FromMiddle Englishsimplicite, fromOld Frenchsimplicite, fromLatinsimplicitās, fromsimplex(“simple”). Seesimple. Partially displaced native Englishonefoldness.
simplicity (countable anduncountable,pluralsimplicities)
- The state or quality of beingsimple
- The quality or state of beingunmixed oruncompounded
thesimplicity of metals or of earths
- The quality or state of being notcomplex, or of consisting of few parts.
thesimplicity of a machine
1951 July, “British Standard Locomotives”, inRailway Magazine, pages438-439:2.Simplicity, with the least number of working parts, all readily visible and accessible.
- Lack ofsharpness of mind; lack of ability to think using complex ideas;stupidity
- Lack of artificialornament, pretentious style, orluxury;plainness
simplicity of dress, of style, or of language
simplicity of diet
simplicity of life
- Lack ofsubtlety orabstruseness;clarity
thesimplicity of a doctrine
thesimplicity of an explanation or a demonstration
- Lack ofcomplication;efficiency.
2013 August 3, “Boundary problems”, inThe Economist, volume408, number8847: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 apparentsimplicity explains why it is scrutinised down to tenths of a percentage point every month.
- (archaic, rare) An act or instance of foolishness.
quality or state of being simple, unmixed, or uncompounded; as, the simplicity of metals or of earths
quality or state of being not complex, or of consisting of few parts
artlessness of mind; freedom from cunning or duplicity; lack of acuteness and sagacity
freedom from artificial ornament, pretentious style, or luxury
freedom from subtlety or abstruseness; clearness
freedom from complication; efficiency
weakness of intellect; silliness; folly
- “simplicity”, inWebster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.:G. & C. Merriam,1913,→OCLC.
- William Dwight Whitney,Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1911), “simplicity”, inThe Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.:The Century Co.,→OCLC.
