| 释义 |
▪ I. villain, n.|ˈvɪlən|
Forms: α. 4 vyleyn, 6 villein(e; 4 vilaine, 4–5 vylayn (5 vil-), 5–6 vylayne; 5 vyllayn, 6 -ayne, -aine, 5–7 villayne (7 -ayn), 6–7 villaine, 7– villain. β. 4 velaun, 6 vyl-, vilane (Sc. veill-, vill-, willane), villan, wellantt-, 7 villiane, 7–8 villian, 8 villin.
[a. AF. and OF. vilein, vilain, villain (= Prov. vilan, It. and Sp. villano, Pg. villão):—pop.L. *villān-um, acc. sing. of *villānus (see villains a.), f. L. villa villa. See also villein.]
1. Originally, a low-born base-minded rustic; a man of ignoble ideas or instincts; in later use, an unprincipled or depraved scoundrel; a man naturally disposed to base or criminal actions, or deeply involved in the commission of disgraceful crimes:
a. Used as a term of opprobrious address.
1303R. Brunne Handl. Synne 11557 Goddys treytour, and ryȝt vyleyn! Hast þou no mynde of Marye Maudeleyn. 1320–30Horn Ch. (Ritson) 857 The begger answered in that tide, Vilaine, cunestow nought ride? c1380Sir Ferumb. 5471 Þanne he cryde and gan to sayn: ‘Whar art þow, Charlis, þow vylayn?’ 1501Douglas Pal. Hon. i. lvii, Ane me fand, quhilk said, and greit disdenȝeit, ‘Auant veillane, thow reclus imperfite’. c1590Marlowe Faustus vi, Villaine haue I not bound thee to tel me any thing? 1596Shakes. Tam. Shr. i. ii. 20 Now knocke when I bid you: sirrah villaine. 1622Massinger & Dekker Virg. Martyr iv. iii, Theoph. It matters not, We can discharge this work without his help... Sap. Villain! 1663Cowley Cutter Coleman St. v. xii, Villain, Rebel, Traitor, out o' my sight. 1764H. Walpole Otranto i, Presumptuous villain! cried Manfred, dost thou provoke my wrath? 1821Scott Kenilw. xli, Drunken villain,..thy idleness and debauched folly will stretch a halter ere it be long. 1855Kingsley Westw. Ho! v, ‘Villain! give me your papers!’ cried Amyas.
b. In descriptive use. (Common from c 1590.)
αc1400Rom. Rose 2183 Thise vilayns arn withouten pitee, Frendship, love, and alle bounté. I nyl resseyve unto my servise Hem that ben vilayns of emprise. 1474Caxton Chesse iii. iii. (1883) 99 They..answerd to hym that he was a vylayne to requyre & desire of them thynge that was so peryllous. 1483― G. de la Tour h vij, For he is a chorle and a vylayne that of his mouthe sayth ony vylony. 1509Barclay Shyp of Folys (1874) II. 182 In all the worlde nought vyler can I fynde Nor wors, than is a fals unkynde vylayne. a1533Ld. Berners Gold. Bk. M. Aurel. (1546) E vij b, The greateste vyllany in a villayne is to be gyuen in largesse of lyes. 1590Shakes. Com. Err. v. i. 29 Thou art a Villaine to impeach me thus, Ile proue mine honor, and mine honestie Against thee presently, if thou dar'st stand. 1624Capt. Smith Virginia iii. 84 The two most exact villaines in all the Country. 1719De Foe Crusoe i. (Globe) 260 He told me there were two desperate Villains among them, that it was scarce safe to shew any Mercy to. 1769Junius Lett. xv. (1788) 89 Every villain fancies himself a man of abilities. 1813Byron Corsair i. xi, He knew himself a villain—but he deem'd The rest no better than the thing he seem'd. a1842Arnold Hist. Later Rom. Commw. (1845) II. 56 The soldiers..told him that..if he played the villain he might win the throne. 1869Ruskin Q. of Air §128 They are not made villains by the commission of a crime, but were villains before they committed it.
transf.1691Hartcliffe Virtues 241 Thus they slander Human Nature, and make a Villain of it. 1832Q. Rev. Mar. 234 Perchance one hound in ten may throw his tongue as he goes to inform his comrades, as it were, that the villain is on before them.
