entry
vilify
/ˈvɪlɪfaɪ/To speak abusively or contemptuously about someone
From Latin vile (Cheap).
from Latin vilis "cheap, base" (see vile ) + combining form of facere "to make" (from PIE root *dhe- "to set, put")....
from Late Latin vilificare "to make cheap or base; to esteem of little value,"
+1 more sourcefrom Late Latin vilificare "to make cheap or base; to esteem of little value,"
+1 more sourceWord Ancestry
from Latin vilis "cheap, base" (see vile ) + combining form of facere "to make" (from PIE root *dhe- "to set, put")....
from Late Latin vilificare "to make cheap or base; to esteem of little value,"
+1 more sourcefrom Late Latin vilificare "to make cheap or base; to esteem of little value,"
+1 more sourceBefore vilify meant verbal character assassination, it described a much colder operation: lowering something’s value. In Late Latin, vīlis meant “cheap” or “base,” while facere meant “to make,” so vīlificāre was essentially “to make cheap.” English borrowed the verb around 1500, initially using it for treating a person or thing as worthless; by the 1590s, the damage had shifted from the marketplace to the mouth. Its close relative revile followed a similar path from “make vile” to “attack with abusive language.” The suffix -ify still carries that old workshop feeling in words such as clarify and magnify: to vilify someone is, etymologically, to run their reputation through a machine that makes it look cheap.
The Story
Before vilify meant verbal character assassination, it described a much colder operation: lowering something’s value. In Late Latin, vīlis meant “cheap” or “base,” while facere meant “to make,” so vīlificāre was essentially “to make cheap.” English borrowed the verb around 1500, initially using it for treating a person or thing as worthless; by the 1590s, the damage had shifted from the marketplace to the mouth. Its close relative revile followed a similar path from “make vile” to “attack with abusive language.” The suffix -ify still carries that old workshop feeling in words such as clarify and magnify: to vilify someone is, etymologically, to run their reputation through a machine that makes it look cheap.
Modern Usage
In a low-information slang usage, “vilify” is defined as admitting violence to another person.
Kin & Kindred
From 'vile'·Cheap, worthless, base, or morally contemptible
Derived Terms
English words from this root
From '-ify'·To make or cause to become
Derived Terms
English words from this root
Sources
Etymonline
Free Dictionary
Urban Dictionary
Wikipedia