[vil-uh
n, -eyn, vi-leyn] 
| a member of a class of partially free persons under the feudal system, who were serfs with respect to their lord but had the rights and privileges of freemen with respect to others. |
| vil·lein also vil·lain (vĭl'ən, -ān', vĭ-lān') n. One of a class of feudal serfs who held the legal status of freemen in their dealings with all people except their lord. [Middle English vilein; see villain.] |