n.
Pronunciation: ' vi-l ə s
Function: noun
Inflected Form: plural vil · li \ ' vi- ˌ l ī , -( ˌ )l ē \
Etymology: New Latin, from Latin, tuft of shaggy hair ― more at VELVET
Date: 1728
: a small slender often vascular process: as a : one of the minute finger-shaped processes of the mucous membrane of the small intestine that serve in the absorption of nutriment b : one of the branching processes of the surface of the chorion of the developing embryo of most mammals that help to form the placenta