vilain

Vilain is a term with two primary uses in modern English and French contexts. In English, vilain is an archaic or variant spelling of villain; it appears in older texts and has largely been replaced by the standard form villain. Today, vilain is mostly encountered in historical writing, fantasy or period-style language, or as part of proper names where an archaic tone is intended.

In French, vilain is a common word with several related meanings. As an adjective, it means bad, ugly, or unpleasant. As a noun, vilain can refer to a miscreant or wicked person, and in historical contexts it could denote a rustic or peasant. The French noun vilain and the English noun villain share a common origin in Old French vilain, a term that historically described a non-noble rural worker or serf.

Etymology and historical development link vilain to Latin villanus, from villa, meaning a country house or estate. The Old French form vilain gave rise, in English, to the word villein (a serf or bound tenant) and later to the modern villain. Over time, English usage shifted the sense toward a person who commit wrongdoing, while the French sense remains broader and still productive in everyday language.

See also villain, villein, vileness. The spellings and meanings reflect the word’s long, intertwined history across languages, with vilain today serving mainly as an archaic or stylistic variant in English and as a standard term in French.