different between plain vs rank
plain
English
Pronunciation
- enPR: pl?n, IPA(key): /ple?n/, [p?l?e?n]
- Rhymes: -e?n
- Homophone: plane
Etymology 1
From Middle English pleyn, borrowed from Anglo-Norman pleyn, playn, Middle French plain, plein, and Old French plain, from Latin pl?nus (“flat, even, level, plain”).
Alternative forms
- plaine (obsolete)
Adjective
plain (comparative plainer, superlative plainest)
- (now rare, regional) Flat, level. [from 14th c.]
- The crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain.
- Simple.
- Ordinary; lacking adornment or ornamentation; unembellished. [from 14th c.]
- Of just one colour; lacking a pattern.
- Simple in habits or qualities; unsophisticated, not exceptional, ordinary. [from 16th c.]
- 1654, Henry Hammond, Of Fundamentals
- plain yet pious Christians
- 1861, Abraham Lincoln, Message to Congress in Special Session, July 4th
- the plain people
- 1654, Henry Hammond, Of Fundamentals
- (of food) Having only few ingredients, or no additional ingredients or seasonings; not elaborate, without toppings or extras. [from 17th c.]
- (computing) Containing no extended or nonprinting characters (especially in plain text). [from 20th c.]
- Ordinary; lacking adornment or ornamentation; unembellished. [from 14th c.]
- Obvious.
- Evident to one's senses or reason; manifest, clear, unmistakable. [from 14th c.]
- 1843, Thomas Carlyle, Past and Present, book 2, ch. XV, Practical — Devotional
- In fact, by excommunication or persuasion, by impetuosity of driving or adroitness in leading, this Abbot, it is now becoming plain everywhere, is a man that generally remains master at last.
- 1843, Thomas Carlyle, Past and Present, book 2, ch. XV, Practical — Devotional
- Downright; total, unmistakable (as intensifier). [from 14th c.]
- Evident to one's senses or reason; manifest, clear, unmistakable. [from 14th c.]
- Open.
- Honest and without deception; candid, open; blunt. [from 14th c.]
- The Quaker was no sooner assured by this fellow of the birth and low fortune of Jones, than all compassion for him vanished; and the honest plain man went home fired with no less indignation than a duke would have felt at receiving an affront from such a person.
- Clear; unencumbered; equal; fair.
- 1711, Henry Felton, Dissertation on Reading the Classics
- Our troops beat an army in plain fight.
- 1711, Henry Felton, Dissertation on Reading the Classics
- Honest and without deception; candid, open; blunt. [from 14th c.]
- Not unusually beautiful; unattractive. [from 17th c.]
- (card games) Not a trump.
Synonyms
- (lacking adornment or ornamentation): no-frills, simple, unadorned, unseasoned; see also Thesaurus:bare-bones
- (of just one colour): monochrome
- (not exceptional): normal, ordinary
- (obvious): blatant, ostensible; see also Thesaurus:obvious or Thesaurus:explicit
- (intensifier): consarn, darned, stinking; see also Thesaurus:damned
- (honest and without deception): frank, sincere; see also Thesaurus:honest
Antonyms
- bells and whistles
- decorative
- exotic
- fancy
- ornate
Derived terms
Related terms
- plane
- planar
Translations
Adverb
plain (not comparable)
- (colloquial) Simply.
- It was just plain stupid.
- I plain forgot.
- (archaic) Plainly; distinctly.
- Tell me plain: do you love me or no?
Etymology 2
From Anglo-Norman plainer, pleiner, variant of Anglo-Norman and Old French pleindre, plaindre, from Latin plangere, present active infinitive of plang?.
Alternative forms
- plein
Noun
plain (plural plains)
- (rare, poetic) A lamentation.
