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simple.

Uncomplicated; lacking complexity; taken by itself, with nothing added.

6 characters2 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

adj/ˈsɪm.pəl/General-American, Received-Pronunciation[ˈsɪm.pɫ̩]General-American, Received-Pronunciation/ˈsəm.pəl/New-Zealand[ˈsɘm.pɫ̩]New-Zealand
  1. Uncomplicated; lacking complexity; taken by itself, with nothing added.

  2. Easy; not difficult.

  3. Without ornamentation; plain.

  4. Free from duplicity; guileless, innocent, straightforward.

  5. Undistinguished in social condition; of no special rank.

  6. Trivial; insignificant.

    archaic
  7. Feeble-minded; foolish.

    colloquial · euphemistic
  8. Structurally uncomplicated. Consisting of one single substance; uncompounded.

  9. Structurally uncomplicated. Being non-trivial, and admitting no proper non-trivial quotients. Being non-trivial, and having no proper non-trivial normal subgroups (equivalently, no proper non-trivial quotient groups).

    broadly
  10. Structurally uncomplicated. Being non-trivial, and admitting no proper non-trivial quotients. Being non-trivial, and having no proper non-trivial submodules (equivalently, no proper non-trivial quotient modules).

    broadly
  11. Structurally uncomplicated. Being non-trivial, and admitting no proper non-trivial quotients. Being non-zero, and having no proper non-zero two-sided ideals (equivalently, no proper non-trivial quotient rings). For commutative rings, this definition coincides with that of a field.

    broadly
  12. Structurally uncomplicated. Being non-trivial, and admitting no proper non-trivial quotients. Containing more than one element, and such that the only congruences on the structure are the diagonal relation (the equivalence relation a≡b⟺a=b) and the universal relation (the equivalence relation such that a≡b for all a,b). Equivalently, containing more than one element and having no proper non-trivial quotient algebras.

    broadly · universal
  13. Structurally uncomplicated. Being non-trivial, and admitting no proper non-trivial quotients. Being non-isomorphic to the terminal object, and such that its only quotient objects (up to isomorphism) are the terminal object and itself.

    broadly
  14. Structurally uncomplicated. Being non-abelian and having no proper non-zero ideals. (Note that this is non-equivalent to the usual algebra sense; in particular, the abelian Lie algebra of dimension 1 over any given field is non-trivial and has no proper non-zero ideals, but is by convention not considered simple.)

  15. Structurally uncomplicated. Equal to a finite linear combination of indicator functions on measurable sets.

  16. Structurally uncomplicated. Not compound, but possibly lobed.

  17. Structurally uncomplicated. Using steam only once in its cylinders, in contrast to a compound engine, where steam is used more than once in high-pressure and low-pressure cylinders.

  18. Structurally uncomplicated. Consisting of a single individual or zooid; not compound.

    a simple ascidian
  19. Structurally uncomplicated. Homogenous.

  20. Mere; not other than; being only.

    obsolete
Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *sem- Proto-Indo-European *sm̥-der. Latin sem- Proto-Italic *-plosder. Latin -plus Latin simplusbor. Old French simplebor. Middle English symple English simple Inherited from Middle English symple, from Old French simple, from Latin simplex (“simple”, literally “onefold”) (as opposed to duplex (“double”, literally “twofold”)), from semel (“the same”) + plicō (“to fold”). See same and fold. Compare single, singular, simultaneous, etc. Partially displaced native English onefold.

noun/ˈsɪm.pəl/General-American, Received-Pronunciation[ˈsɪm.pɫ̩]General-American, Received-Pronunciation/ˈsəm.pəl/New-Zealand[ˈsɘm.pɫ̩]New-Zealand
  1. A herbal preparation made from one plant, as opposed to something made from more than one plant.

  2. A physician.

    broadly · obsolete
  3. A simple or atomic proposition.

  4. Something not mixed or compounded.

    obsolete
  5. A drawloom.

  6. Part of the apparatus for raising the heddles of a drawloom.

  7. A feast which is not a double or a semidouble.

Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *sem- Proto-Indo-European *sm̥-der. Latin sem- Proto-Italic *-plosder. Latin -plus Latin simplusbor. Old French simplebor. Middle English symple English simple Inherited from Middle English symple, from Old French simple, from Latin simplex (“simple”, literally “onefold”) (as opposed to duplex (“double”, literally “twofold”)), from semel (“the same”) + plicō (“to fold”). See same and fold. Compare single, singular, simultaneous, etc. Partially displaced native English onefold.

verb/ˈsɪm.pəl/General-American, Received-Pronunciation[ˈsɪm.pɫ̩]General-American, Received-Pronunciation/ˈsəm.pəl/New-Zealand[ˈsɘm.pɫ̩]New-Zealand
  1. To gather simples, i.e. medicinal herbs.

    archaic · intransitive · transitive
Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *sem- Proto-Indo-European *sm̥-der. Latin sem- Proto-Italic *-plosder. Latin -plus Latin simplusbor. Old French simplebor. Middle English symple English simple Inherited from Middle English symple, from Old French simple, from Latin simplex (“simple”, literally “onefold”) (as opposed to duplex (“double”, literally “twofold”)), from semel (“the same”) + plicō (“to fold”). See same and fold. Compare single, singular, simultaneous, etc. Partially displaced native English onefold.

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Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.