villainous

/ˈvɪlənəs/VIH-luh-nuhs

/ˈvɪlənəs/VIH-luh-nuhs

Meaninglike a villain

Common meaning: wicked

villa country house, farmLewis & Short, Latin Dictionary (1879), p. 1991 · scan
ainnoun ending: a stretch or tract of
ousadjective ending: full of, having

Journey through time

Latinvīlla‘a country house, farm’
Old Frenchvileinsource
Middle Englishvileinsource
Englishvillain‘a wicked person (once a farm servant)’
Englishformed in English from villainvillainous‘wicked’ · today

Sources & notes

Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.

Pronunciation

UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.

Origin: Formed in English from villain + -ous.

Dictionary: Skeat (1898), VILLAIN, p.687 · scan

Roots

vīlla Latin “a country house, farm”

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