Etymology

archvillain

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Today it means: A supreme villain; the most evil or powerful villain. Full definition →

English villain ← Middle English arch- ← Old English arċe-
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*h₂er-der.?
  2. Proto-Indo-European*h₂ergʰ-der.?
  3. Ancient Greekἄρχω (árkhō)
  4. Ancient Greekἀρχι- (arkhi-)
  5. Latinarchi-
  6. Old Englisharċe-
  7. Middle Englisharch-
  8. Englisharch-
  9. Englishvillain
  10. English todayarchvillain

From arch- (“chief, most extreme”) + villain.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.