simplicity

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English

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Etymology

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From Middle English simplicite, from Old French simplicite, from Latin simplicitās, from simplex (simple). See simple. Partially displaced native English onefoldness.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /sɪmˈplɪsɪti/
  • Audio (US):(file)
  • Rhymes: -ɪsɪti

Noun

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English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia

simplicity (countable and uncountable, plural simplicities)

  1. The state or quality of being simple
    1. The quality or state of being unmixed or uncompounded
      the simplicity of metals or of earths
    2. The quality or state of being not complex, or of consisting of few parts.
      the simplicity of a machine
      • 1951 July, “British Standard Locomotives”, in Railway Magazine, pages 438-439:
        2. Simplicity, with the least number of working parts, all readily visible and accessible.
    3. Lack of sharpness of mind; lack of ability to think using complex ideas; stupidity
    4. Lack of artificial ornament, pretentious style, or luxury; plainness
      simplicity of dress, of style, or of language
      simplicity of diet
      simplicity of life
    5. Lack of subtlety or abstruseness; clarity
      the simplicity of a doctrine
      the simplicity of an explanation or a demonstration
    6. Lack of complication; efficiency.
      • 2013 August 3, “Boundary problems”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8847:
        Economics is a messy discipline: too fluid to be a science, too rigorous to be an art. Perhaps it is fitting that economists’ most-used metric, gross domestic product (GDP), is a tangle too. GDP measures the total value of output in an economic territory. Its apparent simplicity explains why it is scrutinised down to tenths of a percentage point every month.
  2. (archaic, rare) An act or instance of foolishness.

Synonyms

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Antonyms

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Translations

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References

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