[vil.lain] n [ME vilain, vilein, fr. MF, fr. ML villanus, fr. L villa] (14c) 1: an uncouth person: boor
2: villein
3: a deliberate scoundrel or criminal
4: a scoundrel in a story or play
5: a person or thing blamed for a particular evil or difficulty "automation as the ~ in job ... displacement --M. H. Goldberg"