▪ I. simple, a. and n.
(ˈsɪmp(ə)l)
Also α. 4 simpil, -ul, 5 simpel, -ill, -ulle; 4–5 sympile, 5–6 -ill, 5 sympel(l, 5–6 sympyll (5 -yl, -ylle, cympylle), sympul (5 -ull), 4–6 symple. β. 4–6, Sc. 8–9 semple, 5–6 sempill (6 -yll).
[a. OF. simple (12th cent., = Prov., Sp., and Pg. simple), ad. L. simplus or simplex. Hence also Du., Fris., G., Da., and Sw. simpel (MDu. also sempel).
L. simplus (in class. L. only in neut. simplum) is cognate with Gr. ἁπλόος, ἁπλοῦς, the first element in both being *sem- ‘one’. In simplex the second element is related to L. plicāre, Gr. πλέκειν ‘to fold’: cf. afald a.]
A. adj.
In early examples it is often difficult to decide in which of several possible senses the word is to be taken.
I. 1. Free from duplicity, dissimulation, or guile; innocent and harmless; undesigning, honest, open, straightforward.
| c 1220 Bestiary 790 Simple [as the dove] and softe be we alle. a 1225 Ancr. R. 128 [False ancres] habbeð efter þe uoxe a simple semblaunt sume cherre, & beoð þauh ful of gile. 13.. E.E. Allit. P. B. 746 Now sayned be þou sauiour, so symple in þy wrath! 1382 Wyclif Matt. x. 16 Be ȝe war as serpentis, and symple as dowues. Ibid., Luke xi. 34 If thin yȝe schal be symple, al thi body schal be liȝtful. a 1400–50 Alexander 4404 To sawe emang þir simpill men sedis of debate. 1485 Caxton St. Wenefryde 14 A man of good lyf and symple courage. 1508 Dunbar Tua Mariit Wemen 255, I semyt sober, and sueit, & sempill without fraud, Bot I couth sexty dissaif that suttillar wer haldin. 1565 Jewel Repl. Harding (1611) 411 Wherein also appeareth some suspition of no simple dealing. 1614 Raleigh Hist. World v. iii. 404 Bostar, the Gouernour of Saguntum, a simple man. 1669 Relat. Raleigh's Troubles in Harl. Misc. IV. 60 The Lord Cobham, a simple passionate man, but of very noble birth and great possessions. 1781 Gibbon Decl. & F. xxxi. (1787) III. 191 The edict which the fanaticism of Olympius dictated to the simple and devout emperor. 1781 Crabbe Library 243 Here wily Jesuits simple Quakers meet. 1822 Shelley Fragm. Unf. Drama 85 He was a simple innocent boy. I loved him well. 1842 Lytton Zanoni 27 A simple heart may be its own best guide. 1859 Tennyson Guinevere 367 The simple, fearful child meant nothing, but my own too-fearful guilt..betrays itself. |
2. Free from, devoid of, pride, ostentation, or display; humble, unpretentious.
| c 1290 S. Eng. Leg. I. 140 His oste nam wel gode ȝeme..hov luytel he et him-selue, with wel simple mode. 13.. E.E. Allit. P. A. 1134 His lokez symple, hym self so gent. 1390 Gower Conf. II. 41, I am so simple of port, That forto feigne som desport I pleie with hire litel hound. a 1400–50 Alexander 4664 All be we suggets in oure-selfe & simpill oure latis. a 1450 Knt. de la Tour lxiii. (1868) 84 She deigned not to do reuerence and worshippe unto the kinge..for because he was symple and debonaire. 1508 Dunbar Gold. Targe 272 Be ewir obedient, Humble, subiect, and symple of entent. 1535 Coverdale Zech. ix. 9 Lowly and symple is he, he rydeth vpon an asse. 1630 Wadsworth Pilgr. iii. 30 A third sort of Iesuites there are, not vnfitly termed simple ones; these are wonderfull austere in their life. 1738 Wesley Ps. xxxii. ii, Harmless, and pure, and undefil'd, A simple Follower of the Lamb. 1855 Tennyson Maud i. x. v, A man with heart, head, hand, Like some of the simple great ones gone For ever and ever by. |
3. a. Free from elaboration or artificiality; artless, unaffected; plain, unadorned.
Usually implying that the simplicity is a merit, but sometimes (as in quot. 1827) with suggestion of sense 7.
| c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. Wace Prol. (Rolls) 73 Als þai haf wryten & sayd, haf I alle in myn Inglis layd, In symple speche as I couthe, Þat is lightest in mannes mouthe. 1377 Langl. P. Pl. B. xiii. 217 Sobrete, and symple speche, and sothfaste byleue. c 1450 in Aungier Syon (1840) 320 Ther songe schal be sadde, sober, ande symple withe out brekyng of notes. 1530 Palsgr. 324/1 Symple styll, simple. 1601 Shakes. Jul. C. iv. ii. 22 There are no trickes, in plaine and simple Faith. 1696 Phillips (ed. 5) s.v., Simple Style, an easie plain Stile. 1726 Swift Gulliver iv. xii, I rather chose to relate plain Matter of Fact, in the simplest Manner and Style. 1750 Gray Elegy 32 The short and simple annals of the poor. 1752 Hume Ess. & Treat. (1777) I. 209 Sophocles and Terence..are more simple than Lucretius. 1827 Scott Chron. Canongate vii, It is, however, but a very simple tale, and may have no interest for persons beyond Janet's rank of life or understanding. 1860 J. W. Warter Sea-Board II. 446 The simplest sermons, conveyed in the simplest language, usually do most good. 1881 Freeman Subj. Venice 249 The arcades themselves, though very good and simple, do not carry out the wonderful boldness..of the outer range. |
b. Of persons: Free from over-refinement, unsophisticated, unspoiled.
| 1794 Mrs. Radcliffe Myst. Udolpho iii, The inhabitants of these mountains are a simple people. 1821 Shelley Epipsych. 429 Pastoral people.., Simple and spirited; innocent and bold. |
II. 4. a. Of persons, or their origin: Poor or humble in condition; of low rank or position; undistinguished, mean, common.
| c 1290 S. Eng. Leg. I. 49 Among lowe Men and simple deol þere was i-nouȝ. a 1300 Cursor M. 15007 Þe simple folk al o þe tun þai went him for to mete. c 1350 Will. Palerne 714 Þer nys lord in no lond..þat soþli nere simple i-nouȝ þat semly to haue. c 1400 Destr. Troy 2631 A! nobill kyng,..suffers me to say, Symple þof I be. 1441 Pol. Poems (Rolls) II. 206 Alas! what was myne adventure, So sodenly down for to falle,..Now am I made sympulest of alle. 1474 Caxton Chesse iii. i. (1883) 78 Kynge Dauid that was first symple & one of the comyn peple. 1535 Stewart Cron. Scot. I. 423 All sic like..That cuming ar of sic sempill degrie. 1570 Foxe A. & M. 1346/1 Thomas Cromwell,.. borne of a simple parentage & house obscure. 1647 Fuller Good Th. in Worse T. (1841) 108 The silliest and simplest being wronged may justly speak in their own defence. 1667 Milton P.L. xii. 365 His place of birth a solemn Angel tells To simple Shepherds. 1746 Francis tr. Horace, Sat. ii. vi. 112 How you joke, And love to sneer at simple Folk! 1794 Burns Gane is the day ii, There's wealth and ease for gentlemen, And semple folk maun fecht and fen'. 1864 Spectator 537 It is sometimes objected to Mr. A. Fripp's peasant children that they are more gentle than simple. |
b. In modest or apologetic use.
