Where does “simple” come from?

simple (Old French) comes from Latin simplex, from Latin -plex, from Latin plicō, from Proto-Indo-European pleḱ-, from Proto-Indo-European pel- — to cover, to wrap; skin, hide, cloth; to fold.

simple (Old French): innocent; mere; simple; honest; without pretense

Definitions

  1. innocent; mere; simple; honest; without pretense

Ancestry of “simple”, step by step

simple traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Latin simplex

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Latinsimplexsingle; simple, plain, uncompounded; pure,...
2Latin-plex-fold
3Latinplicōto fold, bend or flex; to roll up
4Proto-Indo-Europeanpleḱ-to fold, plait, weave
5Proto-Indo-Europeanpel-to cover, to wrap; skin, hide, cloth; to fold

via Latin simplus

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Latinsimplussimple
2Latin-plus-fold
3Latinplicāre—

Words derived from “simple”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European pel- →Every word from Proto-Indo-European pleḱ- →Every word from Latin plicō →