explain

Definition from Wiktionary, a free dictionary

Contents 1 English 1.1 Etymology 1.2 Pronunciation 1.3 Verb 1.3.1 Synonyms 1.3.2 Related terms 1.3.3 Translations 1.3.4 External links

[edit] English

Wikipedia

[edit] Etymology

Middle English explanen from Old French explaner from Latin explanāre (“‘to flatten, to spread out, make plain or clear, explain’”) from ex- (“‘out’”) + planāre (“‘to flatten, make level’”) from planus (“‘level, plain’”); see plain and plane. Cf. esplanade, splanade. Displaced native Middle English arecchen, irecchen "to explain, expound" (from Old English āreccan, ġereccan).

[edit] Pronunciation

• IPA: /ɛkˈspleɪn/, /ɪkˈspleɪn/
•  Audio (US)^{help, file}
• Rhymes: -eɪn

[edit] Verb

to explain (third-person singular simple present explains, present participle explaining, simple past and past participle explained)

1. (obsolete) To make flat, smooth out.
2. (obsolete) To unfold or make visible.
3. To give a sufficiently detailed report about (a) the reason for something, about why something happened, about a causal chain of events; about (b) how something works, about how elements in a system interact; about (c) how to do something, about the steps which need to be accomplished in order to accomplish a certain goal.
4. To give a valid excuse for some past behavior.

[edit] Synonyms

• (give a sufficiently detailed report): expound, elaborate

[edit] Related terms

• explanation
• explain away
• explanatory

[edit] Translations

[edit] External links

• explain in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
• explain in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911