Etymology Explorer › French

Where does “vilain” come from?

vilain (French) comes from Old French vilain, from Late Latin villanus, from Latin vīlla, from Latin vetera, from Latin vetus, from Latin -tus, from Proto-Italic -tus, from Proto-Indo-European -tus — Derives action nouns from verb roots.

vilain (French): villain; peasant; country dweller

Definitions

  1. villain; peasant; country dweller

Ancestry of “vilain”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Frenchvilainpeasant; commoner
2Late Latinvillanusfarm worker; A villein: a serf or low-class farm...
3Latinvīlla—
4Latinveterathe old; old times, ancient times, antiquity
5Latinvetusold, aged, elderly, ancient; long-standing;...
6Latin-tusForms the past participle of verbs; Forms...
7Proto-Italic-tus—
8Proto-Indo-European-tusDerives action nouns from verb roots

Words derived from “vilain”

  • vilenie
  • super-vilain
  • vilein
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -tus →