01 n. One who holds lands by a base, or servile, tenure, or in villenage; a feudal tenant of the lowest class, a bondman or servant.
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One who holds lands by a base, or servile, tenure, or in villenage; a feudal tenant of the lowest class, a bondman or servant.(Feudal Law)“If any of my ansectors was a tenant, and a servant, and held his lands as a villain to his lord, his posterity also must do so, though accidentally they become noble.” — Jer. Taylor.
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A baseborn or clownish person; a boor.[R.]“Pour the blood of the villain in one basin, and the blood of the gentleman in another, what difference shall there be proved?” — Becon.
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