dressing
    n 1: savory dressings for salads; basically of two kinds: either
         the thin French or vinaigrette type or the creamy
         mayonnaise type [syn: dressing, salad dressing]
    2: a mixture of seasoned ingredients used to stuff meats and
       vegetables [syn: stuffing, dressing]
    3: making fertile as by applying fertilizer or manure [syn:
       fertilization, fertilisation, fecundation, dressing]
    4: a cloth covering for a wound or sore [syn: dressing,
       medical dressing]
    5: processes in the conversion of rough hides into leather
    6: the activity of getting dressed; putting on clothes [syn:
       dressing, grooming]
    7: the act of applying a bandage [syn: dressing, bandaging,
       binding]

Dress \Dress\ (dr[e^]s), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Dressed
   (dr[e^]st) 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.]
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            At all times thou shalt bless God and pray Him to
            dress thy ways.                       --Chaucer.
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   Note: Dress is used reflexively in Old English, in sense of
         "to direct one's step; to address one's self."
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               To Grisild again will I me dresse. --Chaucer.
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   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.
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   3. (Med.) To treat methodically with remedies, bandages, or
      curative appliances, as a sore, an ulcer, a wound, or a
      wounded or diseased part.
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   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.
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                And the Lord God took the man, and put him into
                the garden of Eden to dress it.   --Gen. ii. 15.
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                When he dresseth the lamps he shall burn
                incense.                          --Ex. xxx. 7.
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                Three hundred horses . . . smoothly dressed.
                                                  --Dryden.
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                Dressing their hair with the white sea flower.
                                                  --Tennyson
          .
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                If he felt obliged to expostulate, he might have
                dressed his censures in a kinder form.
                                                  --Carlyle.
      (b) To cut to proper dimensions, or give proper shape to,
          as to a tool by hammering; also, to smooth or finish.
      (c) To put in proper condition by appareling, as the body;
          to put clothes upon; to apparel; to invest with
          garments or rich decorations; to clothe; to deck.
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                Dressed myself in such humility.  -- Shak.
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                Prove that ever Idress myself handsome till thy
                return.                           --Shak.
      (d) To break and train for use, as a horse or other
          animal.
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   To dress up or To dress out, to dress elaborately,
      artificially, or pompously. "You see very often a king of
      England or France dressed up like a Julius C[ae]sar."
      --Addison.

   To dress a ship (Naut.), to ornament her by hoisting the
      national colors at the peak and mastheads, and setting the
      jack forward; when dressed full, the signal flags and
      pennants are added. --Ham. Nav. Encyc.

   Syn: To attire; apparel; clothe; accouter; array; robe; rig;
        trim; deck; adorn; embellish.
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Dressing \Dress"ing\, n.
   1. Dress; raiment; especially, ornamental habiliment or
      attire. --B. Jonson.
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   2. (Surg.) An application (a remedy, bandage, etc.) to cover
      a sore or wound. --Wiseman.
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   3. Manure or compost over land. When it remains on the
      surface, it is called a top-dressing.
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   4. (Cookery)
      (a) A preparation, such as a sauce, to flavor food for
          eating; a condiment; as, a dressing for salad.
      (b) The stuffing of fowls, pigs, etc.; forcemeat.
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   5. Gum, starch, and the like, used in stiffening or finishing
      silk, linen, and other fabrics.
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   6. An ornamental finish, as a molding around doors, windows,
      or on a ceiling, etc.
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   7. Castigation; scolding; -- often with down. [Colloq.]
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   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.

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