MEANING
An unfree medieval tenant owing labor or dues to a manorial lord.
Use it for
manorial duties; peasant rights and restrictions; rural hierarchySpecify social status rather than calling every farm worker a peasant.
Words that belong together
- villein tenure
- villein's obligations
- free a villein
On the page
The villein owed three days of labor during the harvest.
A court roll recorded the villein's claim to a strip of meadow.
She was born a villein but hoped her children would leave the manor.
Nearby words
Related words
Word forms
- Base
- villein
Usage notes
Primary category: fantasy. A historically specific form of dependent peasant; do not confuse its spelling or meaning with villain. Some earlier uses describe a free peasant; the standard manorial unfree-tenant sense is used in these examples. Noun: villein; plural villeins.
Practice this word in a sentenceYour margin notes
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