In some examples sense 9 may be intended.
| c 1440 York Myst. xiv. 3, I praye þe, lord, for thy grete myght Vnto thy symple seruand see. 1481 Caxton Godfr. ccxii. 311 Reduced out of Frensshe in to englysshe by me symple persone Wylliam Caxton. 1539 Test. Ebor. (Surtees) VI. 88 My simple bodie to be buried at Ratclif. c 1560 A. Scott Poems (S.T.S.) i. 223 Send be thy sempill servand Sanderris Scott. 1571 R. Edwards Damon & Pithias in Hazl. Dodsley IV. 94 When I am dead, my simple ghost..Shall hover about the place. |
† c. In phr. as simple as, or simple though, I stand here. Obs.
| 1598 Shakes. Merry W. i. i. 228 Slender. He's a Iustice of Peace in his Countrie, simple though I stand here. 1598 B. Jonson Ev. Man in Hum. i. i, I am his next heire at the common law, Master Stephen, as simple as I stand here. 1728 Swift Mullinix & Timothy Wks. 1751 VII. 213 And simple as I now stand here, Expect in Time to be a P―. |
5. With designations or titles: Ordinary; not further distinguished in office or rank.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 26226 Es na simple preist þat mai Sli scrift on man bot biscop lai. 1389 in Eng. Gilds (1870) 8 Ȝif it so bifalle þat a symple brother dye. 1474 Caxton Chesse ii. iv. (1883) 50 Alexander of Macedone cam on a tyme lyke a symple knyght vnto the court of Porus kynge of Inde. 1500–20 Dunbar Poems xxii. 64 Ane semple vicar I can nocht be. 1593 Shakes. 2 Hen. VI, i. iii. 77 Salisbury and Warwick are no simple Peeres. 1657 Narr. Late Parl. in Harl. Misc. (1809) III. 456 One of the simple and new-made knights. 1855 Macaulay Hist. Eng. xiv. III. 456 Perhaps no simple presbyter of the Church of England has ever possessed a greater authority over his brethren. 1875 Stubbs Const. Hist. II. xv. 201 This change affected however only the simple barons. |
6. a. Of persons or their attire: Not marked by any elegance or grandeur; very plain or homely.
| 1362 Langl. P. Pl. A. ix. 110 He was long and lene, to loken on ful symple, Was no pride on his apparail, ne no pouert noþer. c 1400 Rom. Rose 6822, I, that were my simple cloth, Robbe bothe robbed and robbours. c 1450 Merlin xxvi. 478 The kynge..and his knyghtes..hadde don of theire helmes from theire heedes and valed theire coiffes of mayle vpon theire sholderes and com full symple. 1560 J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 55 The body must be chastened and made leane with fasting and simple apparel. 1567 Gude & Godlie B. 49 Ȝe sall him find, but mark or wying, Full sempill in ane Cribe lying. 1633 T. Stafford Pac. Hib. ii. xviii. 191 Cloathed in a simple mantle, and torne trowsers. |
b. Similarly of living, diet, abode, etc.
the simple life, a mode of life in which anything of the nature of luxury is intentionally avoided; also attrib. Hence simple-lifer, a follower or proponent of the simple life. Also simple-liver; simple-living vbl. n. and ppl. adj.
| 13.. Cursor M. 13272 (Gött.), Chese him felaus will he bigin,..mene men of simpil lijf. 13.. Gaw. & Gr. Knt. 503 Þe crabbed lentoun, Þat fraystez flesch wyth þe fysche & fode more symple. c 1380 Wyclif Wks. (1880) 149 What euere þing curatis holden of þe auterage ouer a sympule liflode,..it nys not here but oþere mennus. c 1400 Love Bonavent. Mirr. (1908) 64 Mekenesse, pouerte, and buxumnesse, that weren openly schewed in her symple dwellynge. 1474 Caxton Chesse iii. v. (1883) 120 But they ought to make good and symple colacion to geder. 1568 Grafton Chron. II. 88 Leopold..did take the king captiue at Dena in a village nere therevnto, in a simple house. 1579 Lyly Euphues (Arb.) 96 In that my welcome is so colde, and my cheere so simple. 1596 Spenser F.Q. vi. ix. 16 His simple home; Which though it were a cottage clad with lome [etc.]. c 1610 Women Saints 80 Her bodie she allowed but such like short and simple foode, stanching hir hunger with herbes and barlie bredd. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. iii. 790 Simple his Bev'rage, homely was his Food. 1736 J. Thomson Liberty iv. 30 That simple Life, the quiet-whispering Grove. 1764 Goldsm. Trav. 17 Blest be those feasts, with simple plenty crown'd. 1820 Shelley Prometh. Unb. iii. iii. 22 There is a cave [etc.],..A simple dwelling, which shall be our own. 1862 A. J. Symonds Let. 7 Aug. (1967) I. 355, I read through..Scotch Bothie, lured on by its intense savour of nature & love of simple life. 1889 R. Buchanan Heir of Linne vii, The meal consisted of the very simplest fare, and was soon over. 1901 tr. Wagner's The Simple Life p. vii, What is the simple life?.. It is a form of life, described by the pastoral poets, or the New Testament, but not livable to-day [etc.]. 1909 H. G. Wells Ann Veronica vii. 138 The Goopes were..following a fruitarian career..and they had reduced simple living to the finest of fine arts. Ibid. viii. 165 The chatter of the studios and the..discussions of the simple-life homes. 1927 W. E. Collinson Contemp. Eng. 38 During my school-days..I remember first hearing the term simple-lifers. 1933 M. Allingham Sweet Danger xvii. 211 If it weren't for the simple-livers on the heath..the affair would be almost plain sailing. 1956 ‘J. Wyndham’ Seeds of Time 231 It's mostly Janet's economies and simple-living that's built up the savings. 1978 Listener 14 Sept. 324/1 Members may be ‘arty-crafty’ and ‘simple-lifers’—rather like the sort of people who nowadays promote Vole magazine. 1979 Ibid. 11 Jan. 63/3 In Cornwall..simple-living James and earth-mother Anna are variously threatened by authority, rural squalor and true terror. |
† c. Ordinary, not festival. Obs.—1
| 1480 Caxton Myrr. iii. x. 155 In worshippyng our lord on hye dayes and simple. |
7. a. Small, insignificant, slight; of little account or value; also, weak or feeble.
