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Wiktionary

simple

English

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Etymology

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Inherited from Middle English symple, simple, from Old French and French simple, from Latin simplex (“simple”, literally “onefold”) (as opposed to duplex (“double”, literally “twofold”)), from semel (“the same”) + plicō (“I fold”). See same and fold. Compare single, singular, simultaneous, etc.

Partially displaced native English onefold.

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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simple (comparative simpler or more simple, superlative simplest or most simple)

  1. Uncomplicated; lacking complexity; taken by itself, with nothing added.
    • 1910, Emerson Hough, chapter I, in The Purchase Price: Or The Cause of Compromise, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:
      We are engaged in a great work, a treatise on our river fortifications, perhaps? But since when did army officers afford the luxury of amanuenses in this simple republic?
    • 1940, Rosetta E. Clarkson, Green Enchantments: The Magic Spell of Gardens, The Macmillan Company, page 253:
      Primitive people, colossally ignorant of the cause of disease and of curative processes, attributed to supernatural agencies any causes and effects for which their simple minds could give no natural explanations.
  2. Easy; not difficult.
    • 2001, Sydney I. Landau, Dictionaries: The Art and Craft of Lexicography, Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page 167:
      There is no simple way to define precisely a complex arrangement of parts, however homely the object may appear to be.
  3. Without ornamentation; plain.
  4. Free from duplicity; guileless, innocent, straightforward.
    • 1605, Iohn Marston [i.e., John Marston], The Dutch Courtezan. […], London: […] T[homas] P[urfoot] for Iohn Hodgets, […], →OCLC, (please specify the page):
      Full many fine men go upon my score, as simple as I stand here, and I trust them.
    • 1812, Lord Byron, “Canto I”, in Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage. A Romaunt, London: Printed for John Murray, […]; William Blackwood, Edinburgh; and John Cumming, Dublin; by Thomas Davison, […], →OCLC, stanza XXXVI:
      Must thou trust Tradition's simple tongue?
    • 1838 July 24, Ralph Waldo Emerson, “Literary Ethics. An Oration Delivered before the Literary Societies of Dartmouth College, July 24, 1838”, in J[ames] E[lliot] Cabot, editor, Nature, Addresses, and Lectures (Emerson’s Complete Works; I), Riverside edition, London: The Waverley Book Company, published 1883, →OCLC, page 160:
      Nothing is more simple than greatness; indeed, to be simple is to be great. The vision of genius comes by renouncing the too officious activity of the understanding, and giving leave and amplest privilege to the spontaneous sentiment.
  5. Undistinguished in social condition; of no special rank.
    Antonym: gentle
  6. (archaic) Trivial; insignificant.
    • 1470–1485 (date produced), Thomas Malory, “Capitulum LV”, in [Le Morte Darthur], book X (in Middle English), [London: […] by William Caxton], published 31 July 1485, →OCLC; republished as H[einrich] Oskar Sommer, editor, Le Morte Darthur […], London: David Nutt, […], 1889, →OCLC:
      ‘That was a symple cause,’ seyde Sir Trystram, ‘for to sle a good knyght for seyynge well by his maystir.’
      ‘That was a simple cause,’ said Sir Tristram, ‘for to slay a good knight for to say well by his master.’
  7. (now colloquial, euphemistic) Feeble-minded; foolish.
  8. (heading, technical) Structurally uncomplicated.
    1. (chemistry, pharmacology) Consisting of one single substance; uncompounded.
    2. (mathematics) Of a group: having no normal subgroup.
    3. (botany) Not compound, but possibly lobed.
    4. Using steam only once in its cylinders, in contrast to a compound engine, where steam is used more than once in high-pressure and low-pressure cylinders. (of a steam engine)
      • 1959, David P. Morgan, editor, Steam's Finest Hour, Kalmbach Publishing Co., page 6:
        Chesapeake & Ohio turned to simple articulateds, for instance, simply because its Alleghany tunnels would not accommodate the low-pressure forward cylinders of larger compounds.
    5. (zoology) Consisting of a single individual or zooid; not compound.
      a simple ascidian
    6. (mineralogy) Homogenous.
  9. (obsolete) Mere; not other than; being only.

