villein
a member of a class of partially free persons under the feudal system, who were serfs with respect to their lord but had the rights and privileges of freemen with respect to others.
Origin of villein
1- Also villain.
Words Nearby villein
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use villein in a sentence
After the Norman invasion the name of villein, a person attached to the villa, was given to the serfs.
Landholding In England | Joseph FisherA case still more familiar to most readers is that of the word villain or villein.
A System of Logic: Ratiocinative and Inductive | John Stuart Mill"I very much would like to see a villein drown," cried a lad of eleven years, son of the Sire of Bourgeuil.
The Iron Trevet or Jocelyn the Champion | Eugne SueThe villein took the cruel blow without wince or cry, as one to whom stripes are a birthright and an inheritance.
The White Company | Arthur Conan DoyleThe villein regardant might be severed from the manor, with or without land, and would then become a villein in gross.
British Dictionary definitions for villein
villain
/ (ˈvɪlən) /
(in medieval Europe) a peasant personally bound to his lord, to whom he paid dues and services, sometimes commuted to rents, in return for his land
Origin of villein
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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