Where does “plain” come from?
plain (Old French) comes from Latin plēnus, from Proto-Italic plēnos, from Proto-Indo-European pl̥h₁nós, from Proto-Indo-European pleh₁- — to fill.
plain (Old French): full; plain; flat
Definitions
- full; plain; flat
Ancestry of “plain”, step by step
plain traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Latin plēnus
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Latin | plēnus | full; filled; complete |
| 2 | Proto-Italic | plēnos | full |
| 3 | Proto-Indo-European | pl̥h₁nós | full |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-European | pleh₁- | to fill |
via Latin plānus
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Latin | plānus | level, flat, even |
| 2 | Ancient Greek | πλάνος | wandering |
| 3 | Ancient Greek | πλανάω | to make to wander, lead wandering about; to lead... |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-European | pl-néh₂-ti | — |