dresser 
8. A machine for splitting geological speci- 
mens. It consists of a strong frame with a pair of chin- 
the cuUels ami split l,y pressure. 
4. A miners' pick. 5. A plumbers' mallet used 
for clotting joints in sheet-lead. 
dresser' 2 (dres'er), n. [< ME. dressour, drcs- 
nure, drcssore (ML. dressorium, after E.), < OF. 
ilriToir, ilr: I'lioir, a. dresser (F. dressoir, a side- 
board), < ML. dii-iTloriiiw, a dresser, < L. diree- 
Cokes come with dryssynge Intyfe; 
They brittened tham als thay were wode. 
Thotnat of Ersseldoune (Child's Ballads, 1. 106). 
dressing-machine (dres'ing-ma-shen'), . 1. 
A machine for separating the bran from flour, 
consisting of a skeleton cylinder covered with 
wire, and carrying from six to eight brushes. 
2. A machine in which twisted yarn is sized, 
dridder 
3. To entice step by step. 
With daily lies she drib* thec Into colt 
Dryden, tr. of Ovid's Art of Love, L 
tus, straight, > ult. OF. drecicr, drexcer, etc., dressing-room (dres'ing-r8m), n. A room, as 
dress, prepare : see dress, r.] 1. A table, side- o]lt , opening from a bedroom, intended to be 
board, or bench on which meat and other things 
are dressed or prepared for use, 
4. In archery, to shoot directly at short range. 
Not at the first sight, nor with a dribbed shot, 
Love gave tin wound, which while I breathe will Mewl. 
.-,/ /'. xiiliiey, Arcadia, Attrophel and Stella. 
_. .._. . II. intrans. In archery, to shoot at a mark at 
scraped, brushed, and dried by heat and an g i] Or t range. 
air-blast, to remove the fuzz and slightly drib-t (drib), v. '. [A dial. var. of drip (ME. 
gloss it. 
Bnmmonlnnroor tenants at my dresser, 
Which is, indeed, my drum. 
Massinger, The Guardian, ui. 3. 
A maple dresser In her hall she had, 
On which full many a slender meal she made. 
Dryden, Cock and lox, 1. 17. 
It was formerly customar; 
was ready, to knock on the <l 
of summoning the servants to carry It Into the hall. 
Oi/ord, Note to Massinger's Unnatural Combat, iii. 1. 
ilriii/nii) or of the related ME. drepen, drop; 
due prob. in part to the freq. dribble* for 'drip- 
pie. See drip, dribble*, dribble 4 *.] To dribble ; 
drivel. 
Like drunkards that dribbit. 
Skeltim, (larland of Laurel, 1. 641. 
used for dressing: as, the dressing-rooms of a 
theater. 
dressing-sack (dres'ing-sak), n. Same as dress- 
ing-jacket. [This word is the more usual in the drib 2 (drib), n. [< drift 2 , t'. ; or else an abbr. 
United States, and dressing-jacket in England.] o f driblet, dribblet.] A drop ; a driblet, or small 
dressing-table (dres'ing-ta'bl), n. 1. A table quantity. 
i.j _iiv :*, o^4,,<,t<T.< t.tia Rhymes retailed in drill*. Steift, On Olbb's Psalms. 
We are sending such regiments and drift* from here and 
UAOOOHlft V** M * W \^~' -, . , 
provided with conveniences for adjusting the 
dress; a toilet-table. 2. A dressing-bench.- 
an formerlv customary lor the i-ooK, wni'ii amner ,., iPj A A rye are BemuiiK u : ,. 
lulv t.. knock on the Jreuer with his knife, by way 3. A bench on which ores are sorted. 4. A Baltimore as we can spare to Harpers terry. 
