During development, they were called "ill-built villagers," which was shortened to "ill-villager," and, finally, to "illager." These hostile mobs seem to have been designed as the big bad group of ...

This term was eventually shortened to "ill-villager," and then to the current "illager." For those unaware, the illagers in Minecraft and its spin-off game, Minecraft Dungeons, exhibit noticeable ...