Where does “supervillainy” come from?
supervillainy (English) comes from English villainy, from English villain, from Middle English vilein, from Old French vilein, from Medieval Latin villanus, from Latin vīlla, from Latin vetera, from Latin vetus — Derives action nouns from verb roots.
supervillainy (English): The evil behaviour of a supervillain
Definitions
- The evil behaviour of a supervillain
Ancestry of “supervillainy”, step by step
supervillainy traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English villainy
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | villainy | Evil or wicked character or behaviour; A wicked... |
| 2 | English | villain | A vile, wicked person; In fiction, a character... |
| 3 | Middle English | vilein | villain |
| 4 | Old French | vilein | Alternative form of vilain; villain |
| 5 | Medieval Latin | villanus | villager |
| 6 | Latin | vīlla | country house; villa |
| 7 | Latin | vetera | the old; old times, ancient times, antiquity |
| 8 | Latin | vetus | old, aged, elderly, ancient; long-standing;... |
| 9 | Latin | -tus | Forms the past participle of verbs; Forms... |
| 10 | Proto-Italic | -tus | — |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | -tus | Derives action nouns from verb roots |
via English super
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | super | Of excellent quality, superfine; better than... |
| 2 | English | super-ego | Alternative spelling of superego |
| 3 | German | Über-Ich | superego |
| 4 | German | Ich | ego, the Ich; self, me, him, etc |
| 5 | Middle High German | ich | I |
| 6 | Old High German | ih | I |
| 7 | Proto-West Germanic | ik | I |
| 8 | Proto-Germanic | *ek | — |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | éǵh₂ | I |