explain English · revision 2830

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1425|origins=la plānus}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ɪkˈspleɪn/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|explanen]],^(MWU 2024)^(Etymonline) [[bor|la|explānāre|t=to make plain or clear, explain; literally, to make level, flatten]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) from [[m|la|ex-|t=out]] and [[m|la|plānus|t=flat, level]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[ine-pro|*pele-|t=flat; to spread]].^(Etymonline) The spelling was altered under the influence of [[plain]].^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002) Barnhart suggests that the verb was sometimes a back-formation from the earlier [[explanation]].^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ To make clear, make intelligible: about 1425 in Barnhart,^(Barnhart 1988) the early 15th century in Etymonline.^(Etymonline) The OED's earliest examples are from the 16th century.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Early senses included “to smooth out” (1549) and “to spread out flat, unfold” (1607), both obsolete.^(OED 1989)^(Cresswell 2021) In the 17th century it was occasionally used of material things unfolding: Evelyn wrote in 1664 of buds that “explain into leaves”.^(Etymonline) “To give details of a matter” is from 1513,^(OED 1989) in the early 16th century,^(Cresswell 2021) and “to make plain or intelligible” from 1552.^(OED 1989) To state the meaning of something, to interpret, is from 1608,^(OED 1989) to account for a cause or reason from 1736,^(OED 1989) and ''explain away'' from 1709.^(OED 1989) Johnson (1755) defined it as “to expound; to illustrate; to clear by notes or commentaries”.^(Johnson 1755) ''Explanation'' is from before 1382, in the Wycliffe Bible,^(Barnhart 1988) ''explainable'' from 1610 and ''explanatory'' from 1618.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * before 1382 – ''explanation''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1425 – to make clear.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1513 – to give details of a matter.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1549 – to smooth out.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1552 – to make intelligible.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1608 – to interpret.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1709 – ''explain away''.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1736 – to account for.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To make plain or understandable; to give details of.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To give the meaning of; to [[define]] or [[expound]].^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+ # To give reasons for; to account for or [[justify]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # ''explain oneself'': To give reasons for one's actions or words.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+ # ''explain away'': To get rid of or make seem unimportant by explanation.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[explainable]]

+ * [[explainer]]

+ * [[overexplain]]

+ * [[reexplain]]

+ * [[unexplainable]]

+ * [[unexplained]]

+ * [[explain away]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[explanation]]

+ * [[explanatory]]

+ * [[plain]]

+ * [[plane]]

+ * [[plan]]

+ * [[explicate]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}