I. ˈplān verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English plainen, pleynen, from Middle French plaindre, from Latin plangere to lament — more at plaint
intransitive verb
1. archaic : complain ; specifically : to make a complaint against someone
2. archaic : to make a doleful sound : mourn
wind went … plaining over the barren moor — Mary Linskill
transitive verb
archaic : bewail , bemoan
II. noun
( -s )
archaic : plaint
III. noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English plain, pleyn, from Old French plain, from Latin planum, from neuter of planus level, flat
1.
a. : an extensive area of land having few inequalities of surface, being usually fairly flat but sometimes having a considerable slope, and usually being at low elevation though some (as the Great Plains of the United States) are as much as three or four thousand feet above sea level : a very widespread tract of level or rolling treeless country with a vegetation predominantly of short perennial grasses and annual forbs — often used in plural
from the ecological viewpoint there is no essential distinction between … prairie and plains — F.E.Clements & V.E.Shelford
b. : a smooth flat or gently sloping part of an ocean floor
the plain of the ocean floor may be broken by long deep troughs — C.M.Nevin
c. : a broad unbroken expanse
looking far over the mystic plain of the waves — William Black
a flat featureless snow plain — G. de Q. Robin
2. archaic
a. : a field of battle : battleground
lead forth my soldiers to the plain — Shakespeare
b. : plane IV
3. : something that is free from artifice, ornament, or extraneous matter
nature and art, the plain and the precious — J.H.Hagstrum
specifically — a usually wool or cotton fabric of plain weave and solid color
fine plains … usually are finer yarn, higher thread-count cloths than print cloths — John Hoye
IV. adjective
( -er/-est )
Etymology: Middle English plain, pleyn, from Middle French plain, from Latin planus level, flat, plain — more at floor
1. obsolete
a. : flat
his back is plain to his tail — Edward Topsell
b. : plane
2.
a. archaic : having an even surface : level , smooth
make the rougher places plain — Catherine Winkworth
b. of a merino sheep : lacking folds or wrinkles
a plain -bodied ewe
3.
a. : lacking ornament : undecorated
a New England country church is traditionally a rather plain building with a thin spire — Robert Holland
b. heraldry : not charged or engrailed
4. : free of extraneous matter : pure , unadulterated
takes his whiskey with plain water
the plain colors … give such freshness to her work — Yankee
specifically : free of bubbles or other imperfections — used of glass
5.
a. archaic : free of obstacles : open
give … battle in the plain sea — John Speed
b. : free of impediments to view : unobstructed
pastured out on the moors in plain sight of us — Martha Kean
6.
a.
(1) : evident to the mind or senses : distinctly recognizable : obvious
stared at him coldly, hatred and contempt very plain in her face — Irwin Shaw
the facts are undoubted; they are plain matters of history — E.A.Freeman
she's wild about him — it's as plain as the nose on your face
(2) : easily understood : clear
makes it … plain that events develop quite independently of the people they affect — C.H.Rickword
what, in plain words, is the morality of culture — J.C.Powys
b. : characterized by candor : frank , blunt
to be plain with you, I will sing none — Izaak Walton
an impressive honesty and a good deal of plain speaking — Alan Bullock
c. : devoid of elaboration or subterfuge : bald , undisguised
made no attempt to harangue his listeners but stuck to the plain facts
plain anger seized me — Arthur Grimble
7.
a. : belonging to the great majority of mankind : common
the plain people everywhere … wish to live in peace with one another — F.D.Roosevelt
b.
(1) : lacking special distinction : of a routine nature : ordinary
writes not for musical specialists … but for the plain operagoer — Ernest Newman
plain common sense tells us that … gold and silver are practically useless except for what they will procure — W.P.Webb
(2) : not being trump
lost only one trick in each of the plain suits — C.H.Goren
c. : characterized by lack of vanity or affectation
just plain folks — homespun, guileless and democratic — Thomas Pyles
as plain as an old shoe in dress, mannerisms, and the way he runs his business — Time
d. : avoiding waste or extravagance : frugal
every cent of tax money had to be put to some good plain use — Dorothy C. Fisher
e. : of or relating to expressions used by the Quakers
the use of thee and thy is characteristic of the plain language
8. : characterized by simplicity : uncomplicated: as
a. of musical harmony : using only essential chord tones
the harmonic underpinning is a little plain — Virgil Thomson
b. : devoid of strong seasoning or exotic ingredients
plain home cooking
c. of cloth
(1) : made in plain weave
(2) : having no pattern
d. of paper or board
(1) : made throughout of one grade of stock
(2) : uncoated
9.
a. : unremarkable either for physical beauty or ugliness : lacking allure : homely
a plain woman with a face as hardy and simple and serviceable as the house — Rebecca West
b. of livestock : coarse , inferior
a boar with a plain head
Synonyms:
homely , simple , unpretentious : plain stresses lack of anything likely to attract attention — lack of ornament, complexity, extraneous matter, or strongly marked characteristics
had no eccentricity even to take him out of the common run; he was just a good, dull, honest, plain man — W.S.Maugham
a plain two-story frame house
— and may suggest elegance
his brown stockings … were of a fine texture; his shoes and buckles, too, though plain, were trim — Charles Dickens
or frugality
a plain skirt of serviceable gray flannel
With reference to personal appearance it suggests lack of positive characteristics, contrasting with beautiful but implying no positive ugliness
was not a plain woman, and she might have been very pretty still — Ellen Glasgow
In reference to houses, furniture, food, and other elements of domesticity, homely sometimes suggests homey and may indicate comfortable informality without ostentation
his secluded wife ever smiling and cheerful, his little comfortable lodgings, snug meals, and homely evenings, had all the charms of novelty and secrecy — W.M.Thackeray
It may connote warmth and simplicity
a book-learned language, wholly remote from anything personal, native, or homely — Willa Cather
With reference to appearance homely in American but not usually in British usage often falls between plain and ugly
she was certainly not bad-looking now and she could never have been so homely as she imagined — Edmund Wilson
simple may occasionally differ slightly from plain in implying choice rather than compulsive circumstance
what was then called the simple life … is recognizable as the austere luxury of a very cultivated poet — Agnes Repplier
a monk of Lindisfarne, so simple and lowly in temper that he traveled on foot on his long mission journeys — J.R.Green
unpretentious , stressing lack of vanity or affectation, may praise a person but depreciate a possession
an unpretentious family doctor without the specialist's curt loftiness
an unpretentious and battered old car
Synonym: see in addition evident , frank , level .
V. transitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English plainen, from plain (IV)
1. obsolete : plane
the pavement thus laid is to be plained and polished — Philemon Holland
2. of glass : to free from bubbles or other imperfections : refine
VI. adverb
Etymology: plain (IV)
: in a plain manner : without obscurity or ambiguity : clearly , simply
preached that it was just plain wrong for some people, by tricks and wiles, to get a stranglehold on business — F.L.Allen
the tiny snap as he closed the book came plain to the colonel's ears — A.B.Mayse
VII. adverb
Etymology: partly from Middle English plein, playne entire, complete, from Middle French plein full, from Latin plenus; partly from plain (VI) — more at full
chiefly dialect : entirely , absolutely
the house was plumb plain deserted, as anybody could see — Helen Eustis