1. [n]  clothing of a distinctive style or for a particular occasion
2. [n]  a one-piece garment for a woman; has skirt and bodice
3. [adj]  (of an occasion) requiring formal clothes; "a dress dinner"; "a full-dress ceremony"
4. [adj]  suitable for formal occasions; "formal wear"; "a full-dress uniform"; "dress shoes"
5. [v]  arrange attractively; "dress my hair for the wedding"
6. [v]  dress or groom with elaborate care; "She likes to dress when going to the opera"
7. [v]  dress in a certain manner; "She dresses in the latest Paris fashion"; "he dressed up in a suit and tie"
8. [v]  give a neat appearance to; "groom the dogs"; "dress the horses"
9. [v]  put on clothes; "we had to dress quickly"; "dress the patient"; "Can the child dress by herself?"
10. [v]  provide with clothes or put clothes on; "Parents must feed and dress their child"
11. [v]  apply a bandage or medication to; "dress the victim's wounds"
12. [v]  convert into leather; "dress the tanned skins"
13. [v]  kill and prepare for market or consumption; "dress a turkey"
14. [v]  put a finish on; "dress the surface smooth"
15. [v]  cultivate, tend, and cut back the growth of"dress the plants in the garden"
16. [v]  put a dressing on; "dress the salads"
17. [v]  provide with decoration; "dress the windows"
18. [v]  decorate (food), as with parsley or other ornamental foods
19. [v]  arrange in ranks; "dress troops"

1. \Dress\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Dressed}or {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.
   
   
   
      And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden
      of Eden to dress it.                        --Gen. ii. 15.
   
      When he dresseth the lamps he shall burn incense. --Ex.
                                                  xxx. 7.
   
      Three hundred horses . . . smoothly dressed. --Dryden.
   
      Dressing their hair with the white sea flower. --Tennyson
   

2. \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.
   
   

3. \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.
   
   

(1.) Materials used. The earliest and simplest an apron of fig-leaves sewed together (Gen. 3:7); then skins of animals (3:21). Elijah's dress was probably the skin of a sheep (2 Kings 1:8). The Hebrews were early acquainted with the art of weaving hair into cloth (Ex. 26:7; 35:6), which formed the sackcloth of mourners. This was the material of John the Baptist's robe (Matt. 3:4). Wool was also woven into garments (Lev. 13:47; Deut. 22:11; Ezek. 34:3; Job 31:20; Prov. 27:26). The Israelites probably learned the art of weaving linen when they were in Egypt (1 Chr. 4:21). Fine linen was used in the vestments of the high priest (Ex. 28:5), as well as by the rich (Gen. 41:42; Prov. 31:22; Luke 16:19). The use of mixed material, as wool and flax, was forbidden (Lev. 19:19; Deut. 22:11).

(2.) Colour. The prevailing colour was the natural white of the material used, which was sometimes rendered purer by the fuller's art (Ps. 104:1, 2; Isa. 63:3; Mark 9:3). The Hebrews were acquainted with the art of dyeing (Gen. 37:3, 23). Various modes of ornamentation were adopted in the process of weaving (Ex. 28:6; 26:1, 31; 35:25), and by needle-work (Judg. 5:30; Ps. 45:13). Dyed robes were imported from foreign countries, particularly from Phoenicia (Zeph. 1:8). Purple and scarlet robes were the marks of the wealthy (Luke 16:19; 2 Sam. 1:24).

(3.) Form. The robes of men and women were not very much different in form from each other.

(a) The "coat" (kethoneth), of wool, cotton, or linen, was worn by both sexes. It was a closely-fitting garment, resembling in use and form our shirt (John 19:23). It was kept close to the body by a girdle (John 21:7). A person wearing this "coat" alone was described as naked (1 Sam. 19:24; Isa. 20:2; 2 Kings 6:30; John 21:7); deprived of it he would be absolutely naked.

(b) A linen cloth or wrapper (sadin) of fine linen, used somewhat as a night-shirt (Mark 14:51). It is mentioned in Judg. 14:12, 13, and rendered there "sheets."

(c) An upper tunic (meil), longer than the "coat" (1 Sam. 2:19; 24:4; 28:14). In 1 Sam. 28:14 it is the mantle in which Samuel was enveloped; in 1 Sam. 24:4 it is the "robe" under which Saul slept. The disciples were forbidden to wear two "coats" (Matt. 10:10; Luke 9:3).

(d) The usual outer garment consisted of a piece of woollen cloth like a Scotch plaid, either wrapped round the body or thrown over the shoulders like a shawl, with the ends hanging down in front, or it might be thrown over the head so as to conceal the face (2 Sam. 15:30; Esther 6:12). It was confined to the waist by a girdle, and the fold formed by the overlapping of the robe served as a pocket (2 Kings 4:39; Ps. 79:12; Hag. 2:12; Prov. 17:23; 21:14).

Female dress. The "coat" was common to both sexes (Cant. 5:3). But peculiar to females were (1) the "veil" or "wimple," a kind of shawl (Ruth 3:15; rendered "mantle," R.V., Isa. 3:22); (2) the "mantle," also a species of shawl (Isa. 3:22); (3) a "veil," probably a light summer dress (Gen. 24:65); (4) a "stomacher," a holiday dress (Isa. 3:24). The outer garment terminated in an ample fringe or border, which concealed the feet (Isa. 47:2; Jer. 13:22).

The dress of the Persians is described in Dan. 3:21.

The reference to the art of sewing are few, inasmuch as the garments generally came forth from the loom ready for being worn, and all that was required in the making of clothes devolved on the women of a family (Prov. 31:22; Acts 9:39).

Extravagance in dress is referred to in Jer. 4:30; Ezek. 16:10; Zeph. 1:8 (R.V., "foreign apparel"); 1 Tim. 2:9; 1 Pet. 3:3. Rending the robes was expressive of grief (Gen. 37:29, 34), fear (1 Kings 21:27), indignation (2 Kings 5:7), or despair (Judg. 11:35; Esther 4:1).

Shaking the garments, or shaking the dust from off them, was a sign of renunciation (Acts 18:6); wrapping them round the head, of awe (1 Kings 19:13) or grief (2 Sam. 15:30; casting them off, of excitement (Acts 22:23); laying hold of them, of supplication (1 Sam. 15:27). In the case of travelling, the outer garments were girded up (1 Kings 18:46). They were thrown aside also when they would impede action (Mark 10:50; John 13:4; Acts 7:58).