Meaning
boor, lout; (historical) peasant
- a rude or bad-mannered person; lout or boor
- peasant
In a sentence
Non fare il villano con chi ti aiuta.
Don't be rude to those who help you.
Quel villano mi ha risposto male ieri.
That rude guy answered me rudely yesterday.
Il villano lavorava nei campi tutto il giorno.
The peasant worked in the fields all day.
Word forms (2)
| Word | Word forms |
|---|---|
| villano | masculine · singular |
| villani | masculine · plural |
Usage notes
- Mostly literary or old-fashioned in the 'peasant' sense; for modern neutral use, prefer contadino or contadina.
- For 'rude person,' villano is stronger and more bookish than maleducato; it sounds like a moral judgment, not just bad manners.
- As an adjective, villano means 'boorish' or 'base': un gesto villano. Learners often assume it is only a noun.