| 1375 Barbour Bruce v. 258 That ves a sympill stuff to ta, A land or castell for to vyn! ? a 1400 Morte Arth. 967 Siche sex ware to symple to semble with hyme one. c 1450 Merlin vii. 116 Thei were so astoned with the hete of the fier that theire deffence was but symple. 1486 Bk. St. Albans, Hawking d iij b, The symplest of theis .iij. will slee an Hynde calfe. 1509 Barclay Shyp of Folys (1874) II. 80 They spoyle this pore man, so that sympyll is his porcion. 1597 Daniel Civ. Wars vi. ii, Supposing some small powre would have restrained Disordred rage, sends with a simple crew Sir Humfrey Stafford. 1613 Shakes. Hen. VIII, ii. iv. 106 Queen. I am a simple woman, much too weake T'oppose your cunning. 1662 J. Davies tr. Mandelslo's Trav. 62 It lies almost in the midst of the Kingdome, and till of late was but a simple Village. 1839 Sir G. C. Lewis Gloss. Heref., Simple, sickly, feeble, helpless. 1875 Tennyson Holy Grail 668 Their wise men..scoff'd at him, And this high Quest as at a simple thing. |
† b. Of price or sale: Low, poor. Obs.
| 1436 Rolls of Parlt. IV. 499/1 If it seme come to, that utterance and sale of the seid Wolle..be so escarse and symple as likly is to be. 1439 Ibid. V. 24/1 Of so sympyl prys that it may not goodly bere the costes of Staple. c 1480 Pol. Poems (Rolls) II. 284 The pryce ys sympylle, the cost ys never the lesse. |
† 8. Poor, wretched, pitiful, dismal. Obs.
| 13.. Sir Beues 4050 Be þe sweuene ful wel I wat, Þat Beues is in semple stat. c 1400 Destr. Troy 8247 His worshipful wife,..With his Suster beside,..Þat were sory for þe sight, Semple of chere. c 1420 Sir Amadace (Camden) xxxviii, Quat mon is this, That alle this mowrnyng makes thus, With so simpulle chere? c 1477 Caxton Jason 48 b, Jason..hering the fayr Myrro so ordeyne..of theyr sodayn departing began to make simple chere. |
9. Deficient in knowledge or learning; characterized by a certain lack of acuteness or quick apprehension: a. Of persons (and animals).
| 1340 Ayenb. 137 He is ase þet simple ssep ine huam al hit is guod and profitable..and ne wenþ and ne kan naȝt ne naȝt ne þengþ. a 1400 Wycliffite Bible Prol. (1850) I. 58 No doute to a symple man..men miȝten expoune..shortliere the bible in English [etc.]. c 1460 J. Russell Bk. Nurture 1247 Symple as y had insight somwhat þe ryme y correcte. a 1548 Hall Chron., Hen. V, 29 b, Thynke you..that I am so ignorant..? Judge you me so simple, that I know not wherin the glory of a conquerour consisteth? 1596 Spenser State Irel. Wks. (Globe) 609/1 A vayne conceit of simple men, which judge thinges by theyre effectes, and not by theyre causes. 1612 Brinsley Lud. Lit. xix. (1627) 220 If there be one simple in a fourme, or harder of learning then the rest, they will make him a right Asinus. 1640 Wilkins New Planet iii. (1707) 169 It is a Book for the simpler and ignorant People. a 1718 W. Penn Life Wks. 1726 I. 38 Why should you render yourself unhappy, by associating with such a Simple People? 1768 Walpole Hist. Doubts 16, I say not this from any partiality or to decry the simple man as crossing my opinion. 1780 Cowper Progr. Err. 506 Women,..With all the simple and unletter'd poor, Admire his learning. 1822 Scott Peveril v, Thou art as simple, I see, in this world's knowledge as ever. 1865 Mozley Mirac. i. 22 The religion too of the intelligent as well as of the simpler portion of society. |
b. Of mental powers, etc.
| 1340 Hampole Pr. Consc. 4435 Men of symple connyng He sal turne thurgh miracles and prechyng. 1390 Gower Conf. viii. 3052* This povere bok heer I presente,..Write of my simple besinesse. c 1430 Lydg. Min. Poems (Percy Soc.) 108 Sympylle ys there consayet, when yt ys forthe broughte. c 1460 J. Russell Bk. Nurture 277 Symple Condicyons of a persone þat is not taught, y wille ye eschew. 1523 Ld. Berners Froiss. I. ciii. 123 They had sene parte of the demeanour of the frenchemen, the which they thoght to be but symple. 1591 Shakes. Two Gent. i. ii. 8 Ile shew my minde, According to my shallow simple skill. 1812 Crabbe Tales v. 257 Leave admonition,..Nor take that simple fancy to thy brain, That thou canst cure the wicked and the vain. |
c. Of compositions, etc., esp. in apologetic use.
| c 1430 Lydg. Min. Poems (Percy Soc.) 22 On my rudnesse..to have pitee, My simple makyng for to take at gree. 1474 Caxton Chesse iv. viii. (1883) 187 Praynge your good grace to resseyue this lityll and symple book. 1560 J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. Pref. 3 Humbly beseching your honour to accept this simple translation. 1590 Spenser F.Q. ii. x. 28 Whose simple answere, wanting colours faire To paint it forth, him to displeasance moou'd. 1595 T. P. Goodwine Blanchardine (1890) 233 To larum foorth my simple musicke. |
10. a. Lacking in ordinary sense or intelligence; more or less foolish, silly, or stupid; also, mentally deficient, half-witted (now dial.).
| 1604 E. Grimstone Hist. Siege Ostend 63 A Germaine..was lame of halfe his body, and simple. 1653 J. Taylor Serm. for Year i. xxiii. 290 Unwary fools and defenselesse people were called simple. 1713 Arbuthnot John Bull ii. ix, The good old Gentlewoman was not so simple, as to go into his project; she began to smell a Rat. 1778 F. Burney Evelina lxxvi, I was extremely disconcerted..and I am sure I must look very simple. 1798 Jane Austen Northang. Abb. (1833) II. xv. 201 You are fretting about General Tilney, and that is very simple of you! 1814 Scott Ld. of Isles v. xxi, Nay, weep not so, thou simple boy! But sleep in peace, and wake in joy. 1883 Hampshire Gloss. s.v., He be quite simple, poor chap. |
b. Simple Simon. (a) (See quots. 1785, 1865.)