.. _ ' i. .... i ;,.,.. (1,., K.,11 _ _!_ e^ = [.. ...:.., t-*,,',,,r* n ml t)f *..! IrrVlf onlTlfr l.ltlCllln. ill KllVIl 
machine for dressing, truing, and straightening Lincoln, in Raymond p. 
stereotype plates. Bee stereotype. dribbert (drib'er), n. [< drift 1 , v., 4, + -er*.] In 
2. A cupboard or set of shelves for dishes and dressmaker (dres'ma'ker), n. One, especially archery, one who shoots at short range. Aseham. 
cooking utensils. a woman, whose occupation is the making of dribbett (drib'et), n. [Var. of driblet.] Same 
The pewter plates on the drester gowns and other articles of female attire. as driblet. 
Caught and reflected the flame, as shields of armies the dressoir fdre-SWOr'), n. [F. : see dresser^.] A 
sunshine. Lonojellow, Evangeline, I. . si(leboar ^ . a court Cupboard ; a dresser. 
dress-goods (dres'gud/.), n. pi. Fabrics used dress-parade (dres'pa-rad'X n. Milit., a tac- 
for women's and children's frocks or gowns. tical ceremonial or parade in full uniform, 
dressing (dres'ing), n. [< ME. dressynge; ver- The dark , s always on dm , par(ld( .. The moment he 
bal n. of dress, V.] 1. The act of one who gets Into uniform he thinks the eyes of all men are upon 
dresses ; the act or process of adjusting, prepar- him. llarper'i Mag., LXXVI. 788. 
ing, trimming, finishing, etc., in any sense of dress-spur (dres'sper), n. A name given to a 
the verb dress. Specifically, in metal., the mechanical spur, seen on medieval brasses, etc., the rowel 
treatment which an ore receives after being brought to o jj wn jch j s inclosed in a smooth ring, and which 
the surface; concentration. This is almost always done rfiftso n thought to be merely 
Their poor pittances are Injuriously compounded, and 
slowly payd by dribbftt, and with infinite delayes. 
Bp. Gatiden, Tears of the Church, p. 143. 
in water, and with the aid of suitable machinery. (See cool, 
jig, buddleV.) The dressing of an ore, or the mechanical 
treatment, necessarily precedes the smelting, or chemical 
treatment. In the former it is chiefly the difference In 
has been for this reason thought to be merely 
emblematic. It is probable, however, that the ring is 
a mere device of shading used by the engraver to throw 
.... - -, the rowel Into relief. 
specific gravity between the metalliferous portion of the drCSS-uniform (dres'u'ni-fdrm), n. MlM.,tne 
vein and the veinstone Itself of which advantage Is taken y prescribed to be worn on occasions of 
for effecting a separation. In the chemical treatment the 
result depends on the various reactions which the sub- ceren "/ . . 
stances present have with one another when exposed to a dressy (dres l), a. [< dress + -y 1 .] 1. r oml or 
- x - -laborate or showy dressing. 
dribble 1 (drib'l), v. ; pret. and pp. dribbled, ppr. 
dribbling. [Formerly also drible; for 'dripple 
(= LG. dripneln), freq. of drip : see drip, and 
cf. drib*.] I. intrans. 1. To fall in drops or 
small particles, or in a quick succession of 
drops : as, water dribbles from the eaves. 
Which receiver . . . allows the grain to dribble only 
in small quantities into the central hole in the upper mill- 
stone Paley, Nat. TheoL, xv. 
'Twas there I caught from Uncle Reuben's lips, 
In dribbling monologue 'twlxt whiffs and sips, 
The story 1 so long have tried to tell. 
Lowell, Fitz Adam's Story. 
high temi>erature or smelted. 
