- villain
- c.1300, "base or low-born rustic," from Anglo-Fr. and O.Fr. villain, from M.L. villanus "farmhand," from L. villa "country house" (see villa).
"The most important phases of the sense development of this word may be summed up as follows: 'inhabitant of a farm; peasant; churl, boor; clown; miser; knave, scoundrel.' Today both Fr. vilain and Eng. villain are used only in a pejorative sense." [Klein]
Meaning "character in a novel, play, etc. whose evil motives or actions help drive the plot" is from 1822. Villainous is recorded from c.1300, from O.Fr. vileneus; villainy (early 13c.) is from O.Fr. vilanie. - churl
- O.E. ceorl "peasant, freeman, man without rank," from P.Gmc. *kerlaz, *karlaz. It had various meaning in early M.E., including "man of the common people," "a country man," "husbandman," "free peasant;" by 1300, it meant "bondman, villain," also "fellow of low birth or rude manners." For acquisition of an insulting flavor over time, compare boor, villain.
- villein
- early 14c., spelling variant of villain, refering to a feudal class of half-free peasants.
- shirk
- 1633, "to practice fraud or trickery," also a noun (1639, now obs.) "a disreputable parasite," perhaps from Ger. schurke "scoundrel, rogue, knave, villain" (see shark). Sense of "evade one's work or duty" first recorded 1785, originally in slang.
- brainiac
- "very smart person," 1980s U.S. slang, from brain + ending from ENIAC, etc. Brainiac also was the name of a comic book villain in the Superman series and a do-it-yourself computer building kit, both from the late 1950s, and the word may trace to either or both of these.
- villanelle
- 1586, from Fr., from It. villanella "ballad, rural song," from fem. of villanello "rustic," from M.L. villanus (see villain). As a poetic form, five 3-lined stanzas and a final quatrain, with only two rhymes throughout, usually of pastoral or lyric nature.
- fell (adj.)
- c.1275, from O.Fr. fel "cruel, fierce," from M.L. fello "villain" (see felon). Phrase at one fell swoop is from "Macbeth."
- miscreant (adj.)
- early 14c., "heretical, unbelieving, infidel," from O.Fr. mescreant, from mes- "wrongly" (see mis- (2)) + creant, prp. of creire "believe," from L. credere. The noun is attested from late 14c.; originally "heathen, Saracen;" sense of "villain" first recorded 1590 in Spenser.
- heavy
- O.E. hefig, from P.Gmc. *khabigas (cf. O.N. hebig, O.N. hofugr), from *kafjanan and thus related to heave (q.v.). Theatrical (noun) sense of "villain" is 1880, from the adj. Jazz slang sense of "profound, serious" is from 1937. Heavy-handed was originally (1633) "weary" or "clumsy," sense of "overbearing" is first recorded 1883. Heavyweight is 1857, of horses, 1877 of fighters.
- nasty
- c.1400, "foul, filthy, dirty, unclean," perhaps from O.Fr. nastre "bad, strange," shortened form of villenastre "infamous, bad," from vilein "villain" + -astre, pejorative suffix, from L. -aster. Alternative etymology is from Du. nestig "dirty," lit. "like a bird's nest." Likely reinforced by a Scand. source (cf. Swed. dial. naskug "dirty, nasty"). Of weather, from 1634; of things generally, "unpleasant, offensive," from 1705. Of people, "ill-tempered," from 1825.
- brave
- late 15c., from M.Fr., "splendid, valiant," from It. bravo "brave, bold," originally "wild, savage," possibly from M.L. bravus "cutthroat, villain," from L. pravus "crooked, depraved;" a less likely etymology being from L. barbarus (see barbarous). A Celtic origin (Ir. breagh, Cornish bray) has also been suggested. The noun application to N. American Indian warrior is from c.1600. The verb "to face with bravery" is from 1776. Brave new world is from the title of Aldous Huxley's 1932 satirical utopian novel; he lifted the phrase from Shakespeare ("Tempest" v.i.183).
- service (n.)
- c.1100, "celebration of public worship," from O.Fr. servise, from L. servitium "slavery, servitude," from servus "slave" (see serve). Meaning "act of serving" is attested from 1230. Sense of "duty of a military man" first recorded 1580s, hence "the military as an occupation" (1706). Meaning "the furniture of the table" (tea service, etc.) is from mid-15c. Serving "a helping of food" is from 1769. Serviceable "ready to serve" is from early 14c.
Edgar: I know thee well: a serviceable villain,
As duteous to the vices of thy mistress
As badness would desire.
"King Lear," Act IV, Scene vi - shark
- 1569, of uncertain origin; apparently the word and the first specimen were brought to London by Capt. John Hawkins's second expedition (landed 1565; see Hakluyt).
"There is no proper name for it that I knowe, but that sertayne men of Captayne Haukinses doth call it a 'sharke' " [handbill advertising an exhibition of the specimen, 1569]
The meaning "dishonest person who preys on others," though only attested from 1599 (sharker in this sense is from 1594), may be the original sense, later applied to the large, voracious marine fish. It is possibly from Ger. Schorck, a variant of Schurke "scoundrel, villain," agent noun of M.H.G. schürgen (Ger. schüren) "to poke, stir." The Eng. word was applied to voracious or predatory persons, on the image of the fish, from 1707 (originally of pick-pockets); loan shark is attested from 1905. Sharkskin was used for binding books, etc. As the name of a type of fabric held to resemble it, it is recorded from 1932.