villein

[ vil-uhn, -eyn, vi-leyn ]

/ ˈvɪl ən, -eɪn, vɪˈleɪn /

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noun

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.

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Also villain.

Origin of villein

Middle English word dating back to 1275–1325; see origin at villain

Words nearby villein

villatic, Villavicencio, -ville, Villeda Morales, Ville-de-Paris, villein, villeinage, villein socage, Villella, Villeneuve, Villeurbanne

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021

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 Fisher
A 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 Sue
The 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 Doyle

The villein regardant might be severed from the manor, with or without land, and would then become a villein in gross.
View of the State of Europe during the Middle Ages, Vol. 3 (of 3)|Henry Hallam

British Dictionary definitions for villein

villein

villain

/ (ˈvɪlən) /

noun

(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

Word Origin for villein

C14: from Old French vilein serf; see villain

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

villein

Origin of villein

Words nearby villein

Words related to villein

How to use villein in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for villein

villain

Word Origin for villein