Wiktionary

plein

Dutch

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Etymology

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From Old French plain, from Latin plānum (“level ground, a plain”), from Proto-Indo-European *pleh₂- (“flat”). Its use for "square" is an innovation, replacing Middle Dutch plaetse in standard language (compare dialectal plaats). Compare English plain, plane, Portuguese chão, Spanish llano.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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plein n (plural pleinen, diminutive pleintje n)

  1. square, plaza
    Het plein van ons dorp werd onlangs heraangelegd met nieuwe bloemenperken.
    The square in our village was recently redone with new flowerbeds.

Derived terms

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Descendants

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  • → Papiamentu: plenchi, pleintji, pleintsje (from the diminutive), plein

French

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Etymology

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Inherited from Old French plein, from Latin plēnus, from Proto-Italic *plēnos, from Proto-Indo-European *pl̥h₁nós (“full”). Compare Catalan ple; Italian pieno; Portuguese cheio; Romanian plin; Sardinian prenu; Spanish lleno; English plene.

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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plein (feminine pleine, masculine plural pleins, feminine plural pleines)

  1. full, full up
    La voiture est pleine. ― The car is full.
    C’est plein de légendes. ― It's full of stories
  2. plenty
    Il y a plein de choses à faire. ― There are plenty of things to do.
  3. solid
  4. (astronomy, of a moon) full
  5. (preceded by en) mid-; middle
    en plein match ― (right) in the middle of a match
    en plein concert ― mid-concert
    en plein essor ― on the rise
    en pleine attaque ― mid-attack
  6. (biology, of an animal) pregnant

Derived terms

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Adverb

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plein

  1. (of the four cardinal points) due
    Aller plein sud ― To go due south
  2. (colloquial) a lot, lots of, many
    J’en ai plein du monde ici ― I have lots of people here

Noun

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plein m (plural pleins)

  1. full tank (of gas)
  2. downstroke (of a letter)

Derived terms

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Preposition

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plein

  1. (somewhat colloquial) in; all over; filling
    Avoir du vin plein sa cave. ― To have wine filling up one's cellar.
    J’ai de l’argent plein mes poches. ― I have money filling up my pockets.

Derived terms

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Further reading

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Anagrams

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Louisiana Creole

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Etymology

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Inherited from French plein (“full”), from Old French plein, from Latin plēnus, from Proto-Italic *plēnos, from Proto-Indo-European *pl̥h₁nós (“full”). Compare English plenty.

Determiner

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plein

  1. many

References

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  • Alcée Fortier, Louisiana Folktales

Old French

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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From Latin plēnus.

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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plein m (oblique and nominative feminine singular pleine)

  1. full (at capacity with respect to space)
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Descendants

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Romansch

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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From Latin plēnus.

Adjective

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plein m (feminine singular pleina, masculine plural pleins, feminine plural pleinas)

  1. (Sursilvan) full
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