villein

noun

USVIL-uhn/ˈvɪlən/

1 meaning of villein

1
nounhistoricalcountable
In the past, a farm worker who was tied to a lord's land and had to work for him.
The villein spent three days a week plowing his lord's fields.
Each villein paid part of his rent in eggs and grain.
Similarserf, bondman
Note

Use it in a sentence

Write your own sentence with villein, and AI will tell you whether it fits and which meaning you used.

Origin

From a Latin word for a farm worker, which comes from villa (“country home”). It has the same origin as villain.