A dishonest or wicked person; a villain or wrongdoer.
From Old French 'mescreant,' literally meaning 'unbeliever' (from 'mes-' meaning wrong and 'creant' meaning believing). Over time, it lost its religious meaning and came to simply mean an evil or criminal person.
Miscreant originally meant 'someone who didn't believe in the right religion'—showing how medieval Europeans used religious language as a weapon against anyone they disliked, even common criminals.
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