explain
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
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[edit] English
[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. Compare esplanade, splanade. Displaced native Middle English arecchen, irecchen (“to explain, expound”) (from Old English āreccan, ġereccan).
[edit] Pronunciation
[edit] Verb
explain (third-person singular simple present explains, present participle explaining, simple past and past participle explained)
- 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.
- To give a valid excuse for some past behavior.
- (obsolete) To make flat, smooth out.
- (obsolete) To unfold or make visible.
[edit] Synonyms
[edit] Related terms
[edit] Translations
report
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excuse
[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
