villain

Where does the word "villain" come from? It comes from Medieval Latin villanus, passing through Old French before entering English (1300s).

Villain’s story begins in Medieval Latin: villanus meant “farmhand.” A worker on a Roman 'villa', country estate. By medieval, the word had taken hold in Old French as vilain. A feudal serf, assumed by nobles to be base. It reached English by 1300s as villain. Class snobbery turned it into a word for a wicked person. Today, villain means a wicked person; the bad character in a story.

1. Stage 1 · Medieval Latin · medieval villanus "farmhand", a worker on a Roman 'villa', country estate.
2. Stage 2 · Old French · medieval vilain "peasant, churl", a feudal serf, assumed by nobles to be base.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1300s villain "a serf; a scoundrel", class snobbery turned it into a word for a wicked person.