simple

English

Etymology

From Middle English simple, from Old French and French simple, from Latin simplex (“simple, literally 'onefold', as opposed to duplex, twofold, double”), from sim- (“the same”) + plicare (“to fold”): see same and fold. Compare single, singular, simultaneous, etc.

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈsɪmpl/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Audio (UK)

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• Rhymes: -ɪmpəl
• Hyphenation: sim‧ple

Adjective

simple (comparative simpler, superlative simplest)

1. Uncomplicated; taken by itself, with nothing added.
   • 2001, Sydney I. Landau, Dictionaries: The Art and Craft of Lexicography, Cambridge University Press (ISBN 0-521-78512-X), page 167,

     There is no simple way to define precisely a complex arrangement of parts, however homely the object may appear to be.

2. Without ornamentation; plain.
3. Free from duplicity; guileless, innocent, straightforward.
4. Undistinguished in social condition; of no special rank.
5. (now rare) Trivial; insignificant.
   • 1485, Thomas Malory, Le Morte Darthur, Book X:

     ‘That was a symple cause,’ seyde Sir Trystram, ‘for to sle a good knyght for seyynge well by his maystir.’

6. (now colloquial) Feeble-minded; foolish.
7. (chemistry) Consisting of one single substance; uncompounded.
8. (mathematics) Of a group: having no normal subgroup.
9. (botany) Not compound, but possibly lobed.

Synonyms

• (consisting of a single part or aspect): onefold
• (having few parts or features): plain
• See also Wikisaurus:easy

Antonyms

• (having few parts or features): complex, compound, complicated

Derived terms

Derived terms

fee simple future simple oversimple past simple plain and simple present simple pure and simple simple beam simple connectivity simple contract simple dislocation simple equation simple extension simple eye simple fraction simple fracture simple fruit simple function simple future simple group simple harmonic motion simple-hearted simple interest simple leaf simple linear regression

simple machine simple mastectomy simple microscope simple-minded simple past simple pendulum simple pistil simple pole simple present simple protein simple regression simple sentence Simple Simon simple sugar simple syrup simple time simple trust simplehead simpleness simpless simplex simply single simplicity simpleton

Translations

uncomplicated

Albanian: thjeshtë (sq) Arabic: بسيط (ar) (basiiT) Armenian: պարզ (hy) (parz), հասարակ (hy) (hasarak) Bulgarian: прост (bg) (prost) m. Catalan: simple (ca) Chinese: Mandarin: 簡單 (zh), 简单 (zh) (jiǎndān), (easy) 容易 (zh) (róngyì) Czech: jednoduchý (cs) m. Dutch: eenvoudig (nl), simpel (nl) Esperanto: simpla (eo) Estonian: lihtne (et) Finnish: yksinkertainen (fi) (simppeli (fi), slang) French: simple (fr) Georgian: მარტივი (ka) (martivi), უბრალო (ka) (ubralo), სადა (ka) (sada) German: einfach (de), simpel (de) Haitian Creole: senp Hebrew: פשוט (he) Hindi: सरल (hi) (saral), (easy) आसान (hi) (āsān) Hungarian: egyszerű (hu) Ido: simpla (io) Italian: semplice (it) Japanese: 簡単な (ja) (かんたんな, kantan-na), 単純な (ja) (たんじゅんな, tanjun-na), (easy) 易い (ja) (やすい, yasui) Kazakh: қарапайым (kk) (qarapayım) Korean: 간단한 (ko) (gandan-han) (簡單 (ko) + 한 (ko)), (predicate) 간단하다 (ko) (gandan-hada) Kurdish: Sorani: ئاسان (ku) (AsAn), ساکار (ku) (sAkAr)

