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.
© Webster 1913.
Plain, v. t.
To lament; to mourn over; as, to plain a loss.
[Archaic & Poetic]
Sir J. Harrington.
© Webster 1913.
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.
© Webster 1913.
Plain, adv.
In a plain manner; plainly.
"To speak short and
pleyn."
Chaucer. "To tell you
plain."
Shak.
© Webster 1913.
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.
© Webster 1913.
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.
© Webster 1913.