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\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.
\Plain\, v. t. To lament; to mourn over; as, to plain a loss. [Archaic & Poetic] --Sir J. Harrington.
\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}.
\Plain\, adv. In a plain manner; plainly. ``To speak short and pleyn.'' --Chaucer. ``To tell you plain.'' --Shak.
\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.
\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.
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