‘Simple Simon’ is the subject of various nursery rhymes, which may have given rise to the general use.
| 1785 Grose Dict. Vulgar T., Simple Simon, a natural, a silly fellow. 1865 Slang Dict. 230 Simon, or Simple Simon, a credulous gullible person. 1899 Westm. Gaz. 12 June 5/1 A tall, ungainly Simple Simon of a peasant. |
(b) U.S. Rhyming slang. A diamond.
| 1928 M. C. Sharpe Chicago May 287/2 Simple simon, diamond. 1929 D. Runyon in Cosmopolitan July 58/1, I do not see any Simple Simon on your lean and linger. |
c. In bird-names, as simple tern (or simple viralve), simple warbler.
| 1783 Latham Gen. Synop. Birds II. ii. 500 Simple Warbler, Motacilla campestris. 1785 Ibid. III. ii. 355 Simple Tern. Size of the Noddy. 1826 Stephens in Shaw Gen. Zool. XIII. i. 172 Simple Viralve (Viralva simplex)... Inhabits Cayenne. |
III. 11. a. With nothing added; considered or taken by itself; mere, pure, bare; † single.
| 1340 Ayenb. 134 Þet me ylefþ god ope his simple worde þet al is zoþ þet he zayþ. 1483 Caxton Gold. Leg. 201/2 Wicked spirites went out of the bodyes of creatures by his symple regarde and syghte. 1578 Sc. Acts, James VI (1814) III. 113 The haill Iniureis and attemptatis committit of befoir..suld be reparit to the sempill availl. 1590 Shakes. Com. Err. v. i. 211 Nere may I looke on day,..But she tels to your Highnesse simple truth. 1600 E. Blount tr. Conestaggio 74 It was not probable they shoulde yeelde vpon a simple Letter. 1601 Shakes. All's Well ii. i. 78 A medicine..whose simple touch Is powerfull to arayse King Pippen. 1617 Moryson Itin. iii. 207 They who are hanged for simple theft. 1732 Pope Ess. Man i. 103 Yet simple Nature to his hope has giv'n..an humbler heav'n. 1797–1805 S. & Ht. Lee Cant. T. I. 84 What need of invention? We have only to tell the simple truth. 1849 Macaulay Hist. Eng. vi. II. 38 A simple majority, provided that it consisted of twelve, was sufficient to convict. 1857 Miller Elem. Chem., Org. iii. §4 (1862) 219 Many of the compounds..have an affinity for oxygen so powerful that they take fire by simple contact with it. 1870 Max Müller Sci. Relig. (1873) 321 What M. Jacolliot calls a simple translation..is, as far as I can judge, a simple invention of some slightly mischievous Brahman. |
b. In phr. pure and simple. Cf. pure a. 3.
| 1875 Jowett Plato (ed. 2) I. 29 That of which we are speaking is knowledge pure and simple. 1895 Bookman Oct. 16/2 The matter, both literary and pictorial,..has been garbage pure and simple. |
12. a. Med. Of wounds, diseases, etc.: Unaccompanied by complications.
| 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. vii. lxix. (Bodl. MS.), Also semple euel schal be heeled with medicyns þat beþ semple. 1541 Copland Guydon's Form. S iv b, Al symple woundes..ben new woundes in the partyes of y⊇ flesshe, that onely requyreth consolydacyons. 1580 Blundevil Horsemanship iv. ii, For, as they [causes] be simple or compound, so doe they ingender simple or compound diseases. 1597 A. M. tr. Guillemeau's Fr. Chirurg. 45/4 As touchinge the simple fractures, in thre dayes once we dresse them. 1758 J. S. tr. Le Dran's Observ. Surg. (1771) 250 The Suppuration proceeding kindly, the Wound became a simple Wound. 1826 S. Cooper First Lines Surg. (ed. 5) 94 A wound is called simple when it occurs in a healthy subject; has been produced by a clean, sharp-edged instrument; is unattended with any serious symptoms; and the only indication is to re-unite the fresh-cut surfaces. 1877 Burnett Ear 223 Simple Erythema is usually caused by local irritation from bites of insects. |
b. Law. Unattended by any strengthening circumstance; not specially confirmed.
simple contract, one made by word of mouth or not under seal; also attrib.
| 1546 Reg. Privy Council Scot. I. 37 Quhatsumevir clame, sempill supplicatioun, bill or summondis. 1765–8 Erskine Inst. Law Scot. iv. i. §24 Simple reductions, where improbation is not also libelled, are now seldom made use of. 1798 Dallas Amer. Law Rep. I. 244 In the case of an intestacy, simple contract debts..must be paid out of the personal estate. 1818 Cruise Digest (ed. 2) I. 468 The plaintiffs had no lien on the estates purchased by Lockyer; being creditors by simple contract only. Ibid. III. 41 A general resignation bond, simple and unattended with any other fact or circumstance. |
13. Consisting or composed of one substance, ingredient, or element; uncompounded, unmixed (or nearly so): a. Of bodies or substances, esp. natural or organic.
| 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. x. iii. (Bodl. MS.), An element is semple and leste perticle of a bodie þat is compowned. 1471 Ripley Comp. Alch. v. viii. in Ashm. (1652) 150 The Compound corporall..Uprysyth agayne Regenerat, Sympill, and Spyrytuall. 1594 T. B. La Primaud. Fr. Acad. ii. 29 The partes then of the body are diuided into two sortes or kindes: the first is, the simple or similary parts. 1626 Bacon Sylva §16 Simple Bodies, which consist of severall similare Parts. 1632 Lithgow Trav. vii. 319 The Sunne, beating continually vpon [the Nile water],..maketh it become more Lighter, Purer, and Simple. 1704 Newton Optics (1721) 4 The Light whose Rays are all alike Refrangible, I call Simple, Homogeneal and Similar. 1724 Watts Logic i. ii. (1736) 15 A Needle is a simple Body, being made only of Steel; but a Sword or a Knife is a Compound. 1796 Kirwan Elem. Min. (ed. 2) I. 4 Simple earths are those which are incapable of being converted or analyzed.., either with each other, or into any other substance. 1811 A. T. Thomson Lond. Disp. (1818) p. xlii, Sulphur... I have..followed Dr. Thomson in regarding it as a simple solid. 1843 J. A. Smith Product. Farming (ed. 2) 11 The number of simple, or elementary substances, at present known..is fifty-four. a 1862 Buckle Civiliz. III. 420 Simple solids retain after death the properties which they possessed during life. |
b. Of medical or other preparations. simple colours (see quot. 1771).
| 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. vii. lxix. (Bodl. MS.), If he know what medicyne is semple, what compowned, what colde, what hote. c 1400 Lanfranc's Cirurg. 92 Medicyns boþe þe symple & þe compound. 1558 Warde tr. Alexis' Secr. 32 b, Let the fyrste glyster be symple: that is to saye, made with water wherin ye haue boyled or sodden wheat bran, common oyle and salt. 1598 Shakes. Merry W. iii. v. 32 Fal. Go, brew me a pottle of Sacke finely. Bard. With Egges, Sir? Fal. Simple of it selfe. 1617 Moryson Itin. iii. 178 In the time of Queene Elizabeth the Courtiers delighted much in darke colours, both simple and mixt. 1669 W. Simpson Hydrol. Chym. 372 Volatile saline Spirit, either simple or aromatiz'd with Essences. 1738 tr. Guazzo's Art of Conversation 7 Not Esculapius himself, can, by the Means of Medicine, either Simple or Compound,..give you the least Help. 1771 Encycl. Brit. II. 223/2 Painters also distinguish colours into simple and mineral. Under simple colours they rank all those which are extracted from vegetables, and which will not bear the fire. 1825 E. Hewlett Cottage Comforts xi. 145 A tablespoon full of simple peppermint water. 1859 Habits of Gd. Society i. 104 In Paris I learned to abjure café au lait, and to drink my tea simple. 1899 Allbutt's Syst. Med. VII. 550 A simple aperient, and a stomachic or febrifuge mixture. |
c. In general use.
