entry
vilify
/ˈvɪl.ɪ.faɪ/To speak abusively or disparagingly about someone
From Latin, through Old French and Middle English 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 sourcePicture a medieval speaker taking something perfectly ordinary and verbally throwing it into the gutter: that is the force packed into vilify. Its first half comes from Latin vīlis, “cheap” or “base,” which traveled through Old French vil before reaching English vile; the same family also produced revile, literally an intensified act of making someone seem vile. The ending -ify comes from Latin facere, “to make,” a distant relative of words such as magnify and purify, so vilify originally meant not “insult” but “make cheap” or “reduce in value.” Around 1500, English used it for lowering a person or thing in esteem; by the 1590s, the weapon had become language itself—slander, abuse, public character assassination. Remember it as a verbal price-cut: to vilify someone is to mark them down until they seem morally worthless.
The Story
Picture a medieval speaker taking something perfectly ordinary and verbally throwing it into the gutter: that is the force packed into vilify. Its first half comes from Latin vīlis, “cheap” or “base,” which traveled through Old French vil before reaching English vile; the same family also produced revile, literally an intensified act of making someone seem vile. The ending -ify comes from Latin facere, “to make,” a distant relative of words such as magnify and purify, so vilify originally meant not “insult” but “make cheap” or “reduce in value.” Around 1500, English used it for lowering a person or thing in esteem; by the 1590s, the weapon had become language itself—slander, abuse, public character assassination. Remember it as a verbal price-cut: to vilify someone is to mark them down until they seem morally worthless.
Modern Usage
In a low-trust slang usage, “to vilify” is used for admitting or threatening violence toward another person.
Notable References
- Urban Dictionary entries
Kin & Kindred
From 'vile'·Cheap, worthless, base, or morally repulsive
Derived Terms
English words from this root
From '-ify'·To make, cause, or render
Derived Terms
English words from this root
Sources
Etymonline
Free Dictionary
Urban Dictionary
Wikipedia