plainness

English

Etymology

Etymology tree

English plain

Proto-Germanic *-in-

Proto-Indo-European *-h₂

Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂

Proto-Indo-European *-yéti

Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti

Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ti

Proto-Germanic *-ōną

Proto-Germanic *-inōną

Proto-Indo-European *-dyé-der.

Proto-Germanic *-atjaną

Proto-Indo-European *-tus

Proto-Germanic *-þuz

Proto-Germanic *-assuz

Proto-Germanic *-inassuz

Proto-West Germanic *-nassī

Old English -nes

Middle English -nesse

English -ness

English plainness

From plain + -ness.

Pronunciation

• Audio (US):

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Noun

plainness (usually uncountable, plural plainnesses)

1. (uncountable) The condition of being plain (in all senses)
   • c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene ii]:

     Thy plainness moves me more than eloquence
     And here choose I. Joy be the consequence!

   • 1986, John le Carré, A Perfect Spy:

     Yet her beauty clung to her like an identity she was trying to deny and her plainness kept slipping like a bad disguise.

2. (countable) The product or result of being plain

Synonyms

• (condition of being plain—ordinary): normalcy, normaldom, normality, normalness; see also Thesaurus:normality

Derived terms

• unplainness

Translations

the condition of being plain

• Bulgarian: простота (bg) f (prostota)
• German: Einfachheit (de) f, Schlichtheit (de) f
• Greek:

  Ancient Greek: λιτότης f (litótēs)

• Turkish:

  Ottoman Turkish: ساده‌لك (sadelik), دوزلك (düzlük), سداجت (sedacet)

Anagrams

• snaplines