Semple

/ˈsɛmpəl/ adjective

Definition

Simple; humble or of plain appearance (archaic/Scottish form).

Etymology

Scots and Northern English variant of 'simple,' from Old French 'simple' and Latin 'simplex' (one-fold, uncompounded). This form reflects regional dialect preservation in British English.

Kelly Says

This is one of those words that shows how the same language split into different dialects—Scots kept 'semple' alive while most English speakers switched to 'simple,' kind of like how languages are always slowly changing in different directions.

Related Words

Explore More Words

Get the Word Orb API

Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.