plain

• adj. 平的；简单的；朴素的；清晰的
• n. 平原；无格式；朴实无华的东西
• adv. 清楚地；平易地
• n. (Plain)人名；(英)普莱恩；(法)普兰

来自拉丁语planus,平的，来自PIE*pele,展开，放平，词源同plan,place.引申诸相关词义。

1. extensive tract of level open land;

"they emerged from the woods onto a vast open plain"

"he longed for the fields of his youth"

2. a basic knitting stitch

plain

plain: [13] Plain is etymologically the same word as plane in all its uses except the tree-name, and even that comes from the same ultimate source. This was Indo-European *plā- ‘flat’, which produced Greek platús ‘broad’ (source of English place, plaice, and platypus), Latin plānus ‘flat, clear’, and possibly English flat. The Latin word passed into English via Old French plain, but its original ‘flat’ senses have been hived off into the separately acquired plane, leaving only the metaphorically derived ‘clear’ senses. The Italian descendant of plānus has given English piano.
=> plane

plain (adj.)

c. 1300, "flat, smooth," from Old French plain "flat, smooth, even" (12c.), from Latin planus "flat, even, level" (see plane (n.1)). Sense of "evident" is from, c. 1300; that of "free from obstruction" is early 14c.; meaning "simple, sincere, ordinary" is recorded from late 14c., especially of dress, "unembellished, without decoration."

In reference to the dress and speech of Quakers, it is recorded from 1824; of Amish and Mennonites, from 1894 (in the Dutch regions of Pennsylvania Plain with the capital is shorthand adjective for "Amish and Old Order Mennonite"). Of appearance, as a euphemism for "ill-favored, ugly" it dates from 1749. Of envelopes from 1913. As an adverb from early 14c. Plain English is from c. 1500. Plain dealer "one who deals plainly or speaks candidly" is from 1570s, marked "Now rare" in OED 2nd edition. To be as plain as the nose on (one's) face is from 1690s.

plain (n.)

"level country," c. 1300 (in reference to Salisbury Plain), from Old French plain "open countryside," from Latin planum "level ground, plain," noun use of neuter of planus (adj.) "flat, even, level" (see plane (n.1)). Latin planum was used for "level ground" but much more common was campus.

apparent, obvious, evident, clear, plain, distinct, definite, manifest

这些形容词均含"清楚的，明白的，明显的"之意。

apparent：强调显而易见或一想便知。这个词从动词appear派生而来，故有时含有表面如此而事实上未必的意味。

obvious：语气较强，指极为明显，有目共睹，无需说明和论证。

evident：指根据事实成为显然的。

clear：普通用词，侧重清楚明白。

plain：普通用词，含义与clear很接近，可通用，但plain着重简单明了，不复杂。

distinct：较正式用词，指轮廓的清楚或定义、含义的明确，不会弄错。

definite：语气肯定，着重明白无误，无可怀疑。

manifest：语义较强，书面用词，强调一目了然，暗示不要任何推论就一清二楚。

frank, open, plain, blunt, honest, sincere, straightforward

这些形容词都有"坦率，诚实"之意。

frank： 强调毫无保留地畅所欲言，不受任何约束。

open： 指不隐瞒自己的秘密，愿意向他人表露自己或公开暴露自己的缺点。

plain： 指直言不讳，毫不做作或故弄玄虚。

blunt： 指讲话坦白直率、不客气，但隐含不得体、不顾及他人感情等意味。

honest： 指遵守正直等道德准则。

sincere： 侧重指一个人出自内心地对某人某事表示一种诚意。

straightforward： 多用于答复、叙述等场合。指直截了当，不回避，或故弄玄虚。

As for the taxi drivers, most are delighted to be behind the wheel of new cars,although there have been a few complaints about switching from black and white to a plain white colour.

2015年12月四级真题（第一套）听力 Section A

Subsidise companies to adopt plain packaging.

出自-2016年12月阅读原文

Plain packaging would be another step in the reclassification of cigarettes from inviting consumer products to narcotics ( ' , 麻醉剂).

出自-2016年12月阅读原文

Plain packaging discourages non-smokers from taking up smoking.

