Etymology

vile

V4I1L1E1

Today it means: Morally low; base; despicable. Full definition →

Middle English vile ← Anglo-Norman ville ← Old French vil
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The story

  1. Latin · derived fromvīlis
  2. Old French · derived fromvil
  3. Anglo-Norman · derived fromville
  4. Middle English · inherited fromvile
  5. English todayvile

From Middle English vile, vyle, vyl, from Anglo-Norman ville, Old French vil, vile, from Latin vīlis.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.