noun
(1) A wicked or evil person; someone who does evil deliberately
(2) The principle bad character in a film or work of fiction
Etymology
Probably from (modern:
vilain), in turn from Late , meaning
serf or
peasant, someone who is bound to the soil of a , which is to say, worked on the equivalent of a
plantation in late Antiquity, in Italy or Gaul.
Noun
- A vile, wicked person.
- An extremely depraved person, or one capable or guilty of great crimes.
- A deliberate scoundrel.
- The bad person in a stage or screen play.
- A villain was in a low level of medieval serfdom. A Cotter may have been lower.
Synonyms
- knave
- rascal
- scamp
- bad guy
- cad
- See also Wikisaurus:villain
- See also Wikisaurus:troublemaker