β1535Coverdale Job xxx. 8 They were the children of fooles & vylanes, which are deed awaye from the worlde. 1570Satir. Poems Reform. (S.T.S.) xiii. 95 Wa worth ȝow Uillanis that slew that Prince maist wise. 1573Nottingham Rec. IV. 154 For be-callyng the Constabelles knaves and wellanttes. 1593Harvey Pierce's Super. Wks. (Grosart) II. 319 The Straunge Newes of the railing Villan. 1598B. Jonson Ev. Man in Hum. (Q.1) v, Gui. I obey thee varlet; but for these villianes—. Mus. Keepe the peace I charge you sir. 1678Bunyan Pilgr. i. 132 He hath not been afraid to rail on you, my Lord,..calling you an ungodly Villian. 1704Blair in W. S. Perry Hist. Coll. Amer. Col. Ch. I. 132 Several of them of the most noted good preachers he affronted and abused with the most opprobrious & villifying names as Dog, Rogue, Rascal, Villin, Jesuit. 1727Philip Quared. (1816) 66 Those villians had most sacrilegiously rifled and ransacked his habitation.
c. Used playfully, or without serious imputation of bad qualities. Also applied to a woman.
1590Shakes. Com. Err. i. ii. 19 A trustie villaine sir, that very oft..Lightens my humour with his merry iests. 1601― Twel. N. ii. v. 16 Enter Maria... Heere comes the little villaine: How now my Mettle of India? 1606― Tr. & Cr. iii. ii. 35 Ile fetch her; it is the prettiest villaine. 1815Scott Guy M. i, Jock, ye villain,..are ye lying routing there, and a young gentleman seeking the way to the Place? 1837Dickens Pickw. ix, ‘Where's that villain Joe?’ ‘Here I am; but I han't a willin,’ replied a voice. It was the fat boy's. 1908R. Bagot A. Cuthbert xxiii. 300 If this afternoon's post does not bring me a letter from Jim,..I shall telegraph to the young villain.
d. (Usually with the.) The character in a play, novel, etc., whose evil motives or actions form an important element in the plot. Also transf., esp. in phr. villain of the piece.
1822Lamb Elia i. Old Actors, The fact is, you do not believe in such characters as Surface—the villain of artificial comedy—even while you read or see them. 1854A. C. Mowatt Autobiogr. Actress vii. 133 Ayesha, the villain of the piece,..had received a great wrong. 1867Freeman Norm. Conq. I. iv. 252 Arnulf, as usual, appears as the villain of the piece. 1879D. Cook Nts. at the Play (1883) II. 222 Mr. Vezin represented the villain, a welcher, pretending to be a Russian count. 1928Wodehouse Money for Nothing ix. 200 I'm sure you're on the right track. This bird Twist is the villain of the piece. 1937Discovery May 163/1 Fascism, in its ultra-national aspect, is the villain of the piece. 1978P. Sutcliffe Oxf. University Press v. i. 173 Ernest Barker and others took on Nietzsche and Treitschke, who could be regarded as the ultimate villains of the piece.
e. A professional criminal. slang.
1960[see bogy1, bogey1 4]. 1963L. Deighton Horse under Water xxxi. 125 This villain is doing a nice Cabinet Minister's home. 1975Sunday Tel. 7 Dec. 1/2 A flying squad officer said: ‘As far as we know these are no ordinary villains. We believe they are Irish IRA.’ 1977L. Meynell Hooky gets Wooden Spoon xiii. 156 There'll be a getaway car..waiting close to the house with a villain in it... I don't like thieving villains.
†2. A bird (esp. a hawk) of a common or inferior species. Obs.
