address

Etymology

From Middle English adressen (“to raise erect, adorn”), from Old French adrecier (“to straighten, address”) (modern French adresser), from a- (from Latin ad (“to”)) + drecier (modern French dresser (“to straighten, arrange”)), from Vulgar Latin *dīrectiō, from Latin dīrēctus (“straight or right”), from the verb dīrigō, itself from regō (“to govern, to rule”). Cognate with Spanish aderezar (“to garnish; dress (food); to add spices”).

noun

1. Direction.
   1. (obsolete) Guidance; help.
   2. (chiefly in the plural, now archaic) A polite approach made to another person, especially of a romantic nature; an amorous advance.
      [H]e was thus agreeable, and I neither insensible of his Perfections, nor displeased at his Addresses to me […]. 1723, Richard Steele, The Lover and Reader, page 115
   3. A manner of speaking or writing to another; language, style.
      a man of pleasing or insinuating address
   4. A formal approach to a sovereign, especially an official appeal or petition; later (specifically) a response given by each of the Houses of Parliament to the sovereign's speech at the opening of Parliament.
   5. An act of addressing oneself to a person or group; a discourse or speech, or a record of this.
      Mr. Gregson, who had listened to this address with considerable impatience, could contain himself no longer. 1887, Arthur Conan Doyle, A Study in Scarlet, section VII
      I watched her without knowing, with a prevision that she was going to address me, though with no sort of idea as to the subject of her address. 1889, Margaret Oliphant, The Portrait
   6. A description of the location of a property, usually with at least a street name and number, name of a town, and now also a postal code; such a description as superscribed for direction on an envelope or letter.
      Where we once sent love letters in a sealed envelope, or stuck photographs of our children in a family album, now such private material is despatched to servers and clouds operated by people we don't know and will never meet. Perhaps we assume that our name, address and search preferences will be viewed by some unseen pair of corporate eyes, probably not human, and don't mind that much. 2013-06-14, Jonathan Freedland, “Obama's once hip brand is now tainted”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 1, page 18
      The President's address is 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C.
   7. (by extension) The property itself.
      I went to his address but there was nobody there.
   8. (computing) A number identifying a specific storage location in computer memory; a string of characters identifying a location on the internet or other network; sometimes (specifically) an e-mail address.
      The program will crash if there is no valid data stored at that address.
2. Preparation.
   1. (now rare) Preparedness for some task; resourcefulness; skill, ability.
      This is one bad effect of a good Character—it invites applications from the unfortunate and there needs no small degree of address to gain the reputation of Benevolence without incurring the expence. 1777, Richard Brinsley Sheridan, The School for Scandal, V.i
      The warmth of Father Pedro's constitution had formerly drawn him into some scrapes from which it required all his address to disengage himself, and rendered him exceedingly cautious ever after. 1789, John Moore, Zeluco, Valancourt, published 2008, page 129
      At their turning-lathes, they employ their toes to guide the chisel; and, in these pedipulations, shew to Europeans a diverting degree of address. 1813, “Customs, Manners, and present Appearance of Constantinople”, in The New Annual Register, or General Repository of History, Politics, and Literature for the year 1812, page 179
   2. (obsolete) The act of getting ready; preparation.
      But now again she makes address to speak. 1671, John Milton, Samson Agonistes
   3. (golf, Scotland) The act of bringing the head of the club up to the ball in preparation for swinging.