Synonyms

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Antonyms

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Derived terms

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Translations

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Noun

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simple (plural simples)

  1. (pharmacology) A herbal preparation made from one plant, as opposed to something made from more than one plant.
    • 1603, Michel de Montaigne, chapter 37, in John Florio, transl., The Essayes […], book II, London: […] Val[entine] Simmes for Edward Blount […], →OCLC:
      I know there are some simples, which in operation are moistening and some drying.
    • a. 1700 (date written), William Temple, “Of Health and Long-life”, in Miscellanea. The Third Part. […], London: […] Jonathan Swift, […] Benjamin Tooke, […], published 1701, →OCLC, pages 183–184:
      [W]hat Virtue there is in this Remedy lies in the naked Simple it ſelf, as it comes over from the Indies, and in the Choice of that which is leaſt dried, or periſhed by the Voyage.
    • 1922 February, James Joyce, Ulysses, Paris: Shakespeare and Company, […], →OCLC:
      The first fellow that picked an herb to cure himself had a bit of pluck. Simples. Want to be careful.
    • 2003, Dolores Stewart Riccio, Charmed Circle, Kensington Books, →ISBN, page 12:
      The venerable carryall, formerly brimming with all manner of esoteric pamphlets and witch's simples, now overflowed with a cascade of soft toys, juice bottles, tissues, linen books for infants, […]
  2. (obsolete, by extension) A physician.
  3. (logic) A simple or atomic proposition.
    • 2021 September 14, Michael David Stevens, 10:41 from the start, in Do Chairs Exist?‎[1]:
      Peter van Inwagen, for example, believes that there are no ordinary objects, no chairs or shirts or shoes. Right here there are just some simples — atoms or whatever — arranged shoe-wise.
  4. (obsolete) Something not mixed or compounded.
  5. (weaving) A drawloom.
  6. (weaving) Part of the apparatus for raising the heddles of a drawloom.
  7. (Roman Catholicism) A feast which is not a double or a semidouble.

Translations

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Verb

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simple (third-person singular simple present simples, present participle simpling, simple past and past participle simpled)

  1. (transitive, intransitive, archaic) To gather simples, i.e. medicinal herbs.

Derived terms

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Anagrams

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Asturian

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Etymology

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Borrowed from Latin simplex.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ˈsimple/, [ˈsĩm.ple]
  • Hyphenation: sim‧ple

Adjective

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simple (epicene, plural simples)

  1. simple (uncomplicated)
    Synonym: cenciellu

Bikol Central

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Etymology

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Borrowed from Spanish simple.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ˈsimple/ [ˈsim.pl̪e]
  • Hyphenation: sim‧ple

Adjective

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símple (intensified simplehon, Basahan spelling ᜐᜒᜋ᜔ᜉ᜔ᜎᜒ)

  1. simple, plain
  2. unadorned
  3. easy
    Synonyms: madali, pasil

Derived terms

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Catalan

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Etymology

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Borrowed from Latin simplex.

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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simple m or f (masculine and feminine plural simples)

  1. simple (uncomplicated)
    Synonym: senzill
  2. single (not divided into parts)

Derived terms

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Further reading

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Chavacano

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Etymology

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Inherited from Spanish simple (“simple”).

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ˈsimple/, [ˈsĩm.ple]
  • Hyphenation: sim‧ple

Adjective

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simple

  1. simple

Esperanto

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Etymology

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From simpla +‎ -e.

Pronunciation

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Adverb

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simple

  1. simply

French

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Etymology

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Inherited from Old French, borrowed from Latin simplex.

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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French numbers (edit)
10
1 2  →  10  → 
    Cardinal: un
    Ordinal: premier
    Ordinal abbreviation: 1er
    Multiplier: simple
    Fractional: entier
French Wikipedia article on 1

simple (plural simples)

  1. single (multiplier)
    comptabilité en partie simple et double
    single-entry and double-entry bookkeeping
    passer du simple au double, du simple au triple…
    to double, triple…
  2. simple
    Un homme simple ― A simple man
  3. one-way
    Un billet simple ― A one-way ticket
  4. mere
    Un simple soldat ― A mere soldier

Usage notes

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The second and third meanings are taken when the adjective is placed after the noun. The fourth meaning is taken when it is located before the noun.

