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plain

 - 9 dictionary results

plain

1  [pleyn] adjective, -er, -est, adverb, noun
–adjective
1. clear or distinct to the eye or ear: a plain trail to the river; to stand in plain view.
2. clear to the mind; evident, manifest, or obvious: to make one's meaning plain.
3. conveying the meaning clearly and simply; easily understood: plain talk.
4. downright; sheer; utter; self-evident: plain folly; plain stupidity.
5. free from ambiguity or evasion; candid; outspoken: the plain truth of the matter.
6. without special pretensions, superiority, elegance, etc.; ordinary: plain people.
7. not beautiful; physically unattractive or undistinguished: a plain face.
8. without intricacies or difficulties.
9. ordinary, simple, or unostentatious: Although she was a duchess, her manners were attractively plain.
10. with little or no embellishment, decoration, or enhancing elaboration: a plain blue suit.
11. without a pattern, figure, or device: a plain fabric.
12. not rich, highly seasoned, or elaborately prepared, as food: a plain diet.
13. flat or level: plain country.
14. unobstructed, clear, or open, as ground, a space, etc.
15. Cards. being other than a face card or a trump.
–adverb
16. clearly and simply: He's just plain stupid.
–noun
17. an area of land not significantly higher than adjacent areas and with relatively minor differences in elevation, commonly less than 500 ft. (150 m), within the area.
18. The Plains. Great Plains.
Use plain in a Sentence
Origin:
1250–1300; ME (adj., adv., and n.) < OF (adj. and n.) < L plānus flat, level, plānum flat country

Related forms:
plainly, adverb
plainness, noun

Synonyms:
1, 2. lucid, understandable, intelligible, unmistakable, apparent, perspicuous. 2, 3. unambiguous, unequivocal, patent, transparent; direct. 5. unreserved, straightforward, blunt, frank, ingenuous, open, sincere. 6. unpretentious. 10. unadorned. See homely.

Antonyms:
1. indistinct. 2. obscure. 13. hilly.

plain

2  [pleyn]
–verb (used without object) British Dialect.
to complain.
Origin:
1250–1300; ME plei(g)nen < OF plaign-, s. of plaindre < L plangere to beat (the breast, etc.), lament; akin to Gk plssein to strike
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010.
Cite This Source Link To plain
plain   (plān)   
adj.   plain·er, plain·est

  1. Free from obstructions; open; clear: in plain view.

  2. Obvious to the mind; evident: make one's intention plain. See Synonyms at apparent.

  3. Not elaborate or complicated; simple: plain food.

  4. Straightforward; frank or candid: plain talk.

  5. Not mixed with other substances; pure: plain water.

  6. Common in rank or station; average; ordinary: a plain man.

  7. Not pretentious; unaffected.

  8. Marked by little or no ornamentation or decoration.

  9. Not dyed, twilled, or patterned: a plain fabric.

  10. Lacking beauty or distinction: a plain face.

  11. Sheer; utter; unqualified: plain stupidity.

  12. Archaic Having no visible elevation or depression; flat; level.

n.  

    1. An extensive, level, usually treeless area of land.

    2. A broad level expanse, as a part of the sea floor or a lunar mare.

  2. Something free of ornamentation or extraneous matter.

adv.   Informal
Clearly; simply: plain stubborn.

[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin plānus; see pelə-2 in Indo-European roots.]
plain'ly adv., plain'ness n.
Synonyms: These adjectives mean not ornate, ostentatious, or showy: a plain hairstyle; a modest cottage; a simple dark suit; an unostentatious office; an unpretentious country church.
Antonym: ornate
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

plain  (adj.)
c.1300, "flat, smooth," from O.Fr. plain, from L. planus "flat, even, level" (see plane (1)). Sense of "evident" is from, c.1300; meaning "simple, sincere, ordinary" is recorded from c.1374. In ref. to the dress and speech of Quakers, it is recorded from 1827; of Amish and Mennonites, from 1904. Of appearance, as a euphemism for "ill-favored, ugly" it dates from 1749. Plain Jane "unattractive woman" first attested 1912. Plain-spoken first attested 1678. Plain clothes "ordinary dress" (as opposed to military uniform) is from 1822; of police detectives, it is attested from 1842. Plain-song (1513) translates L. cantus planus.

plain  (n.)
"level country," 1297 (originally in ref. to Salisbury Plain), from O.Fr. plain, from L. planum "level ground, plain," properly neut. of adj. planus "flat, even, level" ((see plane (1)). L. planum was used for "level ground" but much more common was campus. Plains of the American Midwest first so called 1684.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Science Dictionary
plain   (plān)  Pronunciation Key 

  1. An extensive, relatively level area of land. Plains are present on all continents except Antarctica and are most often located in the interior regions. Because they can occur at almost any altitude or latitude, plains can be humid and forested, semiarid and grass-covered, or arid.