1480Caxton Myrr. ii. viii. 85 Ther ben popengayes..of whom, as men saye, they that haue on eche foot fyue clawes ben gentyl, and the vylayns haue but thre. 1575Turberv. Faulconrie 123 Of all kinde of hawkes.., as Sacres, Gerfalcons, peregrine Falcons, and Vilanes. Ibid. 124 The Vyllaine and the Lanerette may be sette vpon the stone incontinently, as soone as they be made.
3. A person or animal of a troublesome character in some respect. Const. to with inf.
1895J. G. Millais Breath fr. Veldt (1899) 201 The sable is a villain to run.
4. Comb., as villain-like adv.
1605Shakes. Lear v. iii. 98 He..that names me Traitor, villain-like he lies. 1611― Cymb. v. v. 218 Villain-like, I lye.
▪ II. villain
variant of villein.
▪ III. villain, a. Now rare.|ˈvɪlən|
Forms: α. 4 vilein, 4–5 vil-, 5 vyleyn, 4 vyl-, 6 vileyne, villeine, 7 -ein; 5–6 vyl-, 6 vilayne, 5–6 vylayn, 6 vylaine, vilane; 5–6 vyllayne, 6 villayne, 6–7 -aine; 5 Sc. villayn, 5 Sc., 7– villain. β. 5 veleyne, velaine, 6 velayn, velen.
[a. AF. and OF. vilein, vilain: see prec. and cf. villains a.]
†1. Deficient in courtesy or good-breeding; boorish, clownish. Obs.
1340Ayenb. 194 Zome þer byeþ zuo uyleyne to þe poure huanne hi ham yeueþ enye elmesse..þet wel is worþ þet zeluer. 1390Gower Conf. I. 319 Will seith..That such an herte is to vilein, Which dar noght love. c1407Lydg. Reson & Sens. 1508 And she [Venus] kan also, in certeyn, Hertys which that be vileyn Disposen hem to gentilesse.
2. Base in character or disposition; given to committing vile or criminal acts.
1340Ayenb. 18 Vor-zoþe he is wel vileyn and ontrewe auoreye his lhord þet alle guod him heþ y-do,..and [he] yelt him kuead uor guod. 1390Gower Conf. III. 282 And whanne he hadde hem so forlein, As he the which was al vilein, He dede hem out of londe exile. 1447O. Bokenham Seyntys (Roxb.) 226 To a cros of tre..naylyd was he And hangyd up betwyx thevys tweyne As mayster of hem and most veleyne. c1450Merlin xxxiii. 690 Thou art the moste vileyn knyght that euer I mette in my lif. c1489Skelton Death Earl Northumbld. 24 Vilane hastarddis in their furious tene, Fulfylled with malice of froward entente. a1500–34Cov. Corpus Chr. Pl. i. 802 Owt! velen wrychis, har apon you I cry! 1540–1Elyot Image Gov. 170 Ye villaine generacion, full of pestiferous malice. 1598Min. Archdeaconry Colchester (MS.) 211 b, He sayd that Thomas Reinoldes, senior, dyd call hym theefe and villaine thefe in the Church. 1605Rowlands Hell's Broke Loose (Hunter. Club) 23 So these leawd wretches, sprung from Villain race, That had all Pietie in detestation. 1611Shakes. Cymb. iv. ii. 71 Soft, what are you That flye me thus? Some villaine-Mountainers? 1727–46Thomson Summer 269 Where gloomily retired The villain spider lives, cunning and fierce, Mixture abhorred! c1750Shenstone Love & Hon. 269 No! may the deep my villain corse devour. 1812Shelley Mexican iii. 8 Thousands wake to weep Whilst they curse a villain king. 1897Gunter Ballyho Bey x. 123 Go, leave me, villain-girl!
transf.1591Spenser Visions Bellay xii, A troupe of Satyres in the place did rout, Which with their villeine feete the streame did ray.