- 1815, Sir Walter Scott, The Lady of the Isles, Canto IV, part IX
- The warrior-threat, the infant's plain,
The mother's screams, were heard in vain;
- The warrior-threat, the infant's plain,
- 1815, Sir Walter Scott, The Lady of the Isles, Canto IV, part IX
Verb
plain (third-person singular simple present plains, present participle plaining, simple past and past participle plained)
- (reflexive, obsolete) To complain. [13th–19th c.]
- c. 1390, William Landland, Piers Plowman, Prologue:
- Persones and parisch prestes · pleyned hem to þe bischop / Þat here parisshes were pore · sith þe pestilence tyme […].
- c. 1390, William Landland, Piers Plowman, Prologue:
- (transitive, intransitive, now rare, poetic) To lament, bewail. [from 14th c.]
- (Can we find and add a quotation of Sir J. Harrington to this entry?)
- c. 1600, Joseph Hall, Satires
- Thy mother could thee for thy cradle set
Her husband's rusty iron corselet;
Whose jargling sound might rock her babe to rest,
That never plain'd of his uneasy nest.
- Thy mother could thee for thy cradle set
- 1936, Alfred Edward Housman, More Poems, "XXV", lines 5–9
- Then came I crying, and to-day, / With heavier cause to plain, / Depart I into death away, / Not to be born again.
Related terms
Etymology 3
From Old French plain, from Latin pl?num (“level ground, a plain”), neuter substantive from pl?nus (“level, even, flat”). Doublet of llano, piano, and plane.
Noun
plain (plural plains)
- An expanse of land with relatively low relief, usually exclusive of forests, deserts, and wastelands.
- 1961, J. A. Philip. Mimesis in the Sophistês of Plato. In: Proceedings and Transactions of the American Philological Association 92. p. 467.
- For Plato the life of the philosopher is a life of struggle towards the goal of knowledge, towards “searching the heavens and measuring the plains, in all places seeking the nature of everything as a whole”
- Synonyms: flatland, grassland
- Hypernyms: land, terrain
- Hyponyms: prairie, steppe
- 1961, J. A. Philip. Mimesis in the Sophistês of Plato. In: Proceedings and Transactions of the American Philological Association 92. p. 467.
- (archaic) Synonym of field in reference to a battlefield.
- (Can we find and add a quotation of Arbuthnot to this entry?)
- (obsolete) Alternative spelling of plane: a flat geometric field.
Usage notes
- As with grassland(s), flatland(s), &c., plains can function as the plural of plain (There are ten principal low plains on Mars) or as its synonym (She lives in the plains), with a vague sense of greater expansiveness.
Derived terms
Related terms
Translations
Verb
plain (third-person singular simple present plains, present participle plaining, simple past and past participle plained)
- (obsolete, transitive) To level; to raze; to make plain or even on the surface.
- 1594, Christopher Marlowe, Edward II, London: William Jones,[1]
- Frownst thou thereat aspiring Lancaster,
The sworde shall plane the furrowes of thy browes,
- Frownst thou thereat aspiring Lancaster,
- 1612, George Wither, Prince Henrie’s Obsequies, Elegy 24, in Egerton Brydges (editor), Restituta, Volume I, London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme & Brown, 1814, p. 399,[2]
- Though kept by Rome’s and Mahomet’s chiefe powers;
They should not long detain him there in thrall:
We would rake Europe rather, plain the East;
Dispeople the whole Earth before the doome:
- Though kept by Rome’s and Mahomet’s chiefe powers;
- 1594, Christopher Marlowe, Edward II, London: William Jones,[1]
- (obsolete, transitive) To make plain or manifest; to explain.
- c. 1608, William Shakespeare, Pericles, Act III, Prologue,[3]
- What’s dumb in show, I’ll plain with speech.
- c. 1608, William Shakespeare, Pericles, Act III, Prologue,[3]
Anagrams
- Aplin, Lipan, Palin, Pinal, in lap, lapin, plani-
Dalmatian
Etymology
From Latin pl?nus. Compare Italian pieno, Romansch plain, Romanian plin, French plein.
