plain

B1 Topic:Describing Qualities

US /plen/ UK /pleɪn/ See IPA manual

Homophones

plane /pleɪn/

adj noun verb Freq #3067

Meanings

1

adj
Simple and ordinary, without decoration or anything added.

He was dressed simply in plain black clothes.
2

adj
Easy to see or understand; obvious.

It was plain that something was wrong.
3

adj
Honest and direct, without trying to soften the truth.

She told me the plain truth about what had happened.
4

noun
A large area of flat, open land.

They emerged from the woods onto a vast open plain.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · simple and ordinary,... bare simple unadorned

2 adj · easy to see or understand;... clear apparent obvious

3 adj · honest and direct, without... unvarnished frank

4 noun · a large area of flat, open... field

Word family

Forms plainerplainestplainnessplains

Derived forms etchplainfloodplainoverplainpalaeoplainpaleoplainpeneplainplain-clothedplain-clothesplain-dealingplain-heartedplain-laidplain-looking

Related forms complain esplanade explain plaint plaintive

Common collocations

Etymology

From Middle English pleyn, borrowed from Old French plein, from Latin plēnus (“full, filled, complete”). Ultimately from Proto-Italic *plēnos, from Proto-Indo-European *pl̥h₁nós (“full”). Doublet of plene, plenary, and full.

*pleh₁- Proto-Indo-European pleyn Middle English plein Old French plēnus Latin *plēnos Proto-Italic *pl̥h₁nós Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities

# plain

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** adj, noun, verb
**IPA (US):** plen
**IPA (UK):** pleɪn
**Frequency rank:** 3067

## Meanings
1. Simple and ordinary, without decoration or anything added.
2. Easy to see or understand; obvious.
3. Honest and direct, without trying to soften the truth.
4. A large area of flat, open land.

## Examples
- He was dressed simply in plain black clothes.
- It was plain that something was wrong.
- She told me the plain truth about what had happened.
- They emerged from the woods onto a vast open plain.

## Derived Forms
- etchplain
- floodplain
- overplain
- palaeoplain
- paleoplain
- peneplain
- plain-clothed
- plain-clothes
- plain-dealing
- plain-hearted
- plain-laid
- plain-looking

## Related Forms
- complain
- esplanade
- explain
- plaint
- plaintive

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *pleh₁-
- Root: pleyn
- Root: plein
- Root: plēnus
- Root: *plēnos
- Root: *pl̥h₁nós

## Etymology
From Middle English pleyn, borrowed from Old French plein, from Latin plēnus (“full, filled, complete”). Ultimately from Proto-Italic *plēnos, from Proto-Indo-European *pl̥h₁nós (“full”). Doublet of plene, plenary, and full.

## AI Etymology
Plain comes from Middle English pleyn, borrowed from Old French plein, from Latin plēnus (“full, filled, complete”). Ultimately from Proto-Italic *plēnos, from Proto-Indo-European *pl̥h₁nós (“full”). Doublet of plene, plenary, and full. In present-day English it covers simple and ordinary, without decoration or anything added, easy to see or understand; obvious, and honest and direct, without trying to soften the truth. The wider family includes derived forms such as etchplain, floodplain, overplain, palaeoplain, paleoplain and related forms such as complain, esplanade, explain, plaint.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities

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