Why is a chest of drawers sometimes called a ‘dresser’? According to Merriam-Webster, using this common piece of furniture to hold our socks and t-shirts only came about in the middle of the 19th Century; before then, a dresser was used to hold dishes and cooking utensils.
Even earlier, as far back as the 14th century, it was a table or sideboard for preparing and serving food. In other words, where the food was ‘dressed’ for the table.