Adjective
plain (feminine plaina)
- full
French
Etymology
From Old French plain, from Latin pl?nus. Doublet of plan and piano.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /pl??/
- Homophones: plains, plein, pleins
Adjective
plain (feminine singular plaine, masculine plural plains, feminine plural plaines)
- (obsolete) plane
Derived terms
- plain-pied
- plain-chant
Further reading
- “plain” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).
Anagrams
- alpin, lapin
Middle French
Etymology
From Old French plain, from Latin pl?nus.
Adjective
plain m (feminine singular plaine, masculine plural plains, feminine plural plaines)
- full (not empty)
Old French
Etymology 1
From Latin pl?nus.
Adjective
plain m (feminine plaine)
- full (not empty)
- circa 1170, Chrétien de Troyes, Érec et Énide:
- De tant come ele l'ot veü,
- Que plains estoit de felenie.
- As she had seen
- He was full of evil
- Antonym: vuit
- circa 1170, Chrétien de Troyes, Érec et Énide:
Descendants
- French: plein
Etymology 2
From Latin pl?num (“level ground, a plain”), neuter substantive from pl?nus (“level, even, flat”).
Noun
plain m (oblique plural plainz, nominative singular plainz, nominative plural plain)
- plain (flat area)
Synonyms
- plaine
Descendants
- ? Dutch: plein
- ? Middle English:
- English: plain
- Scots: plain
Etymology 3
From Latin pl?nus (“level, even, flat”).
Adjective
plain m (oblique and nominative feminine singular plaine)
- flat (not even or mountainous)
Romansch
Alternative forms
- plein (Sursilvan)
- plagn (Sutsilvan, Surmiran)
Etymology
From Latin pl?nus.
Adjective
plain m (feminine singular plaina, masculine plural plains, feminine plural plainas)
- (Rumantsch Grischun, Puter, Vallader) full
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rank
Translingual
Symbol
rank
- (mathematics) The symbol for rank.
English
Alternative forms
- ranck (obsolete)
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /?æ?k/
- Rhymes: -æ?k
Etymology 1
From Middle English rank (“strong, proud”), from Old English ranc (“proud, haughty, arrogant, insolent, forward, overbearing, showy, ostentatious, splendid, bold, valiant, noble, brave, strong, full-grown, mature”), from Proto-West Germanic *rank, from Proto-Germanic *rankaz (“straight”), from Proto-Indo-European *h?re?- (“straight, direct”). Cognate with Dutch rank (“slender, slim”), Low German rank (“slender, projecting, lank”), Danish rank (“straight, erect, slender”), Swedish rank (“slender, shaky, wonky”), Icelandic rakkur (“straight, slender, bold, valiant”).
Adjective
rank (comparative ranker or more rank, superlative rankest or most rank)
- Strong of its kind or in character; unmitigated; virulent; thorough; utter (used of negative things).
- Strong in growth; growing with vigour or rapidity, hence, coarse or gross.
- And, behold, seven ears of corn came up upon one stalk, rank and good.
- Suffering from overgrowth or hypertrophy; plethoric.
- Causing strong growth; producing luxuriantly; rich and fertile.
- Strong to the senses; offensive; noisome.
- Having a very strong and bad taste or odor.
- Synonyms: stinky, smelly, (UK) pong
- 1661, Robert Boyle, The Sceptical Chymist
- Divers sea fowls taste rank of the fish on which they ordinarily feed.
- Complete, used as an intensifier (usually negative, referring to incompetence).
- Synonyms: complete, utter
- (informal) Gross, disgusting.
- (obsolete) Strong; powerful; capable of acting or being used with great effect; energetic; vigorous; headstrong.
- (obsolete) lustful; lascivious
Derived terms
- ranken
- rankful
Translations
Adverb
rank (comparative more rank, superlative most rank)
- (obsolete) Quickly, eagerly, impetuously.
- 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, II.iii:
- The seely man seeing him ryde so rancke, / And ayme at him, fell flat to ground for feare [...].
