Etymology Explorer › Old French

Where does “vil” come from?

vil (Old French) comes from Latin vīlis, from Proto-Italic weslis, from Proto-Indo-European wes-li-s.

vil (Old French): horrible; vile; awful; low; base

Definitions

  1. horrible; vile; awful; low; base

Ancestry of “vil”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Latinvīlis—
2Proto-Italicweslis—
3Proto-Indo-Europeanwes-li-s—

Words derived from “vil”

  • vile
  • vileness
  • vilely
  • vility
  • vilesome
  • vilment
Every word from Proto-Indo-European wes-li-s →