Derived terms

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Descendants

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  • → Romanian: simplu

Noun

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simple m (plural simples)

  1. one-way ticket
  2. (baseball) single
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Further reading

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Anagrams

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Galician

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Etymology

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Learned borrowing from Latin simplex. Displaced Old Galician-Portuguese simplez.

Adjective

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simple m or f (plural simples)

  1. simple

German

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Pronunciation

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Adjective

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simple

  1. inflection of simpel:
    1. strong/mixed nominative/accusative feminine singular
    2. strong nominative/accusative plural
    3. weak nominative all-gender singular
    4. weak accusative feminine/neuter singular

Latin

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Adjective

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simple

  1. vocative masculine singular of simplus

Middle English

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Adjective

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simple

  1. Alternative form of symple

Noun

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simple

  1. Alternative form of symple

Norwegian Bokmål

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Adjective

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simple

  1. definite singular of simpel
  2. plural of simpel

Norwegian Nynorsk

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Adjective

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simple

  1. definite singular of simpel
  2. plural of simpel

Old French

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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Borrowed from Latin simplex.

Adjective

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simple m (oblique and nominative feminine singular simple)

  1. innocent
  2. mere; simple
  3. honest; without pretense
  4. peasant, pauper (attributive)

Descendants

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Romanian

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Pronunciation

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Adjective

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simple

  1. feminine/neuter plural nominative/accusative of simplu

Spanish

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Spanish numbers (edit)
10
1 2  →  10  → 
    Cardinal: uno
    Apocopated cardinal: un
    Ordinal: primero
    Apocopated ordinal: primer
    Ordinal abbreviation: 1.º
    Multiplier: simple
    Distributive: sendos
Spanish Wikipedia article on 1

Etymology

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Borrowed from Latin simplex.

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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simple m or f (masculine and feminine plural simples)

  1. simple (uncomplicated)
    Synonym: sencillo
    Antonym: complejo
  2. (before the noun) mere, ordinary
    Synonym: mero
    Soy un simple pescador. ― I'm just a fisherman.
  3. simple, single (not divided into parts)
    Antonym: compuesto
  4. simple-minded, stupid
  5. insipid, flavorless
    Synonym: soso
  6. (grammar) simple

Usage notes

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  • A way to think of the difference between simple and sencillo, which both mean "simple" in English, is that the antonym of simple is complejo (“complex”), whereas the antonym of sencillo is complicado (“complicated”).

Derived terms

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Descendants

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  • > Chavacano: simple (inherited)

Noun

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simple m or f by sense (plural simples)

  1. simpleton, fool
    Synonym: bobo

Noun

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simple m (plural simples)

  1. (pharmacology) simple

See also

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Further reading

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Swedish

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Adjective

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simple

  1. definite natural masculine singular of simpel

Anagrams

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Tagalog

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Etymology

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Borrowed from Spanish simple, from Latin simplex.

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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simple (Baybayin spelling ᜐᜒᜋ᜔ᜉ᜔ᜎᜒ)

  1. simple; easy to do
    Synonyms: payak, yano, liso
    • 1994, Al O. Santiago, Sining ng pagsasaling-wika: sa Filipino mula sa Ingles‎[2], →ISBN:
      Simpleng-simple rin ang aklat na ito kung ihahambing sa aklat ni Mildred Larson.
      This book is also very simple compared to the book of Mildred Larson.
    • 2002, Yaman Ng Pagkatao i Tm' 2002 Ed.‎[3], Rex Bookstore, Inc., →ISBN, page 173:
      Ang boluntaryong pagpili ng simpleng pamumuhay ay isang desisyong maaari nating maisakatuparan.
      The voluntary choice of a simple life is a decision that we can carry out.
  2. common; ordinary
    Synonyms: karaniwan, pangkaraniwan
  3. easy to understand
  4. simple; plain
    Synonym: payak
  5. (grammar) simple
    Synonym: payak

Derived terms

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Further reading

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  • “simple”, in Pambansang Diksiyonaryo | Diksiyonaryo.ph, Manila, 2018
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