  2. A broad, level expanse, such as an area of the sea floor or a lunar mare.


The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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Computing Dictionary

PLAIN
Programming LAnguage for INteraction. Pascal-like, with extensions for database, string handling, exceptions and pattern matching. "Revised Report on the Programming Language PLAIN", A. Wasserman, SIGPLAN Notices 6(5):59-80 (May 1981).

The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, © 1993-2007 Denis Howe
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Bible Dictionary

Plain

(1.) Heb. 'abel (Judg. 11:33), a "grassy plain" or "meadow." Instead of "plains of the vineyards," as in the Authorized Version, the Revised Version has "Abel-cheramim" (q.v.), comp. Judg. 11:22; 2 Chr. 16:4. (2.) Heb. 'elon (Gen. 12:6; 13:18; 14:13; 18:1; Deut. 11:30; Judg. 9:6), more correctly "oak," as in the Revised Version; margin, "terebinth." (3.) Heb. bik'ah (Gen. 11:2; Neh. 6:2; Ezek. 3:23; Dan. 3:1), properly a valley, as rendered in Isa. 40:4, a broad plain between mountains. In Amos 1:5 the margin of Authorized Version has "Bikathaven." (4.) Heb. kikar, "the circle," used only of the Ghor, or the low ground along the Jordan (Gen. 13:10-12; 19:17, 25, 28, 29; Deut. 34:3; 2 Sam. 18:23; 1 Kings 7:46; 2 Chr. 4:17; Neh. 3:22; 12:28), the floor of the valley through which it flows. This name is applied to the Jordan valley as far north as Succoth. (5.) Heb. mishor, "level ground," smooth, grassy table-land (Deut. 3:10; 4:43; Josh. 13:9, 16, 17, 21; 20:8; Jer. 48:21), an expanse of rolling downs without rock or stone. In these passages, with the article prefixed, it denotes the plain in the tribe of Reuben. In 2 Chr. 26:10 the plain of Judah is meant. Jerusalem is called "the rock of the plain" in Jer. 21:13, because the hills on which it is built rise high above the plain. (6.) Heb. 'arabah, the valley from the Sea of Galilee southward to the Dead Sea (the "sea of the plain," 2 Kings 14:25; Deut. 1:1; 2:8), a distance of about 70 miles. It is called by the modern Arabs the Ghor. This Hebrew name is found in Authorized Version (Josh. 18:18), and is uniformly used in the Revised Version. Down through the centre of this plain is a ravine, from 200 to 300 yards wide, and from 50 to 100 feet deep, through which the Jordan flows in a winding course. This ravine is called the "lower plain." The name Arabah is also applied to the whole Jordan valley from Mount Hermon to the eastern branch of the Red Sea, a distance of about 200 miles, as well as to that portion of the valley which stretches from the Sea of Galilee to the same branch of the Red Sea, i.e., to the Gulf of Akabah about 100 miles in all. (7.) Heb. shephelah, "low ground," "low hill-land," rendered "vale" or "valley" in Authorized Version (Josh. 9:1; 10:40; 11:2; 12:8; Judg. 1:9; 1 Kings 10:27). In Authorized Version (1 Chr. 27:28; 2 Chr. 26:10) it is also rendered "low country." In Jer. 17:26, Obad. 1:19, Zech. 7:7, "plain." The Revised Version renders it uniformly "low land." When it is preceded by the article, as in Deut. 1:7, Josh. 11:16; 15:33, Jer. 32:44; 33:13, Zech. 7:7, "the shephelah," it denotes the plain along the Mediterranean from Joppa to Gaza, "the plain of the Philistines." (See VALLEY.)

Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
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Idioms & Phrases

plain

In addition to the idioms beginning with plain, also see in plain English.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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