 S. Bourette Meat (2009) i. 21 It's now 1:30 and workers are busy on the dressing floor, pulling on hearts and livers they'll place on the spikes behind them.
dressing hide n. now rare a hide that has been dressed, treated, or cured.
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1793 Leicester Herald 12 Jan. Dressing Hides, 1s 4½d to 1s 5d.
1865 Farmer's Mag. Apr. 369 Dressing hides, shaved hides, and English butts of medium weight move off steadily at full prices.
1947 Economist 16 Feb. 277/3 Dressing Hides.
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1862 W. P. Jervis Mineral Resources Central Italy v. 43/2 A second shaft is in progress, higher up the hill, for lowering the ore to the dressing-house.
1872 1st Rep. Vermont State Board Agric. 1871–2 628 The same track takes it [sc. the ore] to the dressing house at the foot of the hill.
1909 Mining in Japan (Bureau Mines, Dept. Agric. & Commerce Japan) iii. 240 The ore is conveyed to a dressing house, which stands 1.8 miles distant.
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1799 Monthly Mag. Aug. 639/2 Excepting dressing leather, which will be of a brighter colour if at first put into one of the forwarder vats.
1895 Times 2 Jan. 13/4 Light English sole and dressing leather.
1922 Leather World 30 Mar. 253/2 The general trade in rough dressing leather is lifeless.
dressing machine n. now rare and historical (a) a machine used for removing unwanted material from something in preparation for further refinement or processing; (b) Printing a machine used for trimming the edges of type (cf. dress v. 15d).
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1795 Hull Advertiser 5 Sept. Thrashing and Dressing Machines.
1869 F. A. P. Barnard Machinery & Processes Industr. Arts in Rep. U.S. Commissioners Paris Univ. Exposition 1867 III. xiv. 440 The dressing-machine passes each single row of types between a pair of knife-blades, set exactly parallel to each other.
1934 Jrnl. Royal Soc. Arts 82 501 This work is done on a dressing machine through which the type is pushed from one side to the other.
2008 C. Montrie Making Living i. 22 Workers running the warping and dressing machines above turned roving into warp yarn too.
dressing plane n. now rare a plane (plane n.2 2) used to remove unwanted material from something in preparation for further refinement or processing.
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1693 Specimen Several Sorts of Let. given to Univ. by Dr. J. Fell sig. d4 Dressing Planes.
1879 Official Gaz. (U.S. Patent Office) 18 Mar. 400/2 A miller's proof-staff and red-staff dresser combined with a cutting or dressing plane in a single tool.
2013 M. Ould in I. Gadd Hist. Oxf. Univ. Press I. 219 Four dressing planes and three dressing blocks were ready for cleaning the freshly cast type.
dressing shop n. †(a) a place or establishment where woven cloth is finished or made ready for sale (obsolete); (b) a place or establishment where newly cast iron objects are smoothed down and have any surface impurities removed (now historical).
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1772 Hartford Mercury 18 Sept. A Dressing Shop, a long Spinning and Weaving House.
1858 Hist. Guide to Leeds iii. 28 The dye-houses and dressing-shops are, some of them, of considerable importance. In these establishments the woollen goods are finished after being purchased in the rough state at the cloth halls.
1869 Commerc. Relations 124 in U.S. Congress. Serial Set (40th Congr., 3rd Sess.: House of Representatives Executive Doc. No. 87) XIV When the metal has cooled sufficiently, it is dugout of the sand and taken to the dressing shops, where roughnesses are removed.
1922 Blast Furnace & Steel Plant July 393/2 The cleaning or dressing shop, which should be at right angles to the molding shop.
2015 Daily Tel. 17 July 19/3 (caption) Work on a C-type pillar box in the dressing shop of an engineers' at Denny, Stirlingshire.
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1683 J. Moxon Mech. Exercises II. 194 This pair of Dressing-sticks will serve to Dress Brevier, Long-Primmer, and Pica.
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1709 Overseers' Accts. Wakes Colne (Essex) (Essex Rec. Office: D/P/88/12/1) 3 peckes of dressinge wheat.
c. Compounds relating to the dressing of a wound.
dressing forceps n. forceps used in applying and removing surgical dressings.
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1798 R. Saumarez New Syst. Physiol. II. v. 221 Attempts were made to extract it [sc. a piece of iron] with the common dressing forceps, but in vain.
1879 St. George's Hosp. Rep. 9 772 Passing a pair of dressing-forceps through the joint to the lowest part of its outer aspect.
1997 Weekend Austral. (Nexis) 15 Mar. 46 It was not uncommon to see nurses walk from one end of a ward to the other and change the dressings of each patient using the same dressing forceps.
dressing station n. now chiefly historical a post or centre set up near a combat area to provide first aid to the wounded.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > healing > places for the sick or injured > [noun] > hospital or infirmary > military or field hospital > dressing-station
dressing station1870
1870 Brit. Med. Jrnl. 3 Sept. 254/1 The dressing-stations established by the sanitary detachments behind the fighting line.
1915 A. D. Gillespie Let. 21 Mar. in Lett. from Flanders (1916) 61 A man who gets hit, not dangerously, with a dressing station handy, and a doctor to attend to him at once.
1984 R. Kam E. M. Remarque's All Quiet on Western Front x. 67 Paul and Kropp are..treated, somewhat roughly, at a dressing station.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2018; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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