Advertisement

Origin and history of dressing

dressing(n.)

mid-14c., "rule, control," verbal noun from dress (v.). In some Middle English uses also short for addressing. In cookery, "sauce used in preparing a dish for the table," from c. 1500. Meaning "bandage applied to a wound or sore" is by 1713.

Dressing-gown "a loose and easy robe worn while applying makeup or doing the hair" is attested from 1777; dressing-room "room intended to be used for dressing" is from 1670s. Dressing-up "act or fact of attiring oneself with attention to style and fashion" is by 1852. Dressing-down (n.) "a reprimand" is by 1839, American English, originally "a thrashing," perhaps ironic or extended from some 19c. mechanical or commercial sense.

also from mid-14c.

Entries linking to dressing

dress(v.)

c. 1300, "make straight; direct, guide, control; prepare for cooking," from Old French dresser, drecier "raise (oneself); address, prepare; lift, raise, hoist; set up, arrange, set (a table), serve (food); straighten, put right, direct," from Vulgar Latin *directiare "make straight," from Latin directus "direct, straight," past participle of dirigere "set straight," from dis- "apart" (see dis-) + regere "to direct, to guide, keep straight" (from PIE root *reg- "move in a straight line").

Sense of "decorate, adorn" is from late 14c., as is that of "put on clothing." The older sense survives in military dress ranks "align columns of troops." Of males, in reference to the position of the sex organ in trousers, by 1961.

Dress up "attire elaborately, put on one's best clothing" is from 1670s; dress down "wear clothes less formal than expected" is by 1960. Transitive use of dress (someone) down, "scold, reprimand," is by 1876, earlier simply dress (1769), in which the sense is ironical. In Middle English, dress up meant "get up" and dress down meant "to kneel." Related: Dressed; dressing.

cross-dressing(n.)

also crossdressing, "dressing in clothes of the opposite sex," 1911, from cross- + dressing; a translation of German Transvestismus (see transvestite). As a verb, cross-dress is attested by 1966; the noun cross-dresser is by 1975.

    Advertisement

    More to explore

    toilet
    Toilet acquired an association with upper class dressing by 18c., through the specific sense "a fine cloth cover on the dressing...table for the articles spread upon it;" thence "the articles, collectively, used in dressing" (mirror, bottles, brushes,...Subsequent sense evolution in English (mostly following French uses) is to "act or process of dressing," especially the dressing...and powdering of the hair (1680s); then "a dressing room" (1819), especially one with a lavatory attached; then "lavatory...
    robe
    The meaning "dressing gown" is from 1854; such extended senses often appear first in French, e.g. robe de chambre "dressing...
    adze
    also adz, "cutting tool used for dressing timber, resembling an axe but with a curved blade at a right-angle to the handle...
    vestry
    mid-15c., probably from Anglo-French *vesterie, from Old French vestiaire "room for vestments, dressing room" (12c.), from...
    lint
    Later "flocculent flax refuse used as tinder or for dressing wounds" (c. 1400)....
    dressy
    "fond of dress, given to elaborate or showy dressing," 1760s, from dress (v.) + -y (2)....
    wardrobe
    apparel is kept," earlier "a private chamber" (c. 1300), from Old North French warderobe, wardereube (Old French garderobe) "dressing-room...
    arrange
    late 14c., arengen, "draw up a line of battle," from Old French arengier "put in a row, put in battle order" (12c., Modern French arranger), from a- "to" (see ad-) + rangier "set in a row" (Modern French ranger), from rang "rank," from Frankish *hring or a similar Germanic source
    apply
    late 14c., "join or combine (with); attach (to something), adhere," from Old French aploiier "apply, use, attach" (12c., Modern French appliquer), from Latin applicare "attach to, join, connect;" figuratively, "devote (oneself) to, give attention," from ad "to" (see ad-) + plicar
    change
    c. 1200, "to alter, make different, change" (transitive); early 13c. as "to substitute one for another;" mid-13c. as "to make (something) other than what it was, cause to turn or pass from one state to another;" from late 13c. as "to become different, be altered" (intransitive),

    Share dressing

    Advertisement
    Trending
    Dictionary entries near dressing
    Advertisement