Plain — Defs

01 v. i. To lament; to bewail; to complain.

1.
To lament; to bewail; to complain.[Archaic & Poetic]
“We with piteous heart unto you pleyne.” — Chaucer.

02 v. t. To lament; to mourn over; as, to plain a loss.

1.
To lament; to mourn over; as, to plain a loss.[Archaic & Poetic]

03 a. Without elevations or depressions; flat; level; smooth; even. See Plane.

1.
Without elevations or depressions; flat; level; smooth; even. See Plane. 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.
4.
Void of extraneous beauty or ornament; without conspicious embellishment; not rich; simple.

Phrases & compounds

Plain battle — open battle; pitched battle.

Plain chant — Same as Plain song, below.

Plain chart — a chart laid down on Mercator's projection.

Plain dealer — One who practices plain dealing

Plain dealing — See under Dealing.

Plain molding — 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 — 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

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.

04 adv. In a plain manner; plainly.

1.
In a plain manner; plainly.

05 n. 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 pla…

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.]
“Lead forth my soldiers to the plain.” — Shak.

06 v. t. To plane or level; to make plain or even on the surface.

imp. & p. p. Plained; p. pr. & vb. n. Plaining

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.