different between sure vs plain

English

Alternative forms

• sho
• sho'

Etymology

From Middle English sure, seur, sur, from Middle French sur or Old French seür, from Latin s?c?rus (“secure”, literally “carefree”), from s?- (“apart”) + c?ra (“care”) (compare Old English orsorg (“carefree”), from or- (“without”) + sorg (“care”)). See cure. Doublet of secure and the now obsolete or dialectal sicker (“certain, safe”).

Displaced native Middle English wis, iwis (“certain, sure”) (from Old English ?ewis, ?ewiss (“certain, sure”)), Middle English siker (“sure, secure”) (from Old English sicor (“secure, sure”)) with which was cognate.

This etymology is incomplete. You can help Wiktionary by elaborating on the origins of this term.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /???/, /???/, /???/
• Rhymes: -??(r), -??(r)
• (General Australian, General New Zealand) IPA^(key): /?o?/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /???/, /???/, /??/
• (Canada) IPA^(key): /???/, /??/
• (obsolete) IPA^(key): /sj???/, /sju??/, /s????/
• Homophones: shaw, Shaw (in non-rhotic dialects with the horse-hoarse merger), shore (with the cure-force merger), show (in non-rhotic with the dough-door merger)

Adjective

sure (comparative surer, superlative surest)

1. Physically secure and certain, non-failing, reliable.

2. Certain in one's knowledge or belief.

   She is sure of herself.

   He was sure of being a finalist.

   They weren't sure who would attend.

   You seemed sure that the car was his.
3. (followed by a to infinitive) Certain to act or be a specified way.

4. (obsolete) Free from danger; safe; secure.
5. (obsolete) Betrothed; engaged to marry.
   • c. 1513-1518 (probably date written, published after 1535) Thomas More, History of King Richard III

     The king was sure to Dame Elizabeth Lucy, and her husband before God.

   • 1632, Richard Brome, The Northern Lass

     I presum'd […] [that] you had been sure, as fast as faith could bind you, man and wife.

Synonyms

• (secure and steadfast): certain, failsafe, reliable, sicker
• (steadfast in one's knowledge or belief): certain, positive, wis

Derived terms

• for sure
• sure as hell
• surely
• sure up

Pages starting with “sure”.

Descendants

• ?? Irish: siúráil
• ? Welsh: siwr

Translations

Adverb

sure (comparative more sure, superlative most sure)

1. (modal adverb) Without doubt, certainly.

   Sure he's coming! Why wouldn't he?

   "Did you kill that bear yourself?" ?"I sure did!"

   • 1802, Charles Lamb, John Woodvil

     These high and gusty relishes of life, sure,
     Have no allayings of mortality in them.

Usage notes

• Often proscribed in favor of surely. May be informal.

Interjection

sure

1. Yes, expressing noncommittal agreement or consent.

2. Yes; of course.

3. You're welcome; polite response to being thanked.

Synonyms

• (noncommittal yes): OK, yes

Translations

References

• 1996, T.F. Hoad, The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Etymology, Oxford University Press, ?ISBN

Anagrams

• ERUs, Ersu, Reus, Rues, Ruse, US'er, rues, ruse, suer, ures, user

Danish

Adjective

sure

1. inflection of sur:
   1. definite singular
   2. plural

Finnish

Verb

sure

1. Indicative present connegative form of surra.
2. Second-person singular imperative present form of surra.
3. Second-person singular imperative present connegative form of surra.

Anagrams

• resu, seur.

French

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -y?

Adjective

sure

1. feminine singular of sur

Adjective

sure

1. Alternative spelling of sûre

Anagrams

• rues
• ruse, rusé
• suer
• user

Middle English

Etymology 1

From Old French seür, from Latin s?c?rus. Doublet of siker.