3. Marked by baseness or depravity; partaking of the nature of villainy.
1340Ayenb. 59 Þe zenne of yelpynge..is wel grat and wel uoul, wel uals and wel vileyn. c1385Chaucer L.G.W. 1824 (Camb.), Allas of the this was a vileyn ded. 1474Caxton Chesse iii. vi. (1883) 134 To thende that they shold kepe them and defende them fro that vyllayne and horrible synne. 1523Ld. Berners Froiss. I. lxxvii. 99 God y⊇ father glorious be your conduct, and put you out of all vylayne thoughtes. Ibid. ccxxix. 308 To wasshe, clens, and purge hym of suche vyllayne dedes as he was gyltye in. 1689Prior Ep. F. Shephard 118 When Lobb had sifted all his Text,..‘Now to apply,’ has plagu'd me more, Than all his Villain Cant before. 1850Tennyson In Mem. cxi, Narrowness or spite, Or villain fancy fleeting by. 1869Blackmore Lorna D. xv, This villain job shall not have ending here.
†b. Bringing or casting opprobrium. Obs.
1338R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 53 He did a grete outrage, His broþer a foule despite, him self vileyn skandre. c1440Jacob's Well 154 A vyleyn woord is scharpere þan a rasour, & more peryschande þan an allys-poynt. a1450Knt. de la Tour (1868) 128 Thre thinges distrained her for to eschewe diuerse plesauncez,..and tho were loue, drede, and shame;..shame, to be auised and saued from velanie [read velaine] reproche. c1530Ld. Berners Arth. Lyt. Bryt. (1814) 374, I ensure you I wyll shewe him these vylayne wordes that ye say of hym.
4.
†a. Of occupations: Low, mean. Obs.
1456Sir G. Haye Law Arms (S.T.S.) 114 He suld nocht..be na stewart, na procuratour, na advocate, or ony othir villayn craft. a1533Ld. Berners Gold Bk. M. Aurel. (1546) Dd vij, Cursed bee soo vylaine an office.
b. Low or mean in respect of birth or position; belonging to the common herd.
1483Caxton Cato c v, Thou art of vylayn blood by the fadres syde. Ibid. i vj, Thou oughtest not to doubt neyther old nor yonge, pouer ne ryche, ne noble ne vylayne. c1500in Hazl. E.P.P. III. 36 Who can than holde hym selfe fro loue, nother fre nor vilayne? 1513Bradshaw St. Werburge i. 949 Nother of duke, erle, lorde, by auncetre, But of vylayne people. 1528Roy Rede Me (Arb.) 106 This is a grett presumpcion For a villayne bochers sonne. 1816Scott Old Mort. xxxv, Sweeping from the face of the earth some few hundreds of villain churles, who are born but to plough it.
†c. Of disposition: Mean-spirited, base. Obs.
1509Hawes Past. Pleas. xii. (Percy Soc.) 48 The vylayne courage they do much refuse That is boystous and rude of governaunce. 1534More Comf. agst. Trib. iii. Wks. 1234/1 That seruante could skante be founden that were of suche an vnkynde vyllayne courage, that [etc.].
5. Of bad quality; vile. rare.
1607Cowell Interpr., Villein fleeces, are fleeces of wolle that are shorne from scabbed sheep. 1851D. G. Mitchell Fresh Gleanings 161 And carters shout to their mules in such villain patois Lyonnais.
▪ IV. † ˈvillain, v. Obs.
Also 5 vileyn-, 6 vilayn-, villan-.
[ad. OF. vilainer, vil(l)aner, etc., f. vilain villain n.]
1. trans. To debase or degrade; to insult.
1412–20Lydg. Chron. Troy i. 2492 For..it is to hygh a routhe A man tappere or dare do shewe his head When he hath ones his honour vyllanede. 1475Bk. Noblesse (Roxb.) 74 Suffre ye not the prelates of the Chirche of that lande..to be oppressed, revaled, ne vileyned. 1532More Confut. Tindale Wks. 344/1 When they haue once vilayned the sacrament of matrimonye, then woulde they make vs vyolate the sacrament of the aulter too.
2. To call villain; to address as a villain.
1609Rowlands Crew Kind Gossips E 2, Some Rascall told my wife,..And I was villaind for it sound at night. |