Latin: simplex (la) Latvian: prasts (lv), vienkāršs (lv) Lithuanian: paprastas (lt) Lojban: sampu (jbo) Novial: simpli Old English: please add this translation if you can Persian: ساده (fa) Polish: prosty (pl) m., łatwy (pl) m. Portuguese: simples (pt) Romanian: simplu (ro) m. and n., necomplicat (ro) m. and n. Russian: простой (ru) (prostój) m., (easy) лёгкий (ru) (ljóxkij) Scottish Gaelic: sìmplidh (gd) Serbo-Croatian: Cyrillic: је̏дноста̄ван (sh) Roman: jȅdnostāvan (sh) Silesian: ajnfachowy Slovene: preprost, enostaven Spanish: simple (es) Swedish: enkel (sv) Tamil: எளிய  (ta) (eḷiya), எளிது  (ta) (eḷitu), எளிமையான (ta) (eḷimaiyāNa) Telugu: సరళమైన (saraLamaina) Thai: ง่าย (th) (ngâai) Turkish: basit (tr), sade (tr) Ukrainian: простий (uk) (prostýj) Urdu: (easy) آسان (ur) (āsān) Vietnamese: giản dị (vi), mộc mạc (vi) West Frisian: ienfâldich (fy)

simple-minded

Armenian: պարզամիտ (hy) (parzamit), միամիտ (hy) (miamit) Bulgarian: прост (bg) (prost) m., малоумен (bg) (maloúmen) m. Dutch: achterlijk (nl), simpel (nl) German: einfach (de) Polish: prostak (pl) (noun) Romanian: simplu (ro)

Russian: простой (ru) (prostój) m., простодушный (ru) (prostodúšnyj) m. Scottish Gaelic: baoth (gd) Serbo-Croatian: Cyrillic: простодушан (sh) Roman: prostodušan (sh) Swedish: enkel (sv)

Noun

simple (plural simples)

1. (medicine) A preparation made from one plant, as opposed to something made from more than one plant.
2. (logic) A simple or atomic proposition

Translations

preparation from one plant

Spanish: simple (es) m.

Verb

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

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

Derived terms

• simpler
• simplist

Statistics

• Most common English words before 1923: smile · walk · places · #709: simple · fresh · noble · appearance

Anagrams

• impels

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Anglo-Norman

Alternative forms

• sinple

Etymology

Latin simplex

Adjective

simple m. and f. (plural simples)

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

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Catalan

Etymology

From Latin simplex.

Pronunciation

• (Eastern Catalan) IPA: [ˈsimpɫə]
• (Western Catalan) IPA: [ˈsimpɫe]

Adjective

simple m. and f. (plural simples)

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

Synonyms

• senzill

Derived terms

• fulla simple (“simple leaf”)
• simplement (“simply”)

Related terms

• símplex (“simplex”)
• simplicitat (“simplicity”)
• ximple

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Esperanto

Etymology

simpl- + -e

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈsimple/
• Hyphenation: sim‧ple

Adverb

simple

1. simply

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French

Pronunciation

• audio

  (file)

• IPA: /sɛ̃pl/, SAMPA: /sE~pl/

Adjective

simple (epicene, plural simples)

1. simple
2. one-way

   Un billet simple.

   A one-way ticket.

Noun

simple m. (plural simples)

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

Related terms

• aller simple
• simplement
• simplicité
• simplifier

Anagrams

• emplis

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Galician

Adjective

simple m. and f. (plural simples)

1. simple

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Latin

Adjective

simple

1. vocative masculine singular of simplus

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Old French

Alternative forms

• sinple

Etymology

Latin simplex

Adjective

simple m. and f. (plural simples)

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

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Romanian

Pronunciation

• IPA: [ˈsim.ple]

Adjective

simple

1. feminine plural nominative form of simplu
2. feminine plural accusative form of simplu
3. neuter plural nominative form of simplu
4. neuter plural accusative form of simplu

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Spanish

Adjective

simple m. and f. (plural simples)

1. simple
2. mere, uncomplicated, easy
3. single
4. insipid

Antonyms

• (simple): complejo
• (uncomplicated): complicado

Noun

simple m. and f. (plural simples)

1. simpleton, fool
2. (pharmacology, masculine) simple

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Swedish

Adjective

simple

1. absolute definite natural masculine form of simpel.