Vile Once Meant Cheap and Common
Vile means extremely unpleasant or wicked. Its first sense was simply of low value.
Vile means extremely unpleasant or morally base. Latin *vilis* meant simply cheap or of low price, with no moral weight, and English used it that way for centuries: something vile was inexpensive and common. The shift from cheap to wicked tracks an old assumption that low social status implied low character. That assumption left several English words behind: *villain* first meant a farm worker, *base* meant low-born, *ignoble* meant not noble, and *churlish* comes from *churl*, a peasant.
- Extremely unpleasant. *A vile smell.*
- Morally base. *A vile act.*
- Cheap (archaic). *Vile goods.*
- Vilify — to defame. *To vilify.*
- Latin — *vilis*, cheap. *The root.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Adjective | vile | Vile. |
| Adverb | vilely | Vilely. |
| Noun | vileness | Vileness. |
| Verb | vilify | To vilify. |
| Latin | vilis | Cheap. |
- A vile taste.Unpleasant.
- Vilis meant cheap.Etymology.
- He was vilified in print.Related.
Class words that became moral words
- Vile — from cheap to wicked
- Villain — from farm worker to criminal
- Base — from low-born to dishonourable
- Churlish — from peasant to rude
- Noble and gentle moved the same way, upward
Old French *vil*, from Latin *vilis*, cheap or of low value.
What did vile originally mean?
Cheap or of low value, with no moral content. The wicked sense came from assumptions about low status.
Is villain related?
Not directly, but it followed the same path: villain first meant a farm worker before meaning a criminal.