出自-2016年12月阅读原文

MPs voted overwhelmingly in favour of Labour amendments to the children and families bill last February that included the 118 power to regulate for plain packaging.

出自-2016年12月阅读原文

Evidence from Australia suggests plain packaging pushes society further along that road.

出自-2016年12月阅读原文

Rising more than 1,000 feet in the middle of the gently rolling plains of Wyoming, the massive column of rock looks as though it was dropped down into this location from a different time and place.

出自-2016年12月听力原文

They are interesting for the fact that they are very plain and undecorated for the time, with only one plain central panel at the back and no armrests.

出自-2013年12月听力原文

We can tear apart the great grass cover of the western plains and pour toxic chemicals into the soil until the soil is dead and blows away in the wind.

出自-2013年12月听力原文

MPs voted overwhelmingly in favour of Labour amendments to the children and families bill last February that included the power to regulate for plain packaging.

2016年12月六级真题（第三套）阅读 Section C

similar studies tested whether students learned basic physics and chemistry concepts better by reading plain text or viewing pictures to and everyone do better with the help of pictures.

2019年12月六级真题（第二套）听力 Section C

Instead, he says, firms should provide a plain-English version of their terms.

2016年高考英语上海卷 阅读理解 阅读C 原文

Read the syllabus and learning management system information to be sure the answer isn't hiding in plain sight.

2019年高考英语全国卷3 阅读理解 七选五 原文

He made it plain that we should leave.

他明确表示要我们离开。

牛津词典

She made her annoyance plain.

她满脸不耐烦。

牛津词典

The facts were plain to see .

事实显而易见。

牛津词典

It was a rip-off, plain and simple .

这是一个不折不扣的冒牌货。

牛津词典

The plain fact is that nobody really knows.

事实很明显，没有人真正了解。

牛津词典

a politician with a reputation for plain speaking

说话直率出了名的一个政治人物

牛津词典

a plain but elegant dress

朴素淡雅的连衣裙

牛津词典

plain food

清淡的食物

牛津词典

The interior of the church was plain and simple.

教堂内部朴素无华。

牛津词典

plain yogurt (= without sugar or fruit)

原味酸奶

牛津词典

covers in plain or printed cotton

单色或印花的罩布

牛津词典

Write on plain paper (= without lines) .

用无格白纸书写。

牛津词典

You don't need any special skills for this job, just plain common sense.

这项工作不需要任何特殊技能，只要有普通常识就够了。

牛津词典

the flat coastal plain of Thassos

萨索斯岛平坦的滨海平原

牛津词典

the Great Plains

北美洲大平原

牛津词典

plain stupid/wrong

简直愚蠢至极；绝对错误

牛津词典

In general, a plain carpet makes a room look bigger...

一般来说，单色的地毯使房间显得更宽敞。

柯林斯高阶英语词典

He placed the paper in a plain envelope...

他把论文装进一个空白信封里。

柯林斯高阶英语词典

Bronwen's dress was plain but it hung well on her...

布朗温的长裙虽然朴素，却很合身。

柯林斯高阶英语词典

It was a plain, grey stone house, distinguished mainly by its largely unspoilt simplicity.

这是一幢简朴的灰石房子，主要以其天然简约的风格显得与众不同。

柯林斯高阶英语词典

It was plain to him that I was having a nervous breakdown...

他能明显地看出我快要精神崩溃了。

柯林斯高阶英语词典

He's made it plain that he loves the game and wants to be involved still.

他明确表示自己热爱这项运动，并仍想参与其中。

柯林斯高阶英语词典

...a shy, rather plain girl with a pale complexion.

肤色苍白、相貌平平的害羞女孩

柯林斯高阶英语词典

Once there were 70 million buffalo on the plains.

北美大平原上曾有过7,000万头野牛。

柯林斯高阶英语词典

The food was just plain terrible.

这食物实在太难吃了。

柯林斯高阶英语词典

Why couldn't they call you plain Ann or Alice like the rest?

他们为什么不能像其他人一样，给你取个普普通通的安或艾丽斯的名字呢？

柯林斯高阶英语词典

Three officers in plain clothes told me to get out of the car.

3名便衣警察让我下车。

柯林斯高阶英语词典