Crossword Dictionary

What's The Definition Of Plain?

\Plain\, v. i. [OE. playne, pleyne, fr. F. plaindre. See {Plaint}.] To lament; to bewail; to complain. [Archaic & Poetic] --Milton. We with piteous heart unto you pleyne. --Chaucer.
\Plain\, v. t. To lament; to mourn over; as, to plain a loss. [Archaic & Poetic] --Sir J. Harrington.
\Plain\, a. [Compar. {Plainer}; superl. {Plainest}.] [F., level, flat, fr. L. planus, perhaps akin to E. floor. Cf. {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. --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 tune. {Plain 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.
\Plain\, n. [Cf. OF. plaigne, F. 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. --Chaucer. Him the Ammonite Worshiped in Rabba and her watery plain. --Milton. 2. A field of battle. [Obs.] --Arbuthnot. Lead forth my soldiers to the plain. --Shak.
\Plain\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Plained}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Plaining}.] [Cf. {Plane}, v.] 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. --Shak.