See Also: Villain(medicine)
villain(dictionary)
villain(dictionary)
VILLAIN(law)

villain (iou)



villain noun & adjective. ME.
[Old French vilein, vilain (mod. vilain) from Proto-Romance (medieval Latin villanus villager) from Latin villa VILLA.]
A. noun. Also villein. See also VILLEIN.
I.
Orig. (arch.), a simple or unsophisticated person; a rustic; a boor. Now, a person guilty or capable of great wickedness, an unprincipled or depraved person. ME.
rogue and villain: see ROGUE noun.
New Yorker Innocents, lured into the clutches of charming villains.
b. A rogue, a rascal. Chiefly joc. L16.
R. Bagot If this..post does not bring me a letter from Jim..I shall telegraph to the young villain.
c. (Usu. with the.) The character in a play, novel, etc., important to the plot because of his or her evil motives or actions; transf. a culprit. Freq. in the villain of the piece. Cf. HERO 4. E19.
Guardian He played..Nazi villains in British films. L. Starke CFCs and halons, the villains in the eroding ozone-layer problem.
d. A professional criminal. colloq. M20.
Face The..British habit of turning petty villains into..folk heroes.
a. A bird, esp. a hawk, of a common or inferior species. L15-L16.
b. A person or animal of a troublesome character. L19.
II. See VILLEIN.
b. adjective.
= VILLAINOUS 1. Only in ME.
= VILLAINOUS 2. Now rare or obsolete. ME.
Bringing opprobrium, shameful. Cf. VILLAINOUS 4. ME-M16.
= VILLAINOUS 6. Now rare or obsolete. LME.
= VILLAINOUS 5. rare. E17.
villaindom noun (rare) the world of villains, villains collectively L19.
villainess noun a female villain L16.
villainize verb trans. (a) make villainous; debase, degrade; (b) treat or revile as a villain: E17.
villainizer noun L16.