plain
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Pronunciation: note: pane–pain merger
enpr: plān
homophone: plane
ipa: /pleɪn/
ipa: [pl̥eɪn]
note: Indic
ipa: /plɛjn/
note: pane–pain merger
ipa: /plen/
rhymes: -eɪn
Forms: form: plainer
form: plainest
form: plaine
Etymology: 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.
Senses: examples: text: The crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain.
ref: 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Isaiah 40:4:
glosses: Flat, level.
examples: text: He was dressed simply in plain black clothes.
text: a plain tune
text: The ability of a segment of a glass sphere to magnify whatever is placed before it was known around the year 1000, when the spherical segment was called a reading stone, essentially what today we might term a frameless magnifying glass or plain glass paperweight.
ref: 2013 September–October, Henry Petroski, “The Evolution of Eyeglasses”, in American Scientist:
glosses: Simple, unaltered.
Ordinary; lacking adornment or ornamentation; unembellished.
synonyms: word: austere
word: simple
word: austere
word: bare
word: chaste
word: inornate
word: modest
word: plain
word: quiet
word: severe
word: simple
word: spartan
word: unadorned
word: unembellished
word: unextravagant
word: unornamented
word: undecked
word: ungarnished
word: untrimmed
word: unvarnished
examples: text: a plain pink polycotton skirt
glosses: Simple, unaltered.
Of just one colour; lacking a pattern.
examples: text: They're just plain people like you or me.
text: plain yet pious Christians
ref: 1654, Henry Hammond, Of Fundamentals:
text: the plain people
ref: 1861, Abraham Lincoln, Message to Congress in Special Session, July 4th:
glosses: Simple, unaltered.
Simple in habits or qualities; unsophisticated, not exceptional, ordinary.
examples: text: Would you like a poppy bagel or a plain bagel?
glosses: Simple, unaltered.
Having only few ingredients, or no additional ingredients or seasonings; not elaborate, without toppings or extras.
raw_tags: of food
topics: computing
engineering
mathematics
natural-sciences
physical-sciences
sciences
glosses: Simple, unaltered.
Containing no extended or nonprinting characters (especially in plain text).
examples: text: In fact, by excommunication or persuasion, by impetuosity of driving or adroitness in leading, this Abbot, it is now becoming plain everywhere, is a man that generally remains master at last.
ref: 1843 April, Thomas Carlyle, “ch. XV, Practical — Devotional”, in Past and Present, American edition, Boston, Mass.: Charles C[offin] Little and James Brown, published 1843, →OCLC, book II (The Ancient Monk):
glosses: Obvious.
Evident to one's senses or reason; manifest, clear, unmistakable.
examples: text: His answer was just plain nonsense.
glosses: Obvious.
Downright; total, unmistakable (as intensifier).
examples: text: Let me be plain with you: I don't like her.
text: [VV]e are able with playne demonſtration to proue, and vvith reaſon to perſvvade that in tymes paſt our fayth vvas alike, that then vve preached thinges correſpondent vnto the forme of faith already published of vs, ſo that none in this behalfe can repyne or gaynesay vs.
ref: 1577, Socrates Scholasticus [i.e., Socrates of Constantinople], “Constantinus the Emperour Summoneth the Nicene Councell, it was Held at Nicæa a Citie of Bythnia for the Debatinge of the Controuersie about the Feast of Easter, and the Rootinge out of the Heresie of Arius”, in Eusebius Pamphilus, Socrates Scholasticus, Evagrius Scholasticus, Dorotheus, translated by Meredith Hanmer, The Avncient Ecclesiasticall Histories of the First Six Hundred Yeares after Christ, Wrytten in the Greeke Tongue by Three Learned Historiographers, Eusebius, Socrates, and Euagrius. …, book I (The First Booke of the Ecclesiasticall Historye of Socrates Scholasticvs), imprinted at London: By Thomas Vautroullier dwelling in the Blackefriers by Ludgate, →OCLC, page 225:
text: an honest mind, and plain, he must speak truth
ref: c. 1603–1606, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of King Lear”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene v]:
text: The Quaker was no sooner assured by this fellow of the birth and low fortune of Jones, than all compassion for him vanished; and the honest plain man went home fired with no less indignation than a duke would have felt at receiving an affront from such a person.
ref: 1749, Henry Fielding, The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, volume (please specify |volume=I to VI), London: A[ndrew] Millar, […], →OCLC:
glosses: Open.
Honest and without deception; candid, open; blunt.
examples: text: Our troops beat an army in plain fight.
ref: 1711, Henry Felton, Dissertation on Reading the Classics:
glosses: Open.
Clear; unencumbered; equal; fair.
examples: text: Throughout high school she worried that she had a rather plain face.
text: Yet her beauty clung to her like an identity she was trying to deny and her plainness kept slipping like a bad disguise.
ref: 1986, John le Carré, A Perfect Spy:
glosses: Not unusually beautiful; unattractive.
topics: card-games
games
glosses: Not a trump.
Synonyms: sense: lacking adornment or ornamentation
word: no-frills
word: simple
word: unadorned
word: unseasoned
word: bare-bones
sense: of just one colour
word: monochrome
sense: not exceptional
word: normal
sense: not exceptional
word: ordinary
sense: obvious
word: blatant
word: ostensible
word: obvious
word: explicit
word: consarn
word: darned
word: stinking
word: damned
sense: honest and without deception
word: frank
word: sincere
word: honest
Derived terms: in plain sight
in plain view
just plain folks
overplain
paleoplain
plain and simple
plain as a haystack
plain as a pikestaff
plain as day
plain as Dunstable highway
plain as porridge
plain as print
plain as Salisbury
plain as the nose on one's face
plain ball
plain bearing
plain bread
plain-breasted hawk
plain brown wrapper
plainchant
plain chocolate
plain-clothed
plainclothedpalaeoplain
plain clothes
plain-clothes
plain cook
plain dealer
plain dealing
plain-dealing
plain dress
plain Dunstable
plain English
plain film
plainfin
plain flour
plainful
plainhead
plain-hearted
plainish
plain Jane
plain-laid
plain leaf warbler
plain line
plain loaf
plain-looking
plainly
plainness
plain old
plain old data
plain old telephone service
plain paper
plain people
plain point
plain pug
plain radiography
plain sailing
plain-sailing
plain saw
plain-saw
plainsawn
plainsies
plain-song
plain song
plainsong
plain-speaking
plain speech
plain-spoken
plainspoken
plain tall
plain text
plain to see
plain truth
plain-vanilla
plain vanilla
plain view doctrine
plainware
plain water
plain weave
plain-winged
plain-winged antshrike
plain work
plain-woven
plain wrapper
unplain
Welsh plain
Related terms: plane
planar