Removing clothing from the body; taking off clothes.
Compound from 'un-' (reverse action, from Old English) and 'dress' from Old French 'dresser' meaning 'to arrange' or 'prepare.' 'Dress' originally meant arranging armor or clothes properly, so 'undressing' is literally 'un-arranging' them.
The word 'dress' originally meant 'to arrange or prepare properly'—so when you 'undress,' you're literally reversing the arrangement, which is a poetic way to think about taking off clothes!
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