villein

noun

vil·​lein ˈvi-lən 

ˈvi-ˌlān, 

vi-ˈlān 

plural villeins

1

: a free common villager or village peasant of any of the feudal classes lower in rank than the thane

2

: a free peasant of a feudal class higher in rank than a cotter

3

: an unfree peasant enslaved to a feudal lord but free in legal relations with respect to all others

Examples of villein in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Thus, villeins were blamed for the evils disrupting an otherwise peaceful world. — Marisha Pessl, New York Times, 25 Oct. 2017

Word History

Etymology

Middle English vilain, vilein — more at villain

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 3

Rhymes for villein

• affine
• airline
• align
• aline
• assign
• baseline
• beamline
• benign
• bloodline
• bovine
• brucine
• byline

Kids Definition

villein

noun

vil·​lein ˈvil-ən  ˈvil-ˌān 

vil-ˈān

1

: a free peasant

2

: an unfree peasant enslaved to a feudal lord