dressing

See also: Dressing

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈdɹɛsɪŋ/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛsɪŋ

Etymology 1

From Middle English dressing, dressinge, dressynge, equivalent to dress +‎ -ing.

Noun

dressing (countable and uncountable, plural dressings)

1. (medicine) Material applied to a wound for protection or therapy.
   • 1913, Robert Barr, chapter 5, in Lord Stranleigh Abroad‎^[1]:

     She removed Stranleigh’s coat with a dexterity that aroused his imagination. The elder woman returned with dressings and a sponge, which she placed on a chair.

2. (cooking) A sauce, especially a cold one for salads.
   • 2021 July 21, Gabrielle Hamilton, “A Salad So Good You Can Eat It for Breakfast”, in The New York Times Magazine‎^[2], New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 13 June 2025:

     I was even more excited to tailor it with a choice of dressings — blue cheese, ranch, French, Russian, Italian, creamy Italian.

3. Something added to the soil as a fertilizer etc.
4. The activity of getting dressed.

   Antonym: undressing

   • 2004, Kathryn Banks, Joseph Harris, Exposure: Revealing Bodies, Unveiling Representations, page 182:

     Considered thus, the performance is a translation into images of bodies on display, as is well demonstrated by Monsieur Jourdain's repeated dressings and undressings.

5. (obsolete) Dress; raiment; especially, ornamental habiliment or attire.
   • 1609 December (first performance), Beniamin Ionson [i.e., Ben Jonson], “Epicoene, or The Silent Woman. A Comœdie. […]”, in The Workes of Beniamin Ionson (First Folio), London: […] Will[iam] Stansby, published 1616, →OCLC, (please specify the act number in uppercase Roman numerals, and the scene number in lowercase Roman numerals):

     Women ought to repair the losses , time and years have made in their features, with dressings

6. The stuffing of fowls, pigs, etc.

   Synonym: forcemeat

7. Gum, starch, etc., used in stiffening or finishing silk, linen, and other fabrics.
8. An ornamental finish, such as a moulding around doors, windows, or on a ceiling.
9. (dated) Castigation; scolding; a dressing down.
   • 1886, Peter Christen Asbjørnsen, translated by H.L. Brækstad, Folk and Fairy Tales, page 71:

     "I once saw what a dressing he gave a silly chattering fool, that answered his challenge some time before."

10. (dated) The process of extracting metals or other valuable components from minerals.
11. (Maine) Manure that's applied to one's garden.

Derived terms

• blue cheese dressing
• boiled dressing
• Catalina dressing
• cross-dressing
• dopamine dressing
• dressing-bell
• dressing-boy
• dressing case
• dressing code
• dressing-down
• dressing forceps
• dressing gown
• dressing-gown
• dressing jacket
• dressing mirror
• dressing sack
• dressing station
• dressing stick
• dressing table
• dressing-up
• field dressing
• freedom dressing
• French dressing
• hairdressing
• hammer-dressing
• investment dressing
• island dressing
• Italian dressing
• Louis dressing
• ore dressing
• pick dressing
• power dressing
• ranch dressing
• Rhode Island dressing
• Russian dressing
• salad dressing
• set dressing
• stonedressing
• Thousand Island dressing
• wafu dressing
• well dressing
• window dressing
• x-dressing

Descendants

• → German: Dressing

Translations

material applied to a wound

• Arabic: غِيَار m (ḡiyār), رِبَاط (ar) m (ribāṭ), ضِمَاد m (ḍimād)
• Armenian: վիրակապ (hy) (virakap)
• Bulgarian: превръзка (bg) f (prevrăzka)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 敷料 (zh) (fūliào)

• Estonian: niit (et)
• Finnish: side (fi), haavaside (fi)
• German: Verband (de) m
• Japanese: 包帯 (ja) (ほうたい, hōtai)
• Kazakh: таңғыш (taŋğıš)
• Latin: fōmentum n
• Māori: takai, tākaikai, tāpi, whakapiripiri
• Polish: opatrunek (pl) m
• Portuguese: curativo (pt)
• Russian: перевя́зка (ru) f (perevjázka), повя́зка (ru) f (povjázka)
• Spanish: vendaje (es) m, tirita (es) f, cura (es) f, curita (es) f; apósito (es) m
• Tocharian B: śwele

sauce, especially a cold one for salads — see also salad dressing

• Arabic: مَرَقَة f (maraqa), صَلْصَة f (ṣalṣa), ضِمَاد m (ḍimād)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 調味汁 / 调味汁 (zh) (tiáowèizhī), 作料 (zh) (zuóliao), 沙拉酱 (shālājiàng)

• Czech: dresink (cs) m
• Finnish: salaattikastike (dressing for salad)
• French: sauce (fr) f
• Galician: aderezo (gl) m
• German: Dressing (de) n, Würzsoße (de) f
• Greek:

  Ancient Greek: ὀξάλμη f (oxálmē) (vinegar-based), σκοροδάλμη f (skorodálmē) (garlic-based)

