Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word
splain. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
splain, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
splain in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
splain you have here. The definition of the word
splain will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
splain, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
English
Pronunciation
Etymology 1
Aphetic form of explain
Verb
splain (third-person singular simple present splains, present participle splaining, simple past and past participle splained)
- (informal, dialectal) Aphetic form of explain.
1881, Joel Chandler Harris, Uncle Remus:"Howsomever, dey 'ranged der 'fairs, en splained der bizness."
1905, R. F. Foster, “In Self Defence”, in The Bookman, volume 21:"Why, Lor' bless you, I never knew nothing about the rights of them things till you splained them to me yesterday, boss."
1947, John Avery Lomax, Adventures of a Ballad Hunter, page 195:"Den," he confided, "I 'splained to de release man 'bout lookin' fur a settin'-down job, an' he jes' sorta motioned to de do'."
Etymology 2
Partly from the preceding sense, partly from -splain (after mansplaining).
Verb
splain (third-person singular simple present splains, present participle splaining, simple past and past participle splained)
- (slang) To condescendingly explain something, often extensively, especially to someone that knows more about it; for example, to mansplain, whitesplain, etc.
2019, Jennifer Brown, How to Be an Inclusive Leader: Creating Trust, Cooperation, and Community across Differences, Berrett-Koehler, →ISBN, page 35:Those who splain may have the intent of helping the situation, but the actual impact of their actions can feel condescending or insulting.
References
Anagrams