2. That which is used in dressing or preparing 
anything, as for use or ornament, specifically (o) 
In med. and suiy., the remedy or apparatus applied to a 
wound or sore, etc. (fc) Tho manure or compost spread 
over land in preparing it for cropping, (c) In cookery: (1) 
The sauce, etc., used in preparing a dish for the table. (2) 
Stuffing ; the flavored material, as bread-crumb, inserted 
in a fowl, in veal, etc., for roasting. [Colloq.] (d) The 
glaze, stiffening, or finishing applied to textile fabrics 
to give them greater smoothness and firmness, to allow 
of their being folded, packed, etc., with greater ease, and 
sometimes with the dishonest intention of giving them ar- 
tificial weight or the appearance of greater excellence of 
manufacture, (<) In arch., the moldings around doors, j_*x.>, 
windows, and other openings on an elevation. qresi t, ' , , , , , , . 
3. A thrashing; a flogging or beating; arepri- dretch.lt, v. t. [ME. drechen, drecchen, later 
drctclien, < AS. dreccan, vex, trouble, afflict. 
Connection with dretch* doubtful.] To vex; 
maud or scolding. [Colloq.] 
If ever I meet him again, I will give him such a dress- 
ing as he has not had this many a day. 
Jane Austen, Sense and Sensibility, xxx. 
dressing-bench (dres'ing-bench), n. In brick- 
nuikiitg, a bench with a cast-iron plate upon 
which the bricks, after drying in the sun, are 
rubbed, polished, and beaten to make them 
symmetrical. 
dressing-boardt (dres'ing-bord), n. Same as 
dresser*, 1. 
She's laid him on a dressin board, 
Whar she did often dine. 
Sir Hugh (Child's Ballads, III. 148). 
dressing-case (dres'ing-kas), n. A box con- 
taining certain requisites for the toilet, as 
combs, shaving apparatus, hair-, tooth-, and 
nail-brushes, pomatum, etc. 
dressing-floor (dres'ing-flor), n. In mining, an 
area of ground near the mouth of the mine with 
a floor of firmly beaten earth or paved with 
stones, on which the ores as they arrive at the dretilt, '. i. 
2f. To fall weakly and slowly. 
The dribbling dart of love. Shak., M. for M., L 4. 
3. To act or think feebly ; want vigor or energy. 
[Rare.] 
Small temptations allure but dribliny offenders. 
Milton, Apology for Smectymnuus. 
4. To be of trifling importance. [Rare.] 
Some dribbling skirmishes. Holland, tr. of Llvy, p. 597. 
II. trans. 1. To throw down or let fall in 
drops or bits. 
Let the cook follow with a ladle full of soup, and dribble 
it all the way up stairs. Swift, Directions for Servants. 
2. To give out in small portions : often with out. 
Stripes, too, at intervals, dribbled out the Marsala with 
a solemnity which would have done honour to a duke's 
butler. Thackeray, Book of Snobs, xxvii. 
3. In foot-ball and other games, to give a slight 
kick or shove to, as the ball, without intend- 
ing to send it far. 
As we wheeled quickly, I saw that one of the other two 
men on our side had stopped it |thc ball], and was begin- 
ning to dribble It along. F. M. Cravford, Mr. Isaacs, vill. 
leSvenrand the gates of heaven dribble 1 (drib'l), n. [< dribble*, v.] 1. Any 
Mt2&ilS3SSa; iSS quantity of dropping or trickling fluid; 
dress; given to ela 
[Colloq.] 
" And don't trouble to dress," continued the consider- 
ate aunt, *' for we are not very dressy here." 
Marriage, I. 33. 
2. Having an air of fashion or dress ; modish ; 
stylish: said of garments or materials. [Colloq.] 
Many hints had been given on the virtues of black vel- 
vet gowns ; . . . they were dreggy, and not too dressy. 
Marriage, I. 200. 
drest 1 . An occasional preterit and past parti- 
ciple of dress, 
trouble ; oppress 
This chanteclere gan gronen in his throte, 
As man that in his dreme is drecched sore. 
Chaucer, Nun's Priest's Tale, L 67. 
