English → Latin
“villain” in Latin
improbusexcessive, immoderate, flagrant, impudent; greedy, wanton, ravenous; wicked, bad, villainous, immoral, impious, maliciouscelerōto defile, contaminate, pollutecōnscelerōto stain or pollute with guilt; dishonorprōflīgōto strike or dash to the ground; to overthrow, overcome, conquer; to finish, conclude, resolve, put an end toservusa slave; a serf; a servantmancipiumThe formal taking possession of goods bought; purchase; property; slave (purchased)vernaa homeborn slave (a slave born in his master's house); term of abuse
The English word villain itself goes back to Latin vīlla, through vīllānus.
Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864
villain
A bad, worthless fellow, homo malus, improbus: homo nequam. (The words are found in this connection and order.) nequam et improbus: homo scelestus, sceleratus, consceleratus: homo perditus or profligatus: homo nefarius et improbus: homo sine religione ulla ac fide. A detestable villain, profligatissimus omnium mortalium ac perditissimus. homo omnium sceleratissimus: a manifest villain, homo foedus et aperte malus: a crafty villain, homo ingeniosissime nequam (Velleius): villain! scelus! (as abusive exclamation).
Serf, adscriptus glebae: servus (general term for slave): mancipium (bought or taken in war): verna (one born in the house).
Quick answer
- What is the Latin word for villain?
- The usual Latin words for “villain” are improbus, scelerō, cōnscelerō; also prōflīgō, servus, mancipium. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.
Entry from J. E. Riddle & T. K. Arnold, A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon (rev. C. Anthon, New York: Harper, 1864), digitised by Fergus J. P. Walsh, CC BY-SA 4.0; Latin markup adapted by latindictionary.co.