Middle English vilain, vilein, from Anglo-French, from Medieval Latin villanus, from Latin villa

The landed aristocracy of mediaeval Europe used politically and linguistically the Middle English descendant of villanus meaning "villager" (styled as vilain or vilein) with the meaning "a person …

Dec 14, 2025 · Probably from Middle English vilein, from Old French vilein (modern French vilain), in turn from Late Latin vīllānus, meaning serf or peasant, someone who is bound to the soil of …

VILLAIN definition: 1. a bad person who harms other people or breaks the law: 2. a criminal: 3. a character in a…. Learn more.

Define villain. villain synonyms, villain pronunciation, villain translation, English dictionary definition of villain. n. 1. A wicked or evil person; a scoundrel. 2. A dramatic or fictional …

villain in American English (ˈvɪlən ) noun Origin: ME vilein < OFr vilain < VL villanus, a farm servant < L villa, a farm: see villa

Common Phrases: the villain of the piece, mustache-twirling villain, love-to-hate villain Etymology: From Old French "vilain," meaning peasant or low-born person; later associated with wickedness.

Late Latin villānus a farm servant. See villa, - an Middle French Middle English vilein, vilain 1275–1325

First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English vilein, vilain “churlish rustic, serf,” from Middle French, from Vulgar Latin and Medieval Latin villānus “a farm servant, farmhand”; villa, -an

• At the end she asks whether in all her stories she has been, not the heroine, but the villain. • At the end of the story, the villain is caught and punished. Origin villain (1300-1400) Old French …