Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Plain
Plain
,Verb.
I.
To lament; to bewail; to complain.
[Archaic & Poetic]
Milton.
We with piteous heart unto you
pleyne
. Chaucer.
Plain
,Verb.
T.
To lament; to mourn over;
as, to
. plain
a loss[Archaic & Poetic]
Sir J. Harrington.
Plain
,Adj.
[
Com
par.
Plainer
; sup
erl.
Plainest
.] 1.
Without elevations or depressions; flat; level; smooth; even. See
Plane
. The crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places
plain
. Isa. xl. 4.
2.
Open; clear; unencumbered; equal; fair.
Our troops beat an army in
plain
fight. Felton.
3.
Not intricate or difficult; evident; manifest; obvious; clear; unmistakable.
“’T is a plain case.” Shak.
4.
(a)
Void of extraneous beauty or ornament; without conspicious embellishment; not rich; simple.
(b)
Not highly cultivated; unsophisticated; free from show or pretension; simple; natural; homely; common.
“Plain yet pious Christians.” Hammond.
“The plain people.” A. Lincoln.
(c)
Free from affectation or disguise; candid; sincere; artless; honest; frank.
“An honest mind, and plain.” Shak.
(d)
Not luxurious; not highly seasoned; simple;
as,
. plain
food(e)
Without beauty; not handsome; homely;
as, a
. plain
woman(f)
Not variegated, dyed, or figured;
as,
. plain
muslin(g)
Not much varied by modulations;
as, a
. plain
tunePlain battle
, open battle; pitched battle.
[Obs.]
Chaucer.
– Plain chant
(Mus.)
Same as
– Plain song
, below. Plain chart
(Naut.)
, a chart laid down on Mercator's projection.
– Plain dealer
. (a)
One who practices plain dealing
. (b)
A simpleton
. [Obs.]
Shak.
– Plain dealing
. See under
– Dealing
. Plain molding
(Join.)
, molding of which the surfaces are plain figures.
– Plain sewing
, sewing of seams by simple and common stitches, in distinct from fancy work, embroidery, etc.; – distinguished also from designing and fitting garments.
– Plain song
. (a)
The Gregorian chant, or
. canto fermo
; the prescribed melody of the Roman Catholic service, sung in unison, in tones of equal length, and rarely extending beyond the compass of an octave(b)
A simple melody.
– Plain speaking
, plainness or bluntness of speech.
Syn. – Level; flat; smooth; open; artless; unaffected; undisguised; frank; sincere; honest; candid; ingenuous; unembellished; downright; blunt; clear; simple; distinct; manifest; obvious; apparent. See
Manifest
. Plain
,adv.
In a plain manner; plainly.
“To speak short and pleyn.” Chaucer.
“To tell you plain.” Shak.
1.
Level land; usually, an open field or a broad stretch of land with an even surface, or a surface little varied by inequalities;
as, the
plain
of Jordan; the American plains
, or prairies.Descending fro the mountain into
playn
. Chaucer.
Him the Ammonite
Worshiped in Rabba and her watery
Worshiped in Rabba and her watery
plain
. Milton.
2.
A field of battle.
[Obs.]
Arbuthnot.
Lead forth my soldiers to the
plain
. Shakespeare
1.
To plane or level; to make plain or even on the surface.
[R.]
We would rake Europe rather,
plain
the East. Wither.
2.
To make plain or manifest; to explain.
What's dumb in show, I'll
plain
in speech. Shakespeare