Get Affordable VMs - excellent virtual server hosting


browse words by letter
a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z

plainmore about plain

plain


  10  definitions  found 
 
  From  Webster's  Revised  Unabridged  Dictionary  (1913)  [web1913]: 
 
  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. 
 
  From  Webster's  Revised  Unabridged  Dictionary  (1913)  [web1913]: 
 
  Plain  \Plain\,  v.  t. 
  To  lament;  to  mourn  over  as  to  plain  a  loss  [Archaic  & 
  Poetic]  --Sir  J.  Harrington. 
 
  From  Webster's  Revised  Unabridged  Dictionary  (1913)  [web1913]: 
 
  Plain  \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}. 
 
  From  Webster's  Revised  Unabridged  Dictionary  (1913)  [web1913]: 
 
  Plain  \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. 
 
  From  Webster's  Revised  Unabridged  Dictionary  (1913)  [web1913]: 
 
  Plain  \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. 
 
  From  Webster's  Revised  Unabridged  Dictionary  (1913)  [web1913]: 
 
  Plain  \Plain\,  adv 
  In  a  plain  manner;  plainly.  ``To  speak  short  and  pleyn.'' 
  --Chaucer.  ``To  tell  you  plain.''  --Shak. 
 
  From  WordNet  r  1.6  [wn]: 
 
  plain 
  adj  1:  clearly  apparent  or  obvious  to  the  mind  or  senses  "the 
  effects  of  the  drought  are  apparent  to  anyone  who  sees 
  the  parched  fields";  "evident  hostility";  "manifest 
  disapproval";  "patent  advantages";  "made  his  meaning 
  plain";  "it  is  plain  that  he  is  no  reactionary";  "in 
  plain  view"  [syn:  {apparent},  {evident},  {manifest},  {patent}] 
  2:  free  from  pomp  or  affectation;  "comfortable  but  modest 
  cottages";  "a  plain  blue  suit";  "a  simple  rectangular 
  brick  building";  "a  simple  man  with  simple  tastes"  [syn:  {modest}, 
  {simple}] 
  3:  not  elaborate  or  elaborated;  simple;  "plain  food";  "stuck  to 
  the  plain  facts"  [ant:  {fancy}] 
  4:  lacking  patterns  especially  in  color  [syn:  {unpatterned}] 
  [ant:  {patterned}] 
  5:  not  mixed  with  extraneous  elements;  "plain  water";  "sheer 
  wine";  "not  an  unmixed  blessing"  [syn:  {sheer},  {unmingled}, 
  {unmixed}] 
  6:  free  from  any  effort  to  soften  to  disguise;  "the  plain  and 
  unvarnished  truth";  "the  unvarnished  candor  of  old  people 
  and  children"  [syn:  {unvarnished}] 
  7:  lacking  embellishment  or  ornamentation;  "a  plain  hair 
  style";  "unembellished  white  walls";  "functional 
  architecture  featuring  stark  unornamented  concrete"  [syn: 
  {unembellished},  {unornamented}] 
  8:  lacking  stylistic  embellishment;  "a  literal  description"; 
  "wrote  good  but  plain  prose";  "a  plain  unadorned  account 
  of  the  coronation";  "a  forthright  unembellished  style" 
  [syn:  {literal},  {unembellished}] 
  9:  comprehensible  to  the  general  public;  "written  for  the 
  popular  press  in  plain  nontechnical  language"  [syn:  {popular}] 
  10:  lacking  in  physical  beauty  or  proportion;  "a  homely  child"; 
  "several  of  the  buildings  were  downright  homely";  "a 
  plain  girl  with  a  freckled  face"  [syn:  {homely}] 
  n  1:  extensive  tract  of  level  open  land;  "they  emerged  from  the 
  woods  onto  a  vast  open  plain";  "he  longed  for  the  fields 
  of  his  youth"  [syn:  {field},  {champaign}] 
  2:  a  basic  knitting  stitch  [syn:  {knit},  {knit  stitch},  {plain 
  stitch}] 
  adv  :  unmistakably;  "the  answer  is  obviously  wrong";  "she  was  in 
  bed  and  evidently  in  great  pain";  "he  was  manifestly 
  too  important  to  leave  off  the  guest  list";  "it  is  all 
  patently  nonsense";  "she  has  apparently  been  living 
  here  for  some  time";  "I  thought  he  owned  the  property, 
  but  apparently  not";  "You  are  plainly  wrong";  (`plain' 
  is  often  used  informally  for  `plainly'  as  in  "he  is 
  plain  stubborn")  [syn:  {obviously},  {evidently},  {manifestly}, 
  {patently},  {apparently},  {plainly}] 
  v  :  express  complaints,  discontent,  displeasure,  or  unhappiness; 
  "My  mother  complains  all  day";  "She  has  a  lot  to  kick 
  about"  [syn:  {complain},  {kick},  {sound  off},  {quetch},  {kvetch}] 
  [ant:  {cheer}] 
 
  From  U.S.  Gazetteer  (1990)  [gazetteer]: 
 
  Plain,  WI  (village,  FIPS  63125) 
  Location:  43.27829  N,  90.04218  W 
  Population  (1990):  691  (293  housing  units) 
  Area:  1.8  sq  km  (land),  0.0  sq  km  (water) 
  Zip  code(s):  53577 
 
  From  The  Free  On-line  Dictionary  of  Computing  (13  Mar  01)  [foldoc]: 
 
  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). 
 
 
 
  From  Easton's  1897  Bible  Dictionary  [easton]: 
 
  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}.) 
 




more about plain