Vile comes from Old French 'vil' ('shameful, cheap, base'), from Latin 'vilis' ('cheap, worthless, base'). In current use it is an adjective meaning "extremely unpleasant, wicked, or morally despicable". That sense is explained by the older material without requiring a speculative semantic step: the inherited or borrowed base supplies the field of meaning, while the English formation fixes its modern role. The history is mainly one of transmission into English, with the older form and sense carried through borrowing or adaptation. The historical chain includes Old French vil and Latin vilis. Related English forms include vilify and revile. Derived forms include vilely, vileness, and vilify. For dictionary purposes, the important point is the continuity between the older form, the route into English, and the present lexical sense.