miscreant

The word "miscreant" entered English in the 14th century from the Old French mescreant, which literally meant "disbelieving" or "unbelieving." Its original, now archaic, sense was specifically "heretical" or "non-Christian," directly combining mes- ("badly, wrongly") with creant ("believing"). Over time, the semantic focus shifted from a failure of religious faith to a failure of moral or social conduct. Thus, the modern meaning of "villain" or "wrongdoer" evolved from the earlier concept of one who holds a wrong or bad belief, illustrating how judgments of belief were extended to judgments of character and action.

Structure: mis (badly/wrongly) + creant (believing/doing) - mis: From Old French mes-, a prefix of Germanic origin meaning "badly, wrongly, amiss." - creant: From Old French creant, the present participle of croire ("to believe"), from Latin credentem (nominative credens), the present participle of credere ("to believe, trust").