| 1586 W. Webbe Eng. Poetrie (Arb.) 69 A foote of two sillables, is eyther simple or mixt, that is, of like time or of diuers. a 1619 M. Fotherby Atheom. ii. iv. §4 (1622) 231 This mens..was the first Beginning of all things, being it selfe most simple, and without any mixture. 1655–60 Stanley Hist. Philos. (1687) 195/2 If desire and fear are not principal passions, it will doubtless follow, that none of the other affections are simple. a 1676 Hale Prim. Orig. Man. 11 Though he is but one, and one most simple uncompounded Being. |
14. a. Not composite or complex in respect of parts or structure.
| a 1425 tr. Arderne's Treat. Fistula, etc. 33 It was oonly symple by itself in þe flesshe, hauyng no passyng to þe tother hole. c 1450 Myrr. our Lady 107 To the souerayne Trynyte, one symple God, fader and sonne and holy gooste. a 1475 Ashby Dicta Philos. 1142 Thre thinges be in a right simpul knot. 1530 Palsgr. 68 Dyvers substantyves be symple, that is to saye, be nat compounde with any other wordes. 1636 B. Jonson Eng. Gram. i. xviii, The change of vowels is, either of simple vowels, or of diphthongs. 1656 Blount Glossogr., Un, is an English Privative, which may be added at pleasure to simple words. 1731 Phil. Trans. XXXVII. 107 Then they fasten Potlarts to the several simple Chords, that draw up the Rings. 1779 Mirror No. 24, Take the simplest blossom that blows. 1824 L. Murray Eng. Gram. (ed. 5) I. 149 Those tenses are called simple tenses, which are formed of the principal, without an auxiliary verb. 1843 Proc. Philol. Soc. I. 63 Thousands of compound words or characters which the Chinese ingeniously formed by the combinations of the simple roots. 1857 Miller Elem. Chem., Org. iii. §4 (1862) 238 Both the simple and the double radicles are formed upon a similar molecular plan. |
b. spec. in scientific use. (a) Bot. (See quots.)
| 1727 Bailey (vol. II.), Simple Leaf (with Botanists) is that which is not divided to the middle in several Parts, each resembling a Leaf it self, as in a Dock. 1753 Chambers' Cycl. Suppl. s.v. Leaf, Simple leaf is otherwise defined, that of which the petiole carries only one. 1793 Martyn Lang. Bot. s.v. Simplex, A Simple root... A Simple stem... A Simple fructification. 1796 Withering Brit. Pl. (ed. 3) I. 82 Simple Cup, one that consists of a single series of segments. Ibid., Simple Stem, one that is undivided; or, only sending out small branches. 1855 Miss Pratt Flower Pl. I. 10 A flower-stalk bearing one flower only, is termed simple, as the Daisy. 1872 Oliver Elem. Bot. i. vii. 73 Leaves..which are not divided into separate leaflets are termed simple. 1879 A. Gray Struct. Bot. vii. (1880) 291 Simple fruits, those which result from the ripening of a single pistil. 1880 Bessey Botany 433 The simple pistil is synonymous with carpel. |
(b) (See quot. 1728.)
| 1728 Chambers Cycl. s.v. Microscope, The Simple [microscopes] are those which consist of a single Lens, or a single Spherule. 1867 J. Hogg Microsc. i. ii. 31 The simple microscope may consist of one..or of two or three lenses; but these latter are so arranged as to have the effect only of a single lens. |
(c) (See quots.)
| 1799 Med. Jrnl. I. 306 He distinguishes..between simple and compound muscles: in the former, the fibres lie only in one direction. 1826 Kirby & Sp. Entomol. IV. xlvi. 287 Simple Ocellus, when the ocellus consists only of iris and pupil. 1863 Bates Nat. Amazons I. 31 A twin ocellus, or simple eye, of quite different structure from the ordinary compound eyes. 1867 J. Hogg Microsc. ii. i. 324 Simple hairs are merely single epidermal cells produced in a tubular filament. 1875 Huxley in Encycl. Brit. I. 130/1 Simple organisms,..that is, in which the primitive actinozoon attains its adult condition without budding or fission. |
(d) † simple tone = pure tone s.v. pure a. 1 e. Obs.
| 1875 A. J. Ellis tr. H. L. F. von Helmholtz's Sensations of Tone vii. 235 Whenever the vibrations of the air or of other elastic bodies which are set in motion at the same time by two generating simple tones, are so powerful that they can no longer be considered infinitely small, mathematical theory shows that vibrations of the air must arise which have the same vibrational numbers as the combination tones. 1878 Proc. R. Soc. Edin. IX. 602 According to a usage which has been adopted from the German of Helmholtz by the best English scientific writers on sound, a sound is called a ‘simple tone’, or without qualification a ‘tone’, when the variation of pressure of the air..is according to a simple harmonic function of the time. 1910 H. Lamb Dynamical Theory of Sound 3 The sensation corresponding to a simple-harmonic vibration is called a ‘simple tone’,..or merely a ‘tone’. |
c. Eccl. (See quots.)
| 1850 Vesper Book Pref. p. xii, The Office as regards Vespers is said to be..Simple, when the Antiphons being sung as on Semi-doubles, the Psalms of the Feria are substituted for the Psalms proper to Feasts. 1874 Breviary Offices Pref. p. x, On Simple Feasts the Antiphons and Psalms at First Vespers are of the feria, and the Proper Office begins at the Chapter. 1883 Catholic Dict. (1897) 375 On lesser feasts the office was simple—i.e. the feast was merely commemorated. Ibid. 376 The office for simple feasts differed little from that of the feria. |
d. Math. (a) Applied to a group that has no proper normal subgroup; and hence to an algebra or ring that has no proper ideal.
| 1888 G. G. Morrice tr. Klein's Lectures on Ikosahedron I. i. 7 If a group contains, apart from these improper cases, no self-conjugate sub-groups, it is called simple, otherwise it is called composite. 1900 Ann. Math. I. 151 We have here..an example of two simple abstract groups of the same order which are not identical. 1939 H. Weyl Classical Groups iii. 85 A simple algebra..is one capable of a faithful irreducible representation. 1965 Patterson & Rutherford Elem. Abstract Algebra iii. 100 The above theorem shows that a field is simple. There exist simple rings which are not fields. 1971 E. C. Dade in Powell & Higman Finite Simple Groups viii. 255 An algebra A is simple if A ≠ {ob}0{cb} and if A and {ob}0{cb} are the only two-sided ideals of A. 1980 Sci. Amer. May 68/1 The building blocks of group theory, analogous to the elementary particles of matter or the prime factors of integers, are called simple groups. |
(b) Used variously (see quots.). (See also sense 15 b (b).)
| 1889 Proc. London Math. Soc. XX. 70 It may happen that Gp consists of powers of one of its elements a, and has no other elements... In this case Gp is called a simple group. 1965 Patterson & Rutherford Elem. Abstract Algebra iv. 135 Let p {elem} P(F) be an irreducible polynomial. Then the field Pp(F) contains a sub-field isomorphic with F... We call the field Pp(F) a simple algebraic extension of the field F. 1972 R. J. Wilson Introd. Graph Theory ii. 9 There can never be more than one edge joining a given pair of vertices of a simple graph. 1975 Sci. Amer. May 102/2 A simple polyhedron is one that is topologically equivalent to a sphere and whose faces are all simple polygons: polygons topologically equivalent to a disk. |
e. simple structure (Statistics): a model in which numerous variables, showing various degrees of correlation, have their variances assigned to a smaller number of factors in such a way that no factor affects all of the variables.
