Many of the words in our language have origins much different than what you might believe! It's always interesting to discover where they came from!
Villain
What it means now: “A person guilty or capable of a crime or wickedness.”
What it used to mean: A farm worker
Everybody, especially Batman, is familiar with villains—thanks to over half a century of movies, we all know that the villain is the bad guy. Back in the 14th century though, villains were the backbone of agriculture. That is to say, they were the guys who worked on farms. The word villain is actually an old French word that pulls its roots from the word “villa,” Latin for country house.
Over time, the meaning of the word gradually changed: Farm workers were poor, practically peasants. Peasants, being poor, are untrustworthy. Untrustworthy people commit crimes. And eventually we ended up with the modern day definition of villain, which is a rich person who gets killed by James Bond.
Pretty strange when you find out where these words came from, isn't it?
Coffee outside this morning. How about some apple pie to go with it?
A lot of our words are derived from Latin. I had to take four years of it in high school. I can still remember the declension endings from over 50 years ago: O or M,S, T, Mus, Tis and nt. Comes in handy now for crossword puzzles! Apple pie? Be right there, Mr. Hermit!
ReplyDeleteI am agree with you Mr. Hermit that " Over time, the meaning of the word gradually changed: Farm workers were poor, practically peasants. Peasants, being poor, are untrustworthy. Untrustworthy people commit crimes." I like your post.
ReplyDeleteRegards,
Kopi Luwak
It's still a crime to be poor. Just spend a day sitting in a court room and think how many people are only really there because they are poor.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting topic. It is amazing how many words have had their meaning change over the years. Some words that I grew up with have had their meaning change - and not for the better either. It could be a fun day at the computer looking up meanings to words. Beautiful morning for coffee on the patio.
ReplyDeleteInteresting. Who would of thought that such a word had at one time meant farmer. Thank you for that little informative leasson.
ReplyDeleteI'll have some coffee with you all and of course a piece of pie.
Hey Phyllis...
ReplyDeleteAlways fun to find out new things! I love this stuff!
Thanks for coming over today!
Hey Glan...
I'm glad you enjoyed the post. New friends are always welcome on my patio!
Thanks for dropping by today!
Hey Sixbears...
Seems like many of us are villains now days! Right you are about a lot showing up in the courtroom!
Thanks for coming over today!
Hey Linda...
You could spend all day looking these up and still find some more!
Thanks for coming over!
Hey Jo...
Really can fool ya, right? Think how much fun this would be as a party game!
Thanks, sweetie, for dropping by today!
I love to reseach the origans of words, as you know if you follow my blog. There is also a TV show on the History channel about that very same thing. Love the origan of words and phrases.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting! Yep i'm a villian.....Apple pie mmmm! Have you ever had it. warm with a slice cheddar cheese on top? I'm not sure where I picked that up many moons ago, but it is a tasty treat every now and then. I'll bring some if anyone wants to try it. Thanks for the invite!
ReplyDeleteEnglish is a piece of shit.
ReplyDelete