VILLAINY

villainy

(noun) a criminal or vicious act

villainy, villainousness

(noun) the quality of evil by virtue of villainous behavior

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology 1

Noun

villainy (countable and uncountable, plural villainies)

Evil or wicked character or behaviour.

A wicked or treacherous act.

Synonyms

• See villainy

Etymology 2

Adjective

villainy (comparative more villainy, superlative most villainy)

Characteristic of a villain.

Source: Wiktionary


Vil"lain*y, n.; pl. Villainies. Etym: [OE. vilanie, OF. vilanie, vilainie, vileinie, vilanie, LL. villania. See Villain, n.] [Written also villany.]

1. The quality or state of being a villain, or villainous; extreme depravity; atrocious wickedness; as, the villainy of the seducer. "Lucre of vilanye." Chaucer. The commendation is not in his wit, but in his villainy. Shak.

2. Abusive, reproachful language; discourteous speech; foul talk. [Archaic] He never yet not vileinye ne said In all his life, unto no manner wight. Chaucer. In our modern language, it [foul language] is termed villainy, as being proper for rustic boors, or men of coarsest education and employment. Barrow. Villainy till a very late day expressed words foul and disgraceful to the utterer much oftener than deeds. Trench.

3. The act of a villain; a deed of deep depravity; a crime. Such villainies roused Horace into wrath. Dryden. That execrable sum of all villainies commonly called a slave trade. John Wesley.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

30 June 2025

BODILY

(adjective) affecting or characteristic of the body as opposed to the mind or spirit; “bodily needs”; “a corporal defect”; “corporeal suffering”; “a somatic symptom or somatic illness”


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Coffee Trivia

The first coffee-house in Mecca dates back to the 1510s. The beverage was in Turkey by the 1530s. It appeared in Europe circa 1515-1519 and was introduced to England by 1650. By 1675 the country had more than 3,000 coffee houses, and coffee had replaced beer as a breakfast drink.

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