plain speech

noun

A distinctive Quaker dialect of English, reformed on religious grounds and characterized by features such as use of the pronoun “thou” and numerical names for months and days of the week.

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Meanings

nounplain speech (uncountable)
  1. QuakerismuncountableA distinctive Quaker dialect of English, reformed on religious grounds and characterized by features such as use of the pronoun “thou” and numerical names for months and days of the week.

    Another element of the “plain speech” is the use of such terms as “farewell” for “good day”—which is declared to be untruthful on bad days!

    1907, Warren Hugh Wilson, Quaker Hill: A Sociological Study, page 35
  2. uncountableUsed other than figuratively or idiomatically: see plain, speech.
Cite this entry
APA

plain speech. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/plain%20speech

MLA

“plain speech.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/plain%20speech. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “plain speech,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/plain%20speech.

Source: plain speech on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.