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peasants

 - 4 dictionary results

peas⋅ant

[pez-uhnt]
–noun
1. a member of a class of persons, as in Europe, Asia, and Latin America, who are small farmers or farm laborers of low social rank.
2. a coarse, unsophisticated, boorish, uneducated person of little financial means.
–adjective
3. of, pertaining to, or characteristic of peasants or their traditions, way of life, crafts, etc.
4. of or designating a style of clothing modeled on the folk costumes of Western cultures, esp. women's full-sleeved, round-necked blouses and long, full skirts.

Origin:
1375–1425; late ME paissaunt < AF paisant, OF païsant, earlier païsenc, equiv. to païs country (< LL pāgēnsis, equiv. to L pāg(us) country district + -ēnsis -ensis ) + -enc < Gmc (see -ing 3 )


peas⋅ant⋅like, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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peas·ant   (pěz'ənt)   
n.  
  1. A member of the class constituted by small farmers and tenants, sharecroppers, and laborers on the land where they form the main labor force in agriculture.

  2. A country person; a rustic.

  3. An uncouth, crude, or ill-bred person; a boor.


[Middle English paissaunt, from Old French paisant, from pais, country, from Late Latin pāgēnsis, inhabitant of a district, from Latin pāgus, district; see pag- in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Cultural Dictionary

peasant

A farmer or agricultural worker of low status. The word is applied chiefly to agricultural workers in Asia, Europe, and South America, who generally adhere to traditional agricultural practices and have little social mobility or freedom.

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

peasant 
c.1410, from Anglo-Fr. paisant (1341), O.Fr. paisent (12c.), earlier paisenc, from pais "country, region" + Frank. suffix -enc "-ing." Pais is from L.L. pagensis "inhabitant of the district," from L. pagus "country or rural district" (see pagan). Peasantry is attested from c.1553.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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