Our troops beat an army in plain fight.
Felton.
3. Not intricate or difficult; evident; manifest; obvious; clear;
unmistakable. "'T is a plain case." Shak.
4. (a) Void of extraneous beauty or ornament; without conspicious
embellishment; not rich; simple. (b) Not highly cultivated;
unsophisticated; free from show or pretension; simple; natural; homely;
common. "Plain yet pious Christians." Hammond. "The plain people." A.
Lincoln. (c) Free from affectation or disguise; candid; sincere;
artless; honest; frank. "An honest mind, and plain." Shak. (d) Not
luxurious; not highly seasoned; simple; as, plain food. (e) Without
beauty; not handsome; homely; as, a plain woman. (f) Not variegated,
dyed, or figured; as, plain muslin. (g) Not much varied by modulations;
as, a plain tune.
Plain battle, open battle; pitched battle. [Obs.] Chaucer. -- Plain
chant (Mus.) Same as Plain song, below. -- Plain chart (Naut.), a chart
laid down on Mercator's projection. -- Plain dealer. (a) One who
practices plain dealing. (b) A simpleton. [Obs.] Shak. -- Plain
dealing. See under Dealing. -- Plain molding (Join.), molding of which
the surfaces are plain figures. -- Plain sewing, sewing of seams by
simple and common stitches, in distinct from fancy work, embroidery,
etc.; -- distinguished also from designing and fitting garments. --
Plain song. (a) The Gregorian chant, or canto fermo; the prescribed
melody of the Roman Catholic service, sung in unison, in tones of equal
length, and rarely extending beyond the compass of an octave. (b) A
simple melody. -- Plain speaking, plainness or bluntness of speech.
Syn. -- Level; flat; smooth; open; artless; unaffected; undisguised;
frank; sincere; honest; candid; ingenuous; unembellished; downright;
blunt; clear; simple; distinct; manifest; obvious; apparent. See
Manifest.
Plain, adv. In a plain manner; plainly. "To speak short and pleyn."
Chaucer. "To tell you plain." Shak.
Plain, n. [Cf. OF. plaigne, F. plaine. See Plain, a.] 1. Level land;
usually, an open field or a broad stretch of land with an even surface,
or a surface little varied by inequalities; as, the plain of Jordan;
the American plains, or prairies.
Descending fro the mountain into playn.
Chaucer.
Him the Ammonite Worshiped in Rabba and her watery plain.
Milton.