ProbableNamed from the place
plain Dunstable
adjective · first attested 16th century
The plainest thing in Tudor England was the road to Dunstable.
Blunt and straightforward, with nothing dressed up or held back.
51.8860°N -0.5210°W · Q919778
Record
- Relationship
- Named from the place
- Confidence
- ProbableThe conventional story is likely, with caveats.
- Attested
- 16th century
- Part of speech
- adjective
Explanations here are written for this atlas. Dictionary text is not copied; the sources are linked so the claim can be checked.
- Step 1
Dunstable
- In English
plain Dunstable
Watling Street ran dead straight from London through the Bedfordshire town, and "as plain as Dunstable road" became a stock comparison that eventually shortened to the adjective. The road is Roman; the phrase now survives mainly in dictionaries of obsolete English.
Also pinned to Dunstable
1 more from the same place
United Kingdom
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