Peasant Meaning
/ˈpɛzənt/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounA 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.
nounA country person.
Sentence Examples
I am nothing but a poor peasant.
The peasant scattered the seeds of grain.
Disguising himself as a peasant, he crept into the castle town.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
None
CEFR Practice Quiz
The poor ____ worked hard in the fields from sunrise to sunset.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The ____ farmer worked the land from dawn to dusk to grow enough food for his family.
Word Origin & History
From Late Middle English paissaunt, from Anglo-Norman paisant, from Old French païsant, païsan (“countryman, peasant”), from païs (“country”), from Latin pāgus (“countryside”) + Old French -enc (“member of”), from Frankish -inc, -ing "-ing"; which was an alteration of earlier Late Latin pāgēnsis (“inhabitant of a district”). Doublet of paisano. Via Latin pāgus cognate with pagan (compare typologically, see there for more).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"The Ambassador warned him of the consequences if his mission to Moscow were a failure, both to Churchill's position at home and to Russia's prospects in the war. He insisted that he should not allow himself to be offended 'by a peasant who didn't know any better'. Churchill listened in silence, then returned to the dacha leaving Clark Kerr outside."
— 1986, Martin Kitchen, British Policy Towards the Soviet Union during the Second World War, Palgrave Macmillan, →ISBN, →OCLC, →OL, page 137:
"Oh what a Rogue and Pesant slave am I?"
— c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene ii], line 520:
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CEFR Practice Quiz
The poor ____ worked hard in the fields from sunrise to sunset.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The ____ farmer worked the land from dawn to dusk to grow enough food for his family.