villain
Definitions
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WordNet 3.6
- n villain a wicked or evil person; someone who does evil deliberately
- n villain the principal bad character in a film or work of fiction
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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
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Interesting fact: Michael Myers, the villain of the Halloween movies, is named after a real person. When Assault on Precinct 13 performed better than expected in England, director John Carpenter decided to thank the English distributor by naming the main character of his next movie after him.
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- Villain A baseborn or clownish person; a boor. "Pour the blood of the villain in one basin, and the blood of the gentleman in another, what difference shall there be proved?"
- Villain A vile, wicked person; a man extremely depraved, and capable or guilty of great crimes; a deliberate scoundrel; a knave; a rascal; a scamp. "Like a villain with a smiling cheek.""Calm, thinking villains , whom no faith could fix."
- Villain (Feudal Law) One who holds lands by a base, or servile, tenure, or in villenage; a feudal tenant of the lowest class, a bondman or servant. "If any of my ansectors was a tenant, and a servant, and held his lands as a villain to his lord, his posterity also must do so, though accidentally they become noble."
- v. t Villain To debase; to degrade.
- a Villain Villainous. "Vileyns sinful deeds make a churl."
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Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
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- n villain A member of the lowest class of unfree persons during the prevalence of the feudal system; a feudal serf. In respect to their lords or owners the villains had no rights, except that the lord might not kill or maim them, or ravish the females; they could acquire or hold no property against their lord's will; they were obliged to perform all the menial services he demanded; and the cottages and plots of land they occupied were held merely at his will. In respect, however, of other persons besides their lord they had the rights and privileges of freemen. Villains were either regardant (which see) or in gross. They were in view of the law annexed to the soil (adscripti or adscriptitii glebæ), belonging to a manor as fixtures, passing with it when it was conveyed or inherited, and they could not be sold or transferred as persons separate from the land. The latter belonged personally to their lord, who could sell or transfer them at will.
- n villain Hence An ignoble or base-born person generally; a boor, peasant, or clown.
- n villain A man of ignoble or base character; especially, one who is guilty or capable of gross wickedness; a scoundrel; a knave; a rascal; a rogue: often used humorously in affectionate or jocose reproach.
- villain Of or pertaining to, or consisting of, villains or serfs.
- villain Characteristic of or befitting a villain or slave; servile; base; villainous.
- villain To debase; degrade; villainize.
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Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary
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- n Villain vil′ān or vil′in a wicked wretch: a man extremely degraded: in feudal times, a member of the lowest class of unfree persons
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Quotations
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“I tend to play mostly villains and twisted people. Unsavory guys. I think it's my face, the way I look.” -
“I like villains because there's something so attractive about a committed person -- they have a plan, an ideology, no matter how twisted. They're motivated.”
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“Company, villainous company, hath been the spoil of me.” -
“My conscience hath a thousand several tongues, and every tongue brings in a several tale, and every tale condemns me for a villain.”
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“When rich villains have need of poor ones, poor ones may make what price they will.”
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“The devil can site scripture for his own purpose! An evil soul producing holy witness is like a villain with a smiling cheek. [Merchant Of Venice]”
Etymology
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
OE. vilein, F. vilain, LL. villanus, from villa, a village, L. villa, a farm. See Villa
Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary
Orig. 'a serf attached to a farm,' O. Fr. villain—Low L. villanus—L. villa.
Usage
In literature:
That villain Brassfield has a scheme for stealing the streets.
"Double Trouble" by Herbert Quick
Dick was to be their hero, Claud the villain.
"The Heather-Moon" by C. N. Williamson and A. M. Williamson
This villain owned a store in Silver Bend and was also the postmaster there.
"Young Wild West at "Forbidden Pass"" by An Old Scout
The jaws snapped within a thirty-second of an inch of the arch-villain's nose.
"A Son of the City" by Herman Gastrell Seely
Thrice he tried to murder Arden, but was baffled, and then frightened Alicia into conniving at a most villainous scheme of murder.
"Character Sketches of Romance, Fiction and the Drama" by E. Cobham Brewer
Had these villains but been armed, it is they who would have buried us.
"Sir Ludar" by Talbot Baines Reed
Hold, profane villain, and take the reward of thy sacrilege!