- That rides so rank and bends his lance so fell.
- 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, II.iii:
Etymology 2
From Middle English rank (“line, row”), from Old French ranc, rang, reng (“line, row, rank”) (Modern French rang), from Frankish *hring (“ring”), from Proto-Germanic *hringaz (“something bent or curved”).
Akin to Old High German (h)ring, Old Frisian hring, Old English hring, hrincg (“ring”) (Modern English ring), Old Norse hringr (“ring, circle, queue, sword; ship”). More at ring.
Noun
rank (countable and uncountable, plural ranks)
- A row of people or things organized in a grid pattern, often soldiers.
- Antonym: file
- The front rank kneeled to reload while the second rank fired over their heads.
- (chess) One of the eight horizontal lines of squares on a chessboard (i.e., those identified by a number).
- Antonym: file
- (music) In a pipe organ, a set of pipes of a certain quality for which each pipe corresponds to one key or pedal.
- One's position in a list sorted by a shared property such as physical location, population, or quality.
- Based on your test scores, you have a rank of 23.
- The fancy hotel was of the first rank.
- The level of one's position in a class-based society.
- (typically in the plural) A category of people, such as those who share an occupation or belong to an organisation.
- a membership drawn from the ranks of wealthy European businessmen
- A hierarchical level in an organization such as the military.
- Private First Class (PFC) is the second-lowest rank in the Marines.
- He rose up through the ranks of the company, from mailroom clerk to CEO.
- (taxonomy) A level in a scientific taxonomy system.
- Phylum is the taxonomic rank below kingdom and above class.
- (mathematics) The dimensionality of an array (computing) or tensor.
- (linear algebra) The maximal number of linearly independent columns (or rows) of a matrix.
- (algebra) The maximum quantity of D-linearly independent elements of a module (over an integral domain D).
- (mathematics) The size of any basis of a given matroid.
Derived terms
- break rank
- cab off the rank
- cab rank
- cab-rank rule
- close ranks
- pull rank
- taxi rank
Translations
Verb
rank (third-person singular simple present ranks, present participle ranking, simple past and past participle ranked)
- To place abreast, or in a line.
- To have a ranking.
- Their defense ranked third in the league.
- To assign a suitable place in a class or order; to classify.
- 1725, Isaac Watts, Logick, or The Right Use of Reason in the Enquiry After Truth With a Variety of Rules to Guard
- Ranking all things under general and special heads.
- 1726, William Broome, The Odyssey (by Homer)
- Poets were ranked in the class of philosophers.
- 1667, Richard Allestree, The Causes of the Decay of Christian Piety
- Heresy [is] ranked with idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, murders, and other sins of the flesh.
- 1725, Isaac Watts, Logick, or The Right Use of Reason in the Enquiry After Truth With a Variety of Rules to Guard
- (US) To take rank of; to outrank.
Derived terms
- misrank
- outrank
Translations
References
- rank at OneLook Dictionary Search
- rank in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
Anagrams
- ARNK, Karn, karn, knar, kran, nark
Dutch
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /r??k/
- Hyphenation: rank
- Rhymes: -??k
Etymology 1
From Middle Dutch ranc, from Proto-Germanic *rankaz.
Adjective
rank (comparative ranker, superlative rankst)
- slender, svelte
Inflection
Etymology 2
From Middle Dutch ranc, ranke, from Old Dutch *rank, from Frankish hranca.
Noun
rank f (plural ranken, diminutive rankje n)
- tendril, a thin winding stem
Anagrams
- karn
References
German
Etymology
From Middle Low German rank, ranc, from Proto-Germanic *rankaz.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /?a?k/
Adjective
rank (comparative ranker, superlative am ranksten)
- (poetic, dated, except in the phrase rank und schlank) lithe, lissome
Declension
Related terms
- rahn
Verb
rank
- singular imperative of ranken
Further reading
- “rank” in Duden online
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