"Truly," said the bishop, "I saw the angels heave up 
Sir Laiincelot towards h 
opened against him." 
said Sir Bore, " for I dou 
ing but good." Sir T. Malory, Morte d' Arthur, III. clxxv. 
dretch 2 t, v. i. [= Sc. dretch, dratch, linger, < 
ME. drechen, drecchen, later dretchen, linger, 
delay (not in AS. in this sense). Perhaps = 
MHG. trecken, G. trecken = D. trelcken = Dan. 
tr(ekke, draw, pull (D. and Dan. forms perhaps 
of HG. origin).] To delay ; linger. 
What shold I drecche, or telle of his array? 
Chaucer, Troilus, ii. 1264. 
Be than [by then] the Romaynez ware rebuykyde a lyttille, 
With-drawes theyme drerelyand dreches no lengare. 
Mortt Arthure (E. E. T. 8.), L 2154. 
An obsolete spelling of drool. 
a dropping or dripping: as, the dribble from the 
eaves. 
If that little dribble of an Avon had succeeded In engen- 
dering Shakespeare, what a giant might we not look for 
from the mighty womb of Mississippi ? 
Lowell, Study Windows, p. 185. 
2. Drizzly or wet weather. [Scotch.] 
Now thou's tnrn'd out, for a' thy trouble, 
But house or hald, 
To thole the winter's sleety dribble 
An' cranreuch cauld 1 Burnt, To a Mouse. 
[A var. of drivel* by con- 
Cf. drabble.] To drivel; 
surface are sorted or receive th'eir first rough drevet, f t. See drove*. 
treatment. See spalling-floor. drevilt, n. Same as driveP. 
dressing-frame (dres'in'g-fram), n. A frame of drew (dro). Preterit of draw. 
wire, having the general shape above of the dreyt, See dray 2 . 
shoulders and bust of a woman, and below fol- dreyet, An obsolete form of dry. Chaucer. 
lowing the curves of a skirt : used in shaping dreyer, u. See dreier. 
dresses, draping the folds, etc. dreyling (dri'ling), n. An old Danish copper 
dressing-gown (dres'ing-goun), . A loose and coin, a quarter-skilling. 
easy gown or robe worn while making the toilet dreyntt. An obsolete past participle of drench*. 
or when in dishabille. Dreyssena, . See Dreissena. 
dressing-jacket (dres'ing-jak'et), n. A loose dribH (drib), r. [A dial, var., like drub, of ME. 
upper garment of washable material worn by drepen, hit, strike, slay: see drub. In part (def. 
women while dressing. Also drexxitiii-HiicI;. ' 2) mixed with drib^, dribble*, q. v.] I. trans. 
A variant of drivel 2 . 
A weak person ; a driv- 
i dressing. , . 
dressing-knife (dres'iug-nif), n. [< ME. dress- 
ingknifi', dr< ..xi/iiiiriujfe, etc.] A slightly curved 
blade with handles, used by tanners iii shaving 
off the fatty tissue from the hides. 
1. To cut off; chop off. Dekker. Specifically 
2. To cut off little by little; cheat by small and 
reiterated tricks ; purloin. 
fusion with dribble*. 
slaver. 
dribblet (drib'l), n. 
dribbler (drib'ler), n. 
eler. 
The aspirants and wranglers at the bar, the dribblers 
and the spit-fires. Southey, The Doctor, Intel-chapter vll. 
driblet, dribblet (drib'let), n. [< dribble* + 
dim. -et.] A small piece or part ; any incon- 
siderable part of a whole: as, the money was 
paid in driblets; the food was doled out in drib- 
lets. 
The driblet of a day. Dryden. 
The savings banks of the United States had, in 1887, 
some ?1 200.000,000 of deposits. . . . Saved in dribblets, it 
would have been spent in dribblets, and would have passed 
out of reckoning without doing the world any service, but 
for the savings banks. The Century, XXXV. 966. 
He who drives their bargains drib* a part. Dryden. dlldder (drid'er), . Same a8 dreder. 
