addressingn.
/əˈdrɛsɪŋ/, U.S. /əˈdrɛsɪŋ/ 1. The action of address v. (in various senses); an instance of this; (esp. in early use) the action or an act of arranging or guiding something; (in later use) the action or an act of directing words or a message to the attention of a person or group of people.
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?c1400 (c1380) G. Chaucer tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. (BL Add. 10340) (1868) v. pr. iv. l. 4721 Men seen þe karter worken in þe tournynge and in attempryng or in adressyng [L. moderandis] of hys kartes or chariottes.
a1500 (?a1425) tr. Secreta Secret. (Lamb.) 93 (MED) Amendyng of wronge, and adressynge of stature, & shape of mesure.
1578 J. Bell tr. J. Foxe Serm. Christening Certaine Iew sig. A.viv God him selfe alone: who with all possible diligence, attendeth to the addressing, and nourishing thereof, and will continually preserue the same.
1596 E. Topsell Reward of Relig. viii. 162 Naomi commaundeth Ruth no vnseemely addressing of her selfe, but such as was vsuall, and common amonge her owne people.
1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Adressement, an addressing..or setting in the nearest and readiest course.
a1682 in Roxburghe Ballads (1883) IV. 256 With Abhorring and Adressing their time is spent.
1716 J. Perry State of Russia 216 The chief Things which they or the Laity reason for, is the addressing to Saints, the keeping of Fasts.
1822 E. Coles Let. 10 Dec. in W. N. Blane Excursion through U.S. & Canada (1824) xiii. 263 ‘His Excellency’, an aristocratical and high sounding adjunct..has become too too common among us, not only in newspaper annunciations, but in the addressing of letters.
1827 Monthly Rev. Apr. 352 Addressing of Juries by Felons' Counsel.
1845 T. Carlyle in O. Cromwell Lett. & Speeches I. 53 Immense sumptuosities, addressings, knight-makings, ceremonial exhibitions.
1903 Times 25 Apr. 7/2 The addressing of a letter to the Government protesting against its treatment of the congregations.
1973 Amer. Sociol. Rev. 38 797/1 The detection, posing and addressing of the problem.
1983 A. H. Guest Your Move x. 129 If looking accompanies an addressing action, the addressing has greater impact.
1996 Which? Guide to starting your own Business (new ed.) iv. 78 To prevent you from copying their lists, they may insist that the addressing and posting are done by a specialist mailing company.
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1603 J. Florio tr. M. de Montaigne Ess. ii. xvii. 372 Of addressing, dexteritie, and disposition [Fr. d'addresse & de disposition], I never had any.
3. Computing. The method or process of allocating addresses (address n. 6c) in the memory of a computer; the system for identifying or referring to locations in memory. Frequently attributive.direct, indirect addressing, etc.: see the first element.
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1957 IBM Jrnl. Res. & Devel. 1 131/1 The addressing system should make the average access time..as small as possible.
1964 T. W. McRae Impact Computers on Accounting i. 10 Our next job is to assign an address to each word. Our addressing system is quite arbitrary.
1984 Personal Software Winter 24/2 The mode 3 addressing system is based on the use of two bits to indicate the base colour to be found at each of two adjacent points.
2006 L. Null & J. Lobur Essent. Computer Organization & Archit. (ed. 2) v. 259 Some machines have indirect indexed addressing.
Compounds
addressing machine n. a machine for printing addresses on envelopes, etc.; cf. addresser n. 4, addressograph n.
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society > communication > printing > miscellaneous printers' equipment > [noun] > machine for printing addresses
addressing machine1860
addresser1877
addressograph1894
1860 U.S. Patent 30,259 1/2 By this arrangement a very simple and effective addressing machine is formed.
1865 U.S. Pat. 47,142 (title page) Addressing-Machine..a machine for printing the directions on newspapers or wrappers.
1953 H. Lemaître & A. Thompson Vocabularium Bibliothecarii I. 160/1 Addressing machine; addressograph.
2004 J. Norman What No One ever tells you about marketing your Own Business lxviii. 129 Use a laser printer or addressing machine to ink the address directly on the envelope.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, November 2010; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
addressingadj.
/əˈdrɛsɪŋ/, U.S. /əˈdrɛsɪŋ/ Now rare.
That addresses a person or thing (in various senses of the verb); spec. †that presents or supports an address (cf. address n. 2c) in favour of the king, or is inclined to do so (obsolete).
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1682 J. Dryden True Coppy Epil. Constantine the Great (single sheet) The Court of Constantine was full of Glory, And every Trimmer turn'd Addressing Tory.
1691 T. D'Urfey Love for Money Ep. Ded. sig. A 2 Your generous Nature, that never frown'd on an addressing Author, nor discourag'd Wit.
1705 in W. S. Perry Hist. Coll. Amer. Colonial Church: Virginia (1870) I. 156 The addressing Clergy have the general favor of the people.
1770 E. Burke Thoughts Present Discontents 47 An addressing House of Commons, and a petitioning nation... This is an unnatural, a monstrous state of things in the Constitution.
1798 R. B. Sheridan in Speeches (1816) V. 21 The mischiefs of a deliberate army have already been forcibly represented; a deliberate army may become an addressing army; and an addressing army a dictating army.
1806 R. Polwhele Poems I. 124 Haply an addressing friend presents The candidate, who, wavering first, perplex'd For utterance, now relaxes.
1856 Dublin Rev. Sept. 90 He [sc. Richard Cromwell] had to deal with an addressing house and a petitioning army; petitioning too in the style in which an army knows how to petition.
1989 M. Fishbane Garments of Torah (1992) vi. 86 For Buber, God becomes present as an addressing Presence that is neither general nor abstract.
2007 Marquette Intellect. Prop. Law Rev. (Nexis) 11 112 Nothing more than the enumerated grounds should be the basis for an addressing court to deny recognition and enforcement.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, November 2010; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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n.?c1400adj.1682