Dress vs. Gown: What's the Difference?
Table of Contents
Main Difference
The main difference between Dress and Gown is that the Dress is a garment for women, children, or infants consisting of a bodice and skirt made in one or more pieces and Gown is a full-length woman’s garment consisting of a bodice and attached skirt, worn from the Middle Ages to modern times
Dress
A dress (also known as a frock or a gown) is a garment consisting of a skirt with an attached bodice (or a matching bodice giving the effect of a one-piece garment). It consists of a top piece that covers the torso and hangs down over the legs. A dress can be any one-piece garment containing a skirt of any length. Dresses can be formal or informal. In many cultures, dresses are more often worn by women and girls.
The hemlines of dresses vary depending on the fashion of the time period and the modesty or personal taste of the wearer.
Gown
A gown, from the Saxon word, gunna, is a usually loose outer garment from knee- to full-length worn by men and women in Europe from the Early Middle Ages to the 17th century, and continuing today in certain professions; later, gown was applied to any full-length woman’s garment consisting of a bodice and attached skirt. A long, loosely fitted gown called a Banyan was worn by men in the 18th century as an informal coat.
The gowns worn today by academics, judges, and some clergy derive directly from the everyday garments worn by their medieval predecessors, formalized into a uniform in the course of the 16th and 17th centuries.
Dress (noun)
An item of clothing (usually worn by a woman or young girl) which both covers the upper part of the body and includes skirts below the waist.
“Amy and Mary looked very pretty in their dresses.”
Dress (noun)
Apparel, clothing.
“He came to the party in formal dress.”
Dress (noun)
The system of furrows on the face of a millstone.
Dress (noun)
A dress rehearsal.
Dress (verb)
To fit out with the necessary clothing; to clothe, put clothes on (something or someone). from 15thc.
“He was dressed in the latest fashions.”
Dress (verb)
To clothe oneself; to put on clothes. from 18thc.
“I rose and dressed before daybreak.”
“It’s very cold out. Dress warm.”
Dress (verb)
To put on the uniform and equipment necessary to play the game.
“Due to a left ankle sprain, Kobe Bryant did not dress for the game against Indiana”
Dress (verb)
Of a man, to allow the genitals to fall to one side or other within the trousers. from 20thc.
“Does sir dress to the right or the left?”
Dress (verb)
To prepare (food) for cooking, especially by seasoning it. from 15thc.
Dress (verb)
To prepare oneself; to make ready. 14th-16thc.
Dress (verb)
To adorn, ornament. from 15thc.
“It was time to dress the windows for Christmas again.”
Dress (verb)
To ornament (a ship) by hoisting the national colours at the peak and mastheads, and setting the jack forward; when “dressed full”, the signal flags and pennants are added.
Dress (verb)
To treat (a wound, or wounded person). from 15thc.
Dress (verb)
To prepare for use; to fit for any use; to render suitable for an intended purpose; to get ready.
“to dress leather or cloth;”
“to dress a garden;”
“to dress grain, by cleansing it;”
“in mining and metallurgy, to dress ores, by sorting and separating them”
Dress (verb)
To prepare the surface of (a material; usually stone or lumber).
Dress (verb)
To manure (land).
Dress (verb)
To bolt or sift flour.
Dress (verb)
To arrange in exact continuity of line, as soldiers; commonly to adjust to a straight line and at proper distance; to align. Sometimes an imperative command.
“to dress the ranks”
“Right, dress!”
Dress (verb)
To break and train for use, as a horse or other animal.
Gown (noun)
A loose, flowing upper garment.
Gown (noun)
A woman’s ordinary outer dress, such as a calico or silk gown.
Gown (noun)
The official robe of certain professional men and scholars, such as university students and officers, barristers, judges, etc.
Gown (noun)
The university community.
“In the perennial town versus gown battles, townies win some violent battles, but the collegians are winning the war.”
Gown (noun)
A loose wrapper worn by gentlemen within doors; a dressing gown.
Gown (noun)
Any sort of dress or garb.
Gown (noun)
The robe worn by a surgeon.
Gown (verb)
To dress in a gown, to don or garb with a gown.
Dress (verb)
put on one’s clothes
“Graham showered and dressed quickly”
“I’ll go and get dressed”
Dress (verb)
wear clothes in a particular way or of a particular type
“she’s nice-looking and dresses well”
“he was dressed in jeans and a thick sweater”
Dress (verb)
put clothes on (someone)
“they dressed her in a white hospital gown”
Dress (verb)
put on clothes appropriate for a formal occasion
“we dressed for dinner every night”
Dress (verb)
design or supply clothes for (a celebrity)
“for over four decades he dressed the royal family”
Dress (verb)
decorate (something) in an artistic or attractive way
“she’d enjoyed dressing the tree when the children were little”
Dress (verb)
decorate (a ship) with flags for a special occasion.
Dress (verb)
treat or prepare (something) in a certain way.
Dress (verb)
clean, treat, or apply a dressing to (a wound)
“she washed the wound and dressed it with fresh bandages”
Dress (verb)
clean and prepare (food, especially poultry or shellfish) for cooking or eating
“dress the crab and shell the prawns”
Dress (verb)
add a dressing to (a salad)
“dress the salad with vinaigrette”
Dress (verb)
apply a fertilizer to (an area of ground or a plant)
“the field was dressed with unrotted farmyard manure”
Dress (verb)
complete the preparation or manufacture of (leather or fabric) by treating its surface in some way
“leather that had been dressed with alum”
Dress (verb)
smooth the surface of (stone)
“it takes two days to dress a pair of millstones”
Dress (verb)
arrange or style (hair)
“Patrick dressed Michelle’s hair in a sculptured, Japanese-type style”
Dress (verb)
draw up (troops) in the proper alignment.
Dress (verb)
(of troops) come into proper alignment.
Dress (verb)
(of a man) have the genitals habitually on one or the other side of the fork of the trousers
“do you dress to the left?”
Dress (verb)
make (an artificial fly) for use in fishing
“after you dress a dry fly, be sure to remove any oil before you make your next cast”
Dress (noun)
a one-piece garment for a woman or girl that covers the body and extends down over the legs
“a dress designer”
“a white cotton dress”
Dress (noun)
clothing of a specified kind for men or women
“traditional African dress”
Dress (noun)
denoting military uniform or other clothing used on formal or ceremonial occasions
“a dress suit”
Gown (noun)
a long elegant dress worn on formal occasions
“a silk ball gown”
Gown (noun)
a dressing gown.
Gown (noun)
a protective garment worn in hospital, either by a staff member during surgery or by a patient.
Gown (noun)
a loose cloak indicating one’s profession or status, worn by a lawyer, teacher, academic, or university student.
Gown (noun)
the members of a university as distinct from the permanent residents of the university town.
Gown (verb)
be dressed in a gown
“she was gowned in luminous silk”
Gown (verb)
put on a surgical gown
“the lab is supposed to be sterile, so you have to gown up”
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