EXPLAIN

Definitions

1. 1. To flatten; to spread out; to unfold; to expand. [Obs.] The horse-chestnut is . . . ready to explain its leaf. Evelyn.
2. 2. To make plain, manifest, or intelligible; to clear of obscurity; to expound; to unfold and illustrate the meaning of; as, to explain a chapter of the Bible. Commentators to explain the difficult passages to you. Gay. To explain away, to get rid of by explanation. "Those explain the meaning quite "away." Pope.