verb

1. (intransitive, obsolete) To prepare oneself.
2. (intransitive, obsolete) To direct speech.
3. (transitive, obsolete) To aim; to direct.
4. (transitive, obsolete) To prepare or make ready.
   The five foolish virgins addressed themselves at the noise of the bridegroom's coming. 1649, Jeremy Taylor, The Great Exemplar of Sanctity and Holy Life According to the Christian Institution
5. (transitive, reflexive) To prepare oneself; to apply one's skill or energies (to some object); to betake.
6. (reflexive) To direct one’s remarks (to someone).
   1701, Thomas Brown, Laconics, or New Maxims of State and Conversation, London: Thomas Hodgson, section 76, p. 103, In the Reign of King Charles the Second, a certain Worthy Divine at Whitehall, thus Address’d himself to the Auditory at the conclusion of his Sermon.
   When any member is about to speak in debate, he shall rise and respectfully address himself to “Mr. Chairman.” 1876, Henry Martyn Robert, Robert’s Rules of Order, Chicago: S.C. Griggs & Co., p. 66, Article V, Section 34
7. (transitive, archaic) To clothe or array; to dress.
   Likewise Vincentius, and Petrus de Natalibus, and others your writers and recorders of fables could have told you that Tecla sometime addressed herself in man's apparel, and, had she not been forbidden by St Paul, would have followed him in company as a man. 1566–67, John Jewel, “The Defence of the Apology”, in The Works of John Jewel, Bishop of Salisbury, volume 4, Cambridge: University of Cambridge, published 1845, page 651
8. (transitive) To direct, as words (to anyone or anything); to make, as a speech, petition, etc. (to any audience).
   He addressed some portions of his remarks to his supporters, some to his opponents.
9. (transitive) To direct speech to; to make a communication to, whether spoken or written; to apply to by words, as by a speech, petition, etc., to speak to.
   The representatives of the nation in parliament, and the privy council, address the king 1724, Jonathan Swift, “Drapier's Letters”, in 3
   Rimmer paused for no discernible reason, then yelled, equally inexplicably: 'Shut up!', wheeled round 180º, and appeared to be addressing a dartboard. 1989, Grant Naylor, Red Dwarf: Infinity Welcomes Careful Drivers
   Imagine a country where children do nothing but play until they start compulsory schooling at age seven. Then, without exception, they attend comprehensives until the age of 16. […] Children address teachers by their first names. Even 15-year-olds do no more than 30 minutes' homework a night. 2013-07-19, Peter Wilby, “Finland spreads word on schools”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 6, page 30
10. (transitive) To direct in writing, as a letter; to superscribe, or to direct and transmit.
    He addressed a letter.
11. (transitive) To make suit to as a lover; to court; to woo.
12. (transitive) To consign or entrust to the care of another, as agent or factor.
    The ship was addressed to a merchant in Baltimore.
13. (transitive) To address oneself to; to prepare oneself for; to apply oneself to; to direct one's speech, discourse or efforts to.
    He stepped away from the sink, put up the toilet ring (Vi complained bitterly if he forgot to put it down when he was through, but never seemed to feel any pressing need to put it back up when she was), and addressed the John. 1990, Stephen King, The Moving Finger
    Although there are dozens of different types of gems, among the best known and most important are […] . (Common gem materials not addressed in this article include amber, amethyst, chalcedony, garnet, lazurite, malachite, opals, peridot, rhodonite, spinel, tourmaline, turquoise and zircon.) 2012-03, Lee A. Groat, “Gemstones”, in American Scientist, volume 100, number 2, page 128
14. (transitive, formal) To direct attention towards a problem or obstacle, in an attempt to resolve it.
    "By all means we want people to use social media, but we do not want you to use it in ways that will incite violence," said Jonathan Toy, Southwark council's head of community safety. "This remains a big issue for us and without some form of censorship purely focusing on [violent videos], I'm not sure how we can address it." April 19, 2012, Josh Halliday, “Free speech haven or lawless cesspool – can the internet be civilised?”, in The Guardian
    Formerly [sic: Formally] known as the Rail Safety and Standards Board, the not-for-profit organisation's remit includes managing and developing Railway Group Standards on behalf of the rail industry, leading the development of long-term safety strategy, and supporting cross-industry groups that address major areas of safety risk. December 2 2020, Mark Phillips, “Rebuilding Rail in the 2020s”, in Rail, page 46
15. (transitive, computing) To refer to a location in computer memory.
16. (transitive, golf, Scotland) To get ready to hit (the ball on the tee).