plain work

English

Alternative forms

• plainwork

Etymology

From plain +‎ work.

Noun

plain work (uncountable)

1. Basic, non-ornamental work; specifically (now (historical)) simple needlework. [from 13th c.]
   • 1677, Hannah Woolley, The Compleat Servant-Maid‎^[1], London: T. Passinger, page 62:

     If you would fit your self to serve a Gentle woman only, (either in City or Country) you must not only learn how to dress, wash and starch very well, all manner of Tiffanies, Lawns, Points and Laces, and to mend the same, but you must learn to work all sorts of Needle work and plain work […]

   • 1723, Charles Walker, Memoirs of Sally Salisbury, section I:

     Sally was put Apprentice to a Sempstress in Duke's-Place near Aldgate, to learn Plain-Work, &c.

   • 1816 June – 1817 April/May (date written), [Mary Shelley], Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus. […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), London: […] [Macdonald and Son] for Lackington, Hughes, Harding, Mavor, & Jones, published 1 January 1818, →OCLC:

     She procured plain work; she plaited straw and by various means contrived to earn a pittance scarcely sufficient to support life.

2. (masonry) Smooth stonework without decoration or ornamentation. [from 15th c.]