Plain
Plain , intransitive verb
[Old English playne, pleyne, from French plaindre. See Plaint.]
To lament; to bewail; to complain. [Archaic & Poetic] — Milton
We with piteous heart unto you pleyne.
Plain , transitive verb
To lament; to mourn over; as, to plain a loss. [Archaic & Poetic] — Sir J. Harrington
Plain , adjective
[French, level, flat, from Latin planus, perhaps akin to English floor. Compare Llano, Piano, Plan, Plane level, a level surface.]
1.
Without elevations or depressions; flat; level; smooth; even. See Plane.
The crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain.
2.
Open; clear; unencumbered; equal; fair.
Our troops beat an army in plain fight.
3.
Not intricate or difficult; evident; manifest; obvious; clear; unmistakable.
'T is a plain case.
4.
(a) Void of extraneous beauty or ornament; without conspicuous embellishment; not rich; simple.
(b)
Not highly cultivated; unsophisticated; free from show or pretension; simple; natural; homely; common.
(c)
Free from affectation or disguise; candid; sincere; artless; honest; frank.
(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 tune.
Plain yet pious Christians.
The plain people.
An honest mind, and plain.
Collocations (9)
Plain battle , open battle; pitched battle. [Obsolete] — Chaucer
Plain chant (Music) , Same as Plain song, below.
Plain chart (Nautical) , a chart laid down on Mercator's projection.
Plain dealer , (a) One who practices plain dealing (b) A simpleton [Obsolete] — Shakespeare
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.
Plain , adverb
In a plain manner; plainly.
To speak short and pleyn.
To tell you plain.
Plain , noun
[Compare Old French plaigne, French plaine. See Plain, a.]
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.
Him the Ammonite
Worshiped in Rabba and her watery plain.
2.
A field of battle. [Obsolete] — Arbuthnot
Lead forth my soldiers to the plain.
Plain ({not transcribed}) , transitive verb
[Compare Plane, v.]
1.
To plane or level; to make plain or even on the surface. [Rare]
We would rake Europe rather, plain the East.
2.
To make plain or manifest; to explain.
What's dumb in show, I'll plain in speech.