| 1935 L. L. Thurstone Vectors of Mind p. viii, One of the principal problems of factor analysis is to find a unique set of co-ordinate axes, either orthogonal or oblique, which shall represent scientifically meaningful categories in terms of which the tests may be comprehended. This problem has been solved in terms of what I have called ‘simple structure’ of a trait configuration. Ibid. vi. 154 If a set of r hyperplanes of dimensionality (r - 1) exists such that each trait vector is in one or more of the hyperplanes, then the combined configuration of the trait vectors and the reference vectors will be called a simple structure or an oblique simple structure. 1972 [see rotation 1 d]. 1972 Jrnl. Social Psychol. LXXXVI. 188 There is no good scientific reason to expect agreement from analyses on..orthogonal pseudo-simple structure and oblique maximized simple structure. |
15. a. Not complicated or involved; presenting little or no complexity or difficulty.
| c 1555 Harpsfield Divorce Hen. VIII (Camden) 30 The knowledge of all Christendom should be so simple and grosse. 1601 Shakes. Twel. N. i. v. 55 If that this simple Sillogisme will serue, so: if it will not, what remedy? 1668 Culpepper & Cole tr. Barthol. Anat. ii. vi. 106 The motion of the Elements is simple, never circular. 1670 Baxter Cure Ch. Div. i. ii. Pref., The simple terms of Christian Unity left us by Christ and his Apostles. 1704 Norris Ideal World ii. xii. 446 God never does that by difficult ways, which may be done by ways that are simple and easie. 1797–1805 S. & Ht. Lee Canterb. T. II. 177 A most simple train of circumstances had produced this romantic meeting. 1833 Herschel Astron. viii. 248 All that apparent irregularity..resolves itself into one simple and general law. 1860 Tyndall Glac. ii. x. 277 A simple calculation determined the daily motion of the stake. 1884 tr. Lotze's Logic 356 We must prefer the simpler hypothesis to the more complicated. |
b. In various technical uses, as in Mus., Math., Logic, etc.
In some of these there is connexion with sense 14.
(a) Mus.
| c 1475 Henryson Orpheus & Eurydice 117 First dyatesseron,..And dyapason, symple and duplycate. 1728 Chambers Cycl. s.v. Concord, A simple, or original Concord. Ibid. s.v. Counter-point, Simple Counter-point, or the Harmony of Concords. 1801 Busby Dict. Mus. s.v., Simple fugue, or Simple imitation, is that style of composition in which a single subject is adopted, or some partial echo preserved among the several parts. 1867 Macfarren Harmony ii. 34 In this form of note against note it is called Plain or simple Counterpoint. 1871 Stainer Harmony iii. §41 Intervals not exceeding the compass of an octave are termed Simple. 1873 H. C. Banister Music 10 When the beats are of the value of an aliquot part of a Semibreve..the time is termed Simple. |
(b) Math.
| 1594 Blundevil Exerc. i. xxix. (1636) 78 The Fractions wherewith you have to deale, are either simple or compound. 1704 J. Harris Lex. Techn. I, Simple Quantities in Algebra, are such as have but one Sign, whether Positive or Negative. 1798 Hutton Course Math. I. 221 A Simple Equation, is that which contains only one power of the unknown quantity, without including different powers. Ibid. 110 Simple Interest is that which is allowed for the principal lent or forborn only, for the whole time of forbearance. 1859 B. Smith Arith. & Alg. (ed. 6) 194 A quantity consisting of one term, as a, bx, 3abx, is called a Simple quantity, and also a Monomial. 1894 Cayley Math. Papers (1897) XIII. 533 A group,{ddd}when it cannot be thus expressed as a permutable product of two factors,..is prime or simple. |
(c) Logic.
| 1620 T. Granger Div. Logike 12 Artificiall Argument is either..simple, or comparate. The simple is considered simply, and absolutely without comparison. 1689 Locke Hum. Und. ii. ii. §2 The simple ideas, the materials of all our knowledge, are suggested..only by..sensation and reflection. 1697 tr. Burgersdicius' Logic i. i. 2 Themes simple are those which are understood without a composition or complexion of notions. Ibid. xxvii. 109 Simple enunciation is that which cannot be resolved into more. 1704 Norris Ideal World ii. iii. 139 That apprehension or perception, which is rightly said to be simple, because it rests in the pure view of things as they are. 1724 Watts Logic 36 That idea, which represents one particular determinate thing to me, is called a singular idea, whether it be simple, or complex, or compound. 1846 Mill Logic i. iv. §3. 108 A simple proposition is that in which one predicate is affirmed or denied of one subject. 1864 Bowen Logic v. 127 In respect to the Relation of the Predicate to the Subject, Judgments are divided into simple or absolute, and conditional. |
(d) (See quot.)
| 1730 Bailey (fol.) s.v. Benefices, Simple Benefices, are such where the Parsons are only obliged to read prayers, &c. |
(e) Applied to those vows which are taken by members of a religious order in the early stage of their profession and from which they may be dispensed; opp. to solemn (solemn a. 5 a).
| 1759 A. Butler Lives Saints IV. 86/2 In some houses these Gray Sisters make solemn vows, but in most they content themselves with simple vows of poverty, obedience, and chastity. 1823 C. Butler Continuation A. Butler's Lives Saints 191 He entered into the society of Jesus, and made his simple vows. 1884 Addis & Arnold Cath. Dict. 848/1 Whereas a simple vow makes marriage unlawful and deprives the person who has made it of the right to use his property, a solemn vow makes marriage invalid and takes away all dominion over property. 1957 Oxf. Dict. Christian Ch. 1451/1 Since c. the 13th cent. canon law has also distinguished between ‘simple’ and ‘solemn’ vows. The exact scope of the distinction is disputed, but acc. to a common view the solemnity of vows is determined by their irrevocable acceptance. |
(f) Anthropol.
| 1929 N. & Q. Anthropol. (ed. 5) 63 We might expect the simple patrilineal family to resemble our own, but this is not necessarily so. 1951 Ibid. (ed. 6) 70 The elementary or simple family is a group consisting of a father and a mother and their children, whether they are living together or not. 1977 P. Laslett Family Life i. 13 The shape and membership of the familial group. In the West this has been confined for the most part to the parents and children themselves, what is called the nuclear family form or simple family household. |
c. In adj. phrs., as simple-to-follow, simple-to-operate, etc.