Alternative forms

• sur, seur, seure, sewre, sewr, sewere, suer, suere, soure, suir, sere, sore

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /s?u?r/, /siu?r/, /su?r/

Adjective

sure (comparative seurer)

1. safe, protected (not dangerous or harmful)
2. fortified, well-defended, protected; especially religiously
3. sure, certain, confirmed
4. sure-minded (certain of one's intent)
5. reliable, of good quality
6. sound, sturdy, hardy

Derived terms

• surely
• surement
• suren
• surenes
• surete

Descendants

• English: sure
  • ?? Irish: siúráil
  • ? Welsh: siwr
• Scots: shuir

References

• “seur, adj.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-04-21.

Adverb

sure

1. sure, surely, with no doubt or uncertainty
2. entirely, wholly, fully
3. While protecting something, with protection
4. With a tight grasp or grip

Descendants

• English: sure
• Scots: shuir

References

• “seur, adv.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-04-21.

Etymology 2

Verb

sure

1. Alternative form of suren

Etymology 3

Noun

sure

1. Alternative form of sire

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology 1

From Arabic ??????? (s?ra, “chapter of the Qur'an”).

Alternative forms

• sura

Noun

sure m (definite singular suren, indefinite plural surer, definite plural surene)

1. (Islam) a sura (any of the 114 chapters of the Qur'an)

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the main entry.

Adjective

sure

1. definite singular of sur
2. plural of sur

References

• “sure” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
• “sure” in Det Norske Akademis ordbok (NAOB).

Anagrams

• ruse, suer, ures

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology 1

From Arabic ??????? (s?ra, “chapter of the Qur'an”).

Alternative forms

• sura

Noun

sure m (definite singular suren, indefinite plural surar, definite plural surane)

1. (Islam) a sura (any of the 114 chapters of the Qur'an)

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the main entry.

Adjective

sure

1. definite singular of sur
2. plural of sur

References

• “sure” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Anagrams

• ruse, suer

Old English

Etymology

From Germanic, related to s?r (“sour”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?su?.re/

Noun

s?re f

1. sorrel

Pali

Alternative forms

Noun

sure

1. vocative singular of sur? (“a class of liquor”)

Romanian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?sure/

Adjective

sure

1. inflection of sur:
   1. genitive/dative feminine singular
   2. nominative/accusative/genitive/dative feminine/neuter plural

Swedish

Adjective

sure

1. absolute definite natural masculine form of sur.

Turkish

Etymology

From Arabic ??????? (s?ra).

Noun

sure (definite accusative sureyi, plural sureler)

1. sura

Declension

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)

1. (now rare, regional) Flat, level. [from 14th c.]

   • The crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain.

2. Simple.
   1. Ordinary; lacking adornment or ornamentation; unembellished. [from 14th c.]
   2. Of just one colour; lacking a pattern.

   3. 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

   4. (of food) Having only few ingredients, or no additional ingredients or seasonings; not elaborate, without toppings or extras. [from 17th c.]

   5. (computing) Containing no extended or nonprinting characters (especially in plain text). [from 20th c.]
3. Obvious.
   1. 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.

   2. Downright; total, unmistakable (as intensifier). [from 14th c.]

4. Open.
   1. 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.

   2. Clear; unencumbered; equal; fair.
      • 1711, Henry Felton, Dissertation on Reading the Classics

        Our troops beat an army in plain fight.

5. Not unusually beautiful; unattractive. [from 17th c.]

6. (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)

1. (colloquial) Simply.

   It was just plain stupid.

   I plain forgot.

2. (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)

1. (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;

Verb

plain (third-person singular simple present plains, present participle plaining, simple past and past participle plained)

1. (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 […].

2. (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.

   • 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)

1. 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

2. (archaic) Synonym of field in reference to a battlefield.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Arbuthnot to this entry?)
3. (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)

1. (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,

   • 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:

2. (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.

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)

1. 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)

1. (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)

1. full (not empty)

Old French

Etymology 1

From Latin pl?nus.

Adjective

plain m (feminine plaine)

1. 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

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)

1. 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)

1. 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)

1. (Rumantsch Grischun, Puter, Vallader) full