A chief criminal or the most serious offender; one guilty of the greatest crimes.
From Greek 'archi-' (chief) + 'felon' (from Latin 'fell-' meaning cruel, or from falser meaning deceiver). Describes someone representing the worst category of criminal.
In medieval law, calling someone an 'archfelon' wasn't just name-calling—it was a legal designation that determined if you'd face the harshest punishments, sometimes different from regular criminals!
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