• Hungarian: salátaöntet (hu)
• Japanese: ドレッシング (ja) (doresshingu)
• Kazakh: дәмдеуіш (dämdewiš)
• Macedonian: прелив m (preliv)
• Polish: dressing (pl) m
• Portuguese: tempero (pt) m
• Russian: запра́вка (ru) f (zaprávka)
• Scottish Gaelic: sgeadachadh m
• Spanish: salsa (es) f, vinagreta (es) f, aderezo (es) m
• Swedish: dressing (sv) c

something added to the soil as a fertilizer

• Arabic: دَمَال m (damāl)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 肥料 (zh) (féiliào)

• Finnish: lannoite (fi), maanparannusaine
• Irish: leasú m
• Japanese: 肥料 (ja) (ひりょう, hiryō)
• Portuguese: adubo (pt) m
• Russian: удобре́ние (ru) n (udobrénije)

activity of getting dressed

• Arabic: تَلَبُّس m (talabbus), تَرَدٍّ m (taraddin)
• Bulgarian: обличане (bg) n (obličane)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 穿衣 (zh) (chuānyī)

• Finnish: pukeutuminen (fi)
• German: Ankleiden (de) n
• Macedonian: облекување (oblekuvanje)
• Romanian: imbracat
• Russian: одева́ние (ru) n (odevánije)
• Spanish: vestirse (es)
• Swedish: påklädning (sv) c, påklädnad c

dress; attire

• Arabic: لِبَاس (ar) m (libās)
• Finnish: puku (fi)

stuffing of fowls, pigs, etc. — see forcemeat

substance used for stiffening or finishing

• Finnish: tärkki (fi)
• Turkish: haşıl (tr)

  Ottoman Turkish: خشیل (haşıl)

ornamental finish

• Finnish: koriste (fi)

castigation; scolding

• Finnish: haukkuminen (fi)

process of extracting metals or other valuable components from minerals

• Finnish: rikastaminen (fi)
• Indonesian: pengolahan bahan galian

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

dressing

1. present participle and gerund of dress

Dutch

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈdrɛ.sɪŋ/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: dres‧sing
• Rhymes: -ɛsɪŋ

Etymology 1

Borrowed from English dressing.

Noun

dressing m (plural dressings, diminutive dressinkje n)

1. dressing (cold sauce for salads)

See also

• slasaus

Etymology 2

Borrowed from French dressing, and this a pseudo-anglicism, derived from an ellipsis of English dressing room.

Noun

dressing m (plural dressings, diminutive dressinkje n)

1. (Belgium) walk-in closet, dressing room

   Synonym: inloopkast

French

Etymology

Pseudo-anglicism, derived from an ellipsis of English dressing room.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dʁɛ.siŋ/ ~ /dʁe.siŋ/

• Audio (France (Toulouse)):

  (file)

• Audio (France):

  (file)

Noun

dressing m (plural dressings)

1. dressing room (small walk-in room off a bedroom)

   Synonym: dressing room

2. wardrobe

Further reading

• “dressing” in Cordial.
• “dressing”, in Dictionnaire français en ligne Larousse
• “dressing” in L’Internaute.

Middle English

Noun

dressing

1. alternative form of dressynge

Polish

dressing

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁

Proto-Indo-European *-s

▲

Proto-Indo-European *trísinflu.

Proto-Indo-European *d(w)is-

Proto-Italic *dis-

Latin dīs-

Proto-Indo-European *h₃reǵ-

Proto-Indo-European *-tós

Proto-Indo-European *h₃reǵtós

Proto-Italic *rektos

Latin rēctus

Latin dīrēctus

Proto-Indo-European *-yetider.

Latin -iāre

Vulgar Latin *dīrēctiāre

Old French drecierbor.

Middle English dressen

Proto-Indo-European *-h₂

Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂

Proto-Indo-European *-yéti

Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti

Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ti

Proto-Germanic *-ōną

Proto-Germanic *-gō

Proto-Germanic *-ōngō?

Proto-Germanic *-ungō

Old English -ung

Middle English -ynge

Middle English dressynge

English dressingubor.

Polish dressing

Unadapted borrowing from English dressing.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈdrɛ.siŋk/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛsiŋk
• Syllabification: dre‧ssing

Noun

dressing m inan

1. dressing (sauce, especially a cold one for salads)

Declension

Declension of dressing

	singular
nominative	dressing
genitive	dressingu
dative	dressingowi
accusative	dressing
instrumental	dressingiem
locative	dressingu
vocative	dressingu

Further reading

• “dressing”, in Polish dictionaries at PWN‎^[3] (in Polish)
• dressing in PWN's encyclopedia

Swedish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dresiŋ/

Noun

dressing c

1. dressing (sauce)

Declension

Declension of dressing

		nominative	genitive
singular	indefinite	dressing	dressings
	definite	dressingen	dressingens
plural	indefinite	dressingar	dressingars
	definite	dressingarna	dressingarnas

Derived terms

• currydressing
• hamburgerdressing
• orientdressing
• ranchdressing
• salladsdressing
• vitlöksdressing

References

• “dressing”, in Svensk ordbok [Dictionary of Swedish] (in Swedish)
• “dressing”, in Svenska Akademiens ordlista [Wordlist of the Swedish Academy] (in Swedish)
• Fula Ordboken