| 1960 Times 18 Jan. 15/7 A simple-to-fit filter removes dust. 1960 Farmer & Stockbreeder 15 Mar. (Suppl.) 13 A robust motor with a completely reliable and simple-to-operate starting unit. 1971 Woman's Own 27 Mar. 52/1 We have combined simple-to-build shelves with..sliding transparent drawers. 1976 BSI News May 11/2 The BS 4264 range is set out in a simple-to-follow table giving 26 sizes. |
IV. † 16. In advb. phr. in simple, simply; by itself; without any other fact or circumstance. Obs.
| 1548 Geste Pr. Masse 96 Thee wordes also of thee masse canon, y{supt} importe ye same ought so in simple to be taken without any far fetched glosse. Ibid. 102 It standeth wythe catholique doctryne y{supt} in symple the..naked utterance of the consecration wordes enforce not the sacrament. a 1633 Austin Medit. (1635) 103 Hee delights to have Man in simple; (alone, by himselfe) unmixt. |
17. quasi-adv. Simply.
| 1598 R. Grenewey Tacitus, Germania i. (1622) 259 Those which dwell further in the land, go more simple to worke, and..haue no buying and selling, but by exchange of commodities. 1816 Byron Ch. Har. iii. xvii, The moral's truth tells simpler so. 1844 Lady G. C. Fullerton Ellen Middleton (1854) II. x. 30 She was dressed perfectly simple in a brown silk gown. |
18. Comb. Chiefly in parasynthetic adjs., as simple-answered, simple-headed, simple-lettered, simple-mannered, etc.; also simple-seeming.
| c 1425 Saints' Lives Apol. in Anglia VIII. 107/7 Þe wryter, þat is but symple-letterd, neiþer can ne purposis to folowe þe wordes. 14.. in Tundale's Vis. (1843) 115 Ye schuld have pete To se a lady of soo hee degre So symple tyred. 1600 Breton Pasquil's Fooles Cap lxi, A poore silly simple witted Asse. 1605 Shakes. Lear iii. vii. 43 Be simple answer'd, for we know the truth. a 1618 Sylvester Panaretus 332 Wks. (Grosart) II. 127 Royall Eumenia..And simple-manner'd Pistia. 1818 Coleridge Friend (1865) 177 Mere incendiary declamation for the simple-headed multitude! 1849 Murchison Siluria viii. 147 The same species of simple-plaited Orthidæ. 1859 Tennyson Guinevere 307 Our simple-seeming Abbess and her nuns. 1875 ‘Mark Twain’ in Atlantic Monthly Aug. 195/1 Good-hearted, simple-natured young Yates. 1880 Cassell's Nat. Hist. III. 145 The long series of simple-toothed Rodents. 1930 E. Blunden De Bello Germanico 16 The simple-sounding matter of pushing a truck along a French tramway is rather complex on a dark..night. |
B. absol. or as n.
1. a. As pl. Persons in a humble or ordinary condition of life.
| c 1350 Will. Palerne 338 Be..euer of faire speche, & seruisabul to þe simple so as to þe riche. 1500–20 Dunbar Poems xxii. 32 Gentill and semple of euery clan. 1535 Coverdale Job xxiv. 14 Tymely in the mornynge do they aryse, to murthur the symple and poore. c 1560 A. Scott Poems (S.T.S.) vi. 2 Luve preysis but comparesone Both gentill, sempill, generall. 1816 Scott Antiq. xxxii, Gentle or semple shall not darken my doors the day my bairn's been carried out a corpse. 1848 Kingsley Saint's Trag. ii. viii, To hear no cause, of gentle or of simple. |
b. As sing. A person of this class. † Also, one of modest unassuming manners.
| a 1400 Relig. Pieces fr. Thornton MS. 55 Ouer grete symplesse may make of þe symple a sott. c 1440 York Myst. xxx. 288 She beseches you as hir souerayne þat symple to saue. 1824 Scott Redgauntlet let. xi, A shilling makes a' the difference that Maggie kens between a gentle and a semple. 1882 Mrs. Raven's Tempt. III. 8 The simples are not bound to pick up what the gentles throw away. |
2. a. As pl. Those who are unlearned, ignorant, easily misled, unsuspecting, etc.
| 1560 J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 23 The Heresyes of Wiclife and Husse.., whiche by the false enterpretation of Scripture giueth to the simple an occasion to sinne. 1579 W. Wilkinson Confut. Fam. Love Ep. Ded., Whisperyng peruerse thynges to seduce and beguile the simple. 1611 Bible Ps. cxix. 130 The entrance of thy wordes..giueth vnderstanding vnto the simple. 1754 Sherlock Disc. (1759) I. iii. 97 His Doctrine was framed to give Wisdom to the Simple. 1807 Crabbe Par. Reg. i. 182 Seeking their fate, to her the simple run. 1853 Card. Wiseman Ess. II. 338 A snare to the simple of heart. |
b. As sing. An ignorant or foolish person.
| 1643 Trapp Comm. Gen. xxxix. 12 The harlot caught the silly simple, and kissed him. 1654 Whitlock Zootomia 440 With such like Judges..Simples passe for Physitians, and modest Physitians for Simples. 1894 H. D. Lloyd Wealth agst. Commw. 319 This action the paper described as ‘a scheme for gulling simples’. |
3. a. pl. Foolish or silly behaviour or conduct; foolishness, folly. Obs. exc. dial.
| 1648 Gage West Ind. 114 A little troubled with the simples, but a good hearted man. 1690 W. Walker Idiomat. Anglo-Lat. 415 ‘To be sick of the simples,’ to Act the fool. 1706 E. Ward Wooden World Diss. (1708) 44 His bare Shadow has cur'd many a poor Creature of the Simples. 1785 Grose Dict. Vulgar T., Simples,..also follies. 1894 G. F. Northall Folk Phr. (E.D.S.) 26 To be sick of the simples, i.e. silly. |
b. to be cut for († of) the simples (see quots. a 1700, 1828). orig. cant or slang, and now dial.
| a 1700 B. E. Dict. Cant. Crew s.v., He must be cut of the Simples, Care must be taken to cure him of his Folly. 1731–8 Swift Polite Conv. i. 17 You should be cut for the Simples this morning. 1828 Carr Craven Gloss. s.v., ‘Want's cutting for 't simples,’ is a ludicrous expression applied to one who has been guilty of some foolish act. 1834 Southey Doctor cxxxvi, What evils might be averted..by clearing away bile, evacuating ill humours, and occasionally by cutting for the simples. 1880 Mrs. Parr Adam & Eve vi. 28 'Tis time her was cut for the simples. |
† 4. A single thing. Obs.—1
| 1483 Caxton Gold. Leg. 379/1 God rewardeth for one Symple an hondred folde. |
5. A simple word; a verb in its simple form or without prefix. (Cf. compound n.1 2 c.)
| 1530 Palsgr. Introd. p. xxxi, In maner ever of one syllable, except he be a compounde, and than his symple is but of one syllable. 1530 Ibid. 395 Je prens is a symple whiche hath for his compoundes je reprens [etc.]. 1659 [O. Walker] Instruct. Oratory 25 Monosyllables..making the language dull and slow. Hence compounds more elegantly used, than their simples. 1848 Veitch Irreg. Grk. Verbs Pref., The frequent absence of simples in whole or in part. |
6. A medicine or medicament composed or concocted of only one constituent, esp. of one herb or plant (obs.); hence, a plant or herb employed for medical purposes. Now arch.
