peasant

English

Etymology

From Late Middle English paissaunt, from Anglo-Norman paisant, from Middle French païsant (“païsant”), from Old French païsan (“countryman, peasant”), from païs (“country”), from Late Latin pāgēnsis (“inhabitant of a district”), from Latin pāgus (“district”) + Old French -enc (“member of”), from Frankish -inc, -ing "-ing". More at -ing.

Pronunciation
  • IPA(key): /ˈpɛzənt/
  • Audio (US)(file)
  • Rhymes: -ɛzənt

Noun

peasant (plural peasants)

  1. A member of the lowly social class that toils on the land, constituted by small farmers and tenants, sharecroppers, farmhands and other laborers on the land where they form the main labor force in agriculture and horticulture.
  2. A country person.
  3. (derogatory) An uncouth, crude or ill-bred person.
  4. (strategy games) A worker unit.

Synonyms

Derived terms

Translations
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Translations to be checked

Further reading
  • "peasant" in Raymond Williams, Keywords (revised), 1983, Fontana Press, page 231.

Anagrams
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