plain English · revision 5241

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1300|origins=la plānus}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /pleɪn/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|plain|alt=playne, pleyn]], [[bor|fro|plain|t=flat, smooth, even]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) from [[la|plānus|t=flat, even, level]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[ine-pro|*pele-|t=flat; to spread]], the source also of Lithuanian plónas “thin”.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) The noun, a stretch of flat land, is from Old French plain, from Latin plānum, the neuter of plānus used as a noun.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986)^(Etymonline) It is a doublet of [[plane]] “a level surface” and of [[plan]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Smooth, flat, straight: about 1300 in Barnhart and Etymonline.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) The noun, a flat stretch of land, is also from about 1300, first used of Salisbury Plain.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ “Open, clear, pure, simple” is from before 1325, and “sincere, honest” from about 1375.^(Barnhart 1988) “Ordinary, unaffected” is first in Chaucer, about 1386,^(Barnhart 1988) and of dress, without decoration, from the late 14th century.^(Etymonline) Of words and speech, direct and to the point, is from the late 14th century,^(Etymonline) and ''plain English'' from about 1500.^(Etymonline) As a euphemism for “not good-looking” it dates from 1749.^(Etymonline) In the early 17th century mathematicians began to spell the geometrical sense ''plane'' to keep it apart from the senses “ordinary” and “simple”.^(Cresswell 2021) The ''Plains'' of North America are from 1755,^(Barnhart 1988) and ''plain clothes'', civilian dress, from 1822.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1300 – flat, smooth; noun, a level tract.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+ * c. 1375 – honest.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1386 – ordinary.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1500 – ''plain English''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1749 – not good-looking.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1755 – the Plains of America.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1822 – ''plain clothes''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Easy to see or understand; [[obvious]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Simple, without decoration or pattern.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Honest and direct in speech.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Not mixed with anything: ''plain water''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Ordinary, not special in rank.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Not attractive to look at.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # A large area of flat land with few trees.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Adverb===

+ # Clearly or simply: ''plain stupid''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[plainly]]

+ * [[plainness]]

+ * [[overplain]]

+ * [[plainchant]]

+ * [[plainspoken]]

+ * [[plain-saw]]

+ * [[plain-woven]]

+ * [[plain-laid]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[esplanade]]

+ * [[explain]]

+ * [[complain]]

+ * [[plaint]]

+ * [[plaintive]]

+ * [[plane]]

+ * [[plan]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Another verb plain, to lament or complain, from French plaindre and Latin plangere, is now poetic and dialectal; it is related to [[complain]].^(SOED 2002)^(MWU 2024) A Middle English adjective plain “full, entire”, from Latin plēnus, was used until the late 17th century, as in ''plain battle''.^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}