See Also: plain(4)(dictionary)
plain(3)(dictionary)
plain(2)(dictionary)
plain(1)(dictionary)
Plain, the(encyclopedia)
plain(dictionary)
plain(encyclopedia)
Plain(medicine)
plain 1, adjective(dictionary)
Gangetic Plain(encyclopedia)

plain(3) (iou)



plain noun1. ME.
[Old French (mod. plaine) from Latin planum use as noun of neut. of planus PLAIN adjective1 (cf. PLANE noun3); later directly from PLAIN adjective1.]
I.
a. A level tract of country; an extent of level ground or flat meadowland. ME.
Cities of the Plain Sodom and Gomorrah (on the plain of Jordan in ancient Palestine) before their destruction, by fire from heaven, for the wickedness of their inhabitants (Genesis 19:24). cock-of-the-plains: see COCK noun1 1. the plains Anglo-Indian the river valleys of the northern part of the Indian subcontinent (cf. the hills s.v. HILL noun).
Day Lewis Beyond..the White Mountain rising up from the Wexford plain. C. Thubron From the foothills to..the coastal plain.
b. transf. A level expanse of sea or sky. M16.
E. K. Kane On the east we have the drift plain of Wellington Channel.
c. In pl. Level treeless tracts of country; prairie. Chiefly US & Austral. L18.
K. S. Prichard She had decided to watch the plains for first sight of the horses. Arizona Daily Star Snow fell..in the northern Plains.
An open space on which a battle is fought; the battlefield. poet. LME.
Shakespeare Richard III I will lead forth my soldiers to the plain.
A (real or imaginary) level or flat surface, a plane; spec. (a) a geometrical plane; (b) arch. a smooth usu. flat material surface, esp. the flat or broad side of a thin object (as opp. to the edge); (c) a flat horizontal area. Cf. PLANE noun3 1. LME.
P. S. Worsley The silver plains Of two huge valves, embossed with graven gold.
Plain cloth. Also, a kind of flannel. Usu. in pl. arch. LME.
A design, a plan. M16-M17.
The horizontal surface of a billiard-table. Now rare or obsolete. L18.
French History. the Plain, a moderate party in the National Convention during the French Revolution, so called because its members occupied seats on the floor of the hall. Cf. MOUNTAIN 4. E19.
An open space surrounded by houses. local. M19.
A plain knitting stitch, plain knitting, (see PLAIN adjective1 7b). L19.
II. [absol. use of PLAIN adjective1.]
The plain fact, the plain state. LME-L17.
Comb.: plain buffalo, plains buffalo a N. American buffalo (bison) of a variety, smaller and of a lighter colour than the wood buffalo, which formerly inhabited the central and western prairies; plainsman a native or inhabitant of a flat country or the wide open plains of a particular region, esp. in N. America; plains turkey (a) the Australian bustard, Choriotis australis, of the family Otididae; (b) Austral. slang a bush tramp; plains viscacha: see VISCACHA (b); plains-wanderer a ground-dwelling bird of SE Australia, Pedionomus torquatus, resembling a quail; plain turkey = plains turkey above; plain-wanderer = plains-wanderer above. See also PLAINS CREE, PLAINS INDIAN.