"The Beaux-Stratagem" by George Farquhar
What could have been the object of the two villains?
"The Young Bridge-Tender" by Arthur M. Winfield
One fellow blew up his ship rather than surrender, and all died hardened villains, as they had lived.
"The Missing Ship" by W. H. G. Kingston
I'd just mutter, `Bobby Smudge's ghost come to fetch you away, you old sinner,' and his villainous conscience would do the rest.
"Salt Water" by W. H. G. Kingston
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In poetry:
But conscience can never be bought,
Courage can never be sold:
The villain will die as he ought;
The good man may always be bold!
Courage can never be sold:
The villain will die as he ought;
The good man may always be bold!
"Brandreth's Soliloquy In Prison." by Samuel Bamford
Hail, mildly pleasing Solitude,
Companion of the wise and good,
But from whose holy piercing eye
The herd of fools and villains fly.
Companion of the wise and good,
But from whose holy piercing eye
The herd of fools and villains fly.
"Hymn On Solitude" by James Thomson
Oh, thou villain child of hell!
Shall the house through thee be drown'd
Floods I see that wildly swell,
O'er the threshold gaining ground.
Shall the house through thee be drown'd
Floods I see that wildly swell,
O'er the threshold gaining ground.
"The Pupil In Magic" by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Thy gentle flows of guiltless joys
On fools and villains ne'er descend;
In vain for thee the tyrant sighs,
And hugs a flatterer for a friend.
On fools and villains ne'er descend;
In vain for thee the tyrant sighs,
And hugs a flatterer for a friend.
"Friendship" by Samuel Johnson
`O Elenor, beware the cursèd duke;
O give not him thy hand, now I am dead;
He seeks thy love; who, coward, in the night,
Hirèd a villain to bereave my life.'
O give not him thy hand, now I am dead;
He seeks thy love; who, coward, in the night,
Hirèd a villain to bereave my life.'
"Fair Elanor" by William Blake
Thou hind'red'st Satan, to destroy —
Thou hind'red'st villains, to annoy —
From fires and storms thou didst me keep,
And suff'red'st nought to break my sleep.
Thou hind'red'st villains, to annoy —
From fires and storms thou didst me keep,
And suff'red'st nought to break my sleep.
"Thanks To Christ For Protection And Rest" by Rees Prichard
In news:
Cate Blanchett's new role may be an iconic villain in a new Disney film.
Pearce finds order in villainous 'Lawless' role.
A villainous romance rekindled in 'Suicide Squad'.
It came when he suddenly realized he was playing the villain in a James Bond movie.
Russian actress Svetlana Khodchenkova has officially reported to the set of 'The Wolverine' as the sexy villain Viper, and aren't you a little curious to see what she looks like.
Is Miller a villain .
A Truly Villainous Villain , Part II.
The psychology of an effective villain .
A Truly Villainous Villain , Part I.
The psychology of an effective villain By Jeremy Clyman, MA.
The makeup of a truly compelling villain .
This post is about an age-old and effective plot device used by filmmakers and, by extension, the strikingly villainous portrait of "Lawless's" villain .
Villous, Not Necessarily Villainous .
The villainous Christians of independent films.
What's a villain without a hero to terrorize.
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In science:
There is a noteworthy difference between the random bond X Y and Villain models.
Does quasi-long-range order in the two-dimensional XY model really survive weak random phase fluctuations?
To the contrary, the fugacity of the SG model is not random if it is derived from the Villain model with random phase but no randomness in the spin stiffness.
Does quasi-long-range order in the two-dimensional XY model really survive weak random phase fluctuations?
However, we have shown that the X Y and Villain models differ in one very important aspect when only the relative phase between neighboring spins is random.
Does quasi-long-range order in the two-dimensional XY model really survive weak random phase fluctuations?
Indeed, due to non-linear effects the core energy of vortices is always random in the X Y model with random phase whereas this is not the case for the Villain model.
Does quasi-long-range order in the two-dimensional XY model really survive weak random phase fluctuations?
If randomness in the core energy does indeed destroy the exotic quasi-long-range order proposed in , we must then conclude that the Villain model with random phase only does not belong to the same universality class as the X Y model with random phase only in a strong sense.
Does quasi-long-range order in the two-dimensional XY model really survive weak random phase fluctuations?
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