simple

I. adjective (simpler; simplest) Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Medieval Latin simplus, alteration of Latin simplic-, simplex single, having one ingredient, plain, from sem-, sim- one + -plic-, -plex -fold — more at same, -fold Date: 13th century 1. free from guile ; innocent 2. a. free from vanity ; modest b. free from ostentation or display <

a simple outfit

> 3. of humble origin or modest position <

a simple farmer

> 4. a. lacking in knowledge or expertise <

a simple amateur of the arts

> b. (1) stupid (2) mentally retarded c. not socially or culturally sophisticated ; naive; also credulous 5. a. sheer, unmixed <

simple honesty

> b. free of secondary complications <

a simple vitamin deficiency

> c. (1) having only one main clause and no subordinate clauses <

a simple sentence

> (2) of a subject or predicate having no modifiers, complements, or objects d. constituting a basic element ; fundamental e. not made up of many like units <

a simple eye

> 6. free from elaboration or figuration <

simple harmony

> 7. a. (1) not subdivided into branches or leaflets <

a simple stem

> <

a simple leaf

> (2) consisting of a single carpel (3) developing from a single ovary <

a simple fruit

> b. controlled by a single gene <

simple inherited characters

> 8. not limited or restricted ; unconditional <

a simple obligation

> 9. readily understood or performed <

simple directions

> <

the adjustment was simple to make

> 10. of a statistical hypothesis specifying exact values for one or more statistical parameters — compare composite 3 • simpleness noun Synonyms: simple, foolish, silly, fatuous, asinine mean actually or apparently deficient in intelligence. simple implies a degree of intelligence inadequate to cope with anything complex or involving mental effort <

considered people simple who had trouble with computers

>. foolish implies the character of being or seeming unable to use judgment, discretion, or good sense <

foolish stunts

>. silly suggests failure to act as a rational being especially by ridiculous behavior <

the silly antics of revelers

>. fatuous implies foolishness, inanity, and disregard of reality <

fatuous conspiracy theories

>. asinine suggests utter and contemptible failure to use normal rationality or perception <

an asinine plot

>. Synonym: see in addition easy. II. noun Date: 14th century 1. a. a person of humble birth ; commoner <

thought very little of anybody, simples or gentry — Virginia Woolf

> b. (1) a rude or credulous person ; ignoramus (2) a mentally retarded person 2. a. a medicinal plant b. a vegetable drug having only one ingredient 3. one component of a complex; specifically an unanalyzable constituent