In common use from c 1580 to 1750, chiefly in pl.
| pl. 1539 Elyot Cast. Helthe (1541) 43 Where a sycknesse may be cured with symples, that is to saye, with one onely thinge that is medicinable. 1563 T. Gale Antidot. Pref. 2 There are an infinite number of simples which want Englyshe names. 1588 Greene Perimedes Wks. (Grosart) VII. 15 Their stomacks bee made a verie Apotecaries shoppe, by receiuing a multitude of simples and drugges. 1603 Drayton Bar. Wars iii. viii, The mixed Juices, from those Simples wrung, To make the Med'cine wonderfully strong. 1646 Sir T. Browne Pseud. Ep. i. vi, From the knowledge of Simples she had a Receipt to make white hair black. 1698 M. Lister Journ. Paris (1699) 183 Houses well stored with tender Exoticks, and the Parterrs with Simples. 1725 Pope Odyss. iv. 318 Where prolific Nile With various simples cloaths the fat'ned soil. 1785 Martyn Rousseau's Bot. Introd. (1794) 2 It was simples, not vegetables that they looked after. 1843 R. J. Graves Syst. Med. xxix. 368 An Irish Father, or Priest, whose knowledge is all comprehended in the virtues of two or three simples. 1889 Jessopp Coming of Friars ii. 93 Cordials..were kept by the lady of the house among her simples. |
| sing. 1587 Greene Penelope's Web Wks. (Grosart) V. 155 The Phisition..knoweth the nature of the Simple as well as the Gardiner that planteth it. 1598 J. Dickenson Greene in Conc. (1878) 108 There is for euery sore prouided a salue, yet no simple for hartes sorrow. 1637 Earl of Monmouth tr. Malvezzi's Romulus & Tarquin 225 Men walking in the fields,..cast their eyes suddenly upon such a flower or simple. a 1654 Selden Table-T. (Arb.) 39 Suppose a Planet were a Simple, or an Herb. 1807 Crabbe Par. Reg. ii. 95 From many a fragrant simple, Catharine's skill Drew oil and essence from the boiling still. |
| attrib. 1598 Shakes. Merry W. iii. iii. 79 These lisping-hauthorne buds, that..smell like Bucklers-berry in simple time. 1726 Adv. Capt. R. Boyle (1768) 50, I am only distilling some simple Waters for your Closet. |
7. a. A single uncompounded or unmixed thing; a substance free from foreign elements, esp. one serving as an ingredient in a composition or mixture.
| 1560 Whitehorne Ord. Souldiours (1588) 27 b, Gunpouder, is made of three simples only, that is salt peter, brimstone and coles. 1593 Bacchus Bountie in Harl. Misc. (1809) II. 273 A dainty deuised compound, of sundry simples pastiewise, as the trimming of tripes [etc.]. 1621 Burton Anat. Mel. 141 To these noxious simples we may reduce an infinite number of compound, artificial, made dishes. 1648 Gage West Ind. 106 Cacao..as every simple..contains the quality of the four elements. 1655 Moufet & Bennet Health's Improv. (1746) 90 Their chiefest Perfume..was made of sixteen Simples; namely, Wine, Honey [etc.]. |
| transf. 1612 Brinsley Lud. Lit. p. xvi, Letters (which are the simples of this Art). 1622 Malynes Anc. Law-Merchant 251 The three Simples or Essentiall parts of Trafficke, namely Commodities, Money, and Exchange of Moneys. c 1750 Fielding On Conversation Wks. 1784 IX. 380 But besides pride, folly, arrogance, and insolence, there is another simple which vice never willingly leaves out of any composition. |
b. A simple proposition, quantity, idea, etc.
| 1654 Z. Coke Logick 119 As much as may be, this proposition is to be reduced to a meer simple. 1690 C. Ness Hist. O. & N.T. I. 29 Adam wisely understood all simples, singulars and universals. 1798 Hutton Course Math. (1799) I. 114 Alligation teaches how to compound or mix together several simples of different qualities. 1879 Bain Educ. as Sci. iii. 57 To strengthen an energy we must know what it is: if it is a simple, we must define it in its simplicity; if..a compound, we must assign its elements. |
c. A simple need or requirement; a necessity.
| 1859 E. Capern Ball. & Songs 123 My wishes and wants down to simples will sink. |
8. Weaving. a. One of a number of lines or cords attached to the warp in a draw-loom (cf. quots.).
| 1731 Phil. Trans. XXXVII. 107 From each of these Packthreads, just by the side of the Loom, are fastned other Packthreads called Simples, which descend to the Ground. 1825 J. Nicholson Operat. Mechanic 415 Below the warp these lines, which are called the simples, are kept in a state of tension by weights,..and in order to keep them distinctly apart, are made to pass through a board perforated with holes. 1890 Scot. N. & Q. III. 158 M. Simblot..connected to the neck a separate series of cords called the ‘simple’..so that the draw boy could work when standing at the side of the loom. |
b. ‘A draw-loom employed in fancy weaving’ (Knight Dict. Mech. 1875).
▪ II. † ˈsimple, v.1 Obs. rare.
[f. simple a.]
1. trans. To render (one) simple; to humble in respect of knowledge.
| c 1425 St. Mary of Oignies ii. iv. in Anglia VIII. 163/7, I, herynge þis,..and countynge my resoune noon, was sympled in myne owne sighte. |
2. intr. With at: ? To make light of.
| a 1652 Brome Queen & Concubine i. ii, That did your Champion, Madam, The Queens old Souldier, and your Father, Lady: D'ye simple at it? such a Souldier breaths not. |
▪ III. simple, v.2 Now arch.
(ˈsɪmp(ə)l)
[f. simple B. 6.]
intr. To seek for, or gather, simples or medicinal herbs. Chiefly in phr. to go (a) simpling (cf. simpling vbl. n.). Also fig.
| (a) 1643 Sir T. Browne Relig. Med. ii. §8. 160 When I did but know an hundred [plants], and had scarcely ever Simpled further than Cheap-side. 1664 Butler Hud. ii. iii. 823 Witches Simpling, and on Gibbets Cutting from Malefactors snippets. 1706–7 Farquhar Beaux' Strat. Prol., Simpling our author goes from field to field, And culls such fools as may diversion yield. 1718 Ozell tr. Tournefort's Voy. I. 172 We simpled in the Marshes. 1791 Pop. Tales Germans II. 88 Never did the poor physician venture to simple on the mountain again. |
| (b) 1648 Ashmole Diary (1774) 307 This day..was the first time I went a simpling. 1658 Rowland tr. Moufet's Theat. Ins. 924 As by chance I carelesly wandered here and there a simpling. 1725 De Foe Voy. round World (1840) 182 Our doctors never went a simpling. 1772 Goldsm. Prol. to ‘Zobeide’, While botanists..Forsake the fair, and patiently—go simpling. 1791 Pop. Tales Germans II. 85 A doctor..who used to go a simpling on the mountain. 1851 Monthly Jrnl. Med. Sci. XII. 344 In former days the Scottish herbalists used to go a-simpling after Roman medical plants. |