Definitions and meaning of plain
plain
English
Pronunciation
- enPR: plān, IPA(key): /pleɪn/, [pl̥eɪn]
-
- Rhymes: -eɪn
- Homophone: plane
Etymology 1
From Middle English pleyn, borrowed from Anglo-Norman pleyn, playn, Middle French plain, plein, and Old French plain, from Latin plānus (“flat, even, level, plain”). Doublet of llano, piano, and plane.
Alternative forms
Adjective
plain (comparative plainer, superlative plainest)
- (now rare, regional) Flat, level. [from 14th c.]
- Simple, unaltered.
- Ordinary; lacking adornment or ornamentation; unembellished. [from 14th c.]
- Synonyms: austere, simple; see also Thesaurus:unadorned
- Of just one colour; lacking a pattern.
- Simple in habits or qualities; unsophisticated, not exceptional, ordinary. [from 16th c.]
- (of food) Having only few ingredients, or no additional ingredients or seasonings; not elaborate, without toppings or extras. [from 17th c.]
- (computing) Containing no extended or nonprinting characters (especially in plain text). [from 20th c.]
- Obvious.
- Evident to one's senses or reason; manifest, clear, unmistakable. [from 14th c.]
- Downright; total, unmistakable (as intensifier). [from 14th c.]
- Open.
- Honest and without deception; candid, open; blunt. [from 14th c.]
- Clear; unencumbered; equal; fair.
- Not unusually beautiful; unattractive. [from 17th c.]
- (card games) Not a trump.
Synonyms
- (lacking adornment or ornamentation): no-frills, simple, unadorned, unseasoned; see also Thesaurus:bare-bones
- (of just one colour): monochrome
- (not exceptional): normal, ordinary
- (obvious): blatant, ostensible; see also Thesaurus:obvious or Thesaurus:explicit
- (intensifier): consarn, darned, stinking; see also Thesaurus:damned
- (honest and without deception): frank, sincere; see also Thesaurus:honest
Antonyms
- bells and whistles
- decorative
- exotic
- fancy
- ornate
Derived terms
Related terms
Translations
Adverb
plain (not comparable)
- (colloquial) Simply.
- (archaic) Plainly; distinctly.
Translations
Etymology 2
From Old French plain, from Latin plānum (“level ground, a plain”), neuter substantive from plānus (“level, even, flat”). Doublet of llano, piano, and plane.
Noun
plain (plural plains)
- An expanse of land with relatively low relief and few trees, especially a grassy expanse.
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- 1961, J. A. Philip. Mimesis in the Sophistês of Plato. In: Proceedings and Transactions of the American Philological Association 92. p. 467.
- For Plato the life of the philosopher is a life of struggle towards the goal of knowledge, towards “searching the heavens and measuring the plains, in all places seeking the nature of everything as a whole”
- Synonyms: flatland, grassland
- Hypernyms: land, terrain
- Hyponyms: prairie, steppe
- A broad, flat expanse in general, as of water.
- (archaic) Synonym of field in reference to a battlefield.
- (obsolete) Alternative spelling of plane: a flat geometric field.
Usage notes
- As with grassland(s), flatland(s), etc., plains can function as the plural of plain (There are ten principal low plains on Mars) or as its synonym (She lives on the plains), with a vague sense of greater expansiveness.
Derived terms
Related terms
Translations
Verb
plain (third-person singular simple present plains, present participle plaining, simple past and past participle plained)
- (obsolete, transitive) To level; to raze; to make plain or even on the surface.
-
- 1612, George Wither, Prince Henrie’s Obsequies, Elegy 24, in Egerton Brydges (editor), Restituta, Volume I, London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme & Brown, 1814, p. 399,[1]
- Though kept by Rome’s and Mahomet’s chiefe powers;
They should not long detain him there in thrall:
We would rake Europe rather, plain the East;
Dispeople the whole Earth before the doome:
- (obsolete, transitive) To make plain or manifest; to explain.
Etymology 3
From Anglo-Norman plainer, pleiner, variant of Anglo-Norman and Old French pleindre, plaindre, from Latin plangere.
Alternative forms
Noun
plain (plural plains)
- (rare, poetic) A lamentation.
Verb
plain (third-person singular simple present plains, present participle plaining, simple past and past participle plained)
- (reflexive, obsolete) To complain. [13th–19th c.]
- (ambitransitive, now rare, poetic) To lament, bewail. [from 14th c.]
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-
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- 1936, Alfred Edward Housman, More Poems, "XXV", lines 5–9
- Then came I crying, and to-day, / With heavier cause to plain, / Depart I into death away, / Not to be born again.
Related terms
Etymology 4
From Middle English pleyn, borrowed from Old French plein, from Latin plēnus (“full, filled, complete”). Ultimately from Proto-Italic *plēnos, from Proto-Indo-European *pl̥h₁nós (“full”). Doublet of plene, plenary, and full.
Adjective
plain (comparative plainer, superlative plainest)
- (obsolete) Full, complete in number or extent.
Anagrams
- Pinal, palin-, lapin, Palin, plani-, Aplin, Lipan, in lap
Dalmatian
Etymology
From Latin plēnus. Compare Italian pieno, Romansch plain, Romanian plin, French plein.
Adjective
plain (feminine plaina)
- full
French
Etymology
Inherited from Old French plain, from Latin plānus. Doublet of plan and piano.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /plɛ̃/
-
- Homophones: plains, plein, pleins
Adjective
plain (feminine plaine, masculine plural plains, feminine plural plaines)
- (obsolete) plane
Derived terms
Further reading
- “plain”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Anagrams
Middle French
Etymology
From Old French plain, from Latin plēnus.
Adjective
plain m (feminine singular plaine, masculine plural plains, feminine plural plaines)
- full (not empty)
Old French
Etymology 1
From Latin plēnus.
Adjective
plain m (feminine plaine)
- full (not empty)
- Antonym: vuit
Descendants
Etymology 2
From Latin plānum (“level ground, a plain”), neuter substantive from plānus (“level, even, flat”).
Noun
plain oblique singular, m (oblique plural plainz, nominative singular plainz, nominative plural plain)
- plain (flat area)
Synonyms
Descendants
- → Dutch: plein
- → Middle English:
- English: plain
- Scots: plain
Etymology 3
From Latin plānus (“level, even, flat”).
Adjective
plain m (oblique and nominative feminine singular plaine)
- flat (not even or mountainous)
Romansch
Alternative forms
- plein (Sursilvan)
- plagn (Sutsilvan, Surmiran)
Etymology
From Latin plēnus.
Adjective
plain m (feminine singular plaina, masculine plural plains, feminine plural plainas)
- (Rumantsch Grischun, Puter, Vallader) full
Source: wiktionary.org