Where does “villainry” come from?
villainry (English) comes from English villain, from Middle English vilein, from Old French vilein, from Medieval Latin villanus, from Latin vīlla, from Latin vetera, from Latin vetus, from Latin -tus — Derives action nouns from verb roots.
villainry (English): villainousness; Villains as a group
Definitions
- villainousness; Villains as a group
Ancestry of “villainry”, step by step
villainry traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English villain
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | villain | A vile, wicked person; In fiction, a character... |
| 2 | Middle English | vilein | villain |
| 3 | Old French | vilein | Alternative form of vilain; villain |
| 4 | Medieval Latin | villanus | villager |
| 5 | Latin | vīlla | country house; villa |
| 6 | Latin | vetera | the old; old times, ancient times, antiquity |
| 7 | Latin | vetus | old, aged, elderly, ancient; long-standing;... |
| 8 | Latin | -tus | Forms the past participle of verbs; Forms... |
| 9 | Proto-Italic | -tus | — |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | -tus | Derives action nouns from verb roots |
via English ry
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | ry | A test pattern consisting of a repeating character string alternating letters R and Y, used to test five-level teleprinter and radioteletype (RTTY) systems |