English

simple

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

    Etymology graph

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    Origin

    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.

    From Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.

    Lineage

    • inheritedMiddle Englishsymple
      • borrowedOld Frenchsimple
        • borrowedLatinsimplus
          • partLatin-plus “-ple”
            • derivedProto-Italic*-plos
    • rootProto-Indo-European*sem- “one, whole”
    • rootProto-Indo-European*meh₁- “to measure”
    • rootProto-Indo-European*pel- “skin, animal hide”

    Sources