peasantry

American  

[pez-uhn-tree] / ˈpɛz ən tri /

noun

1. peasants collectively.

2. the status or character of a peasant.

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peasantry British  

/ ˈpɛzəntrɪ /

noun

1. peasants as a class

2. conduct characteristic of peasants

3. the status of a peasant

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Etymology

Origin of peasantry

First recorded in 1545–55; peasant + -ry

Example Sentences

Claudius has made himself a monarch again, standing at the head of a shrieking horde of desperate peasantry who believe he can unbar the door to that heavenly place.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 11, 2025

Instead we are left with Henry attempting to install a kinder, gentler way of taxing the peasantry; Julia scheming to keep her pregnancy safe; and Ellen and Brian preparing to risk it all for love.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 8, 2025

They are members of a technological medieval peasantry.

From Salon • Jul. 18, 2024

It was rumored to have been said by an out-of-touch Marie Antoinette, the last queen of France, after she learned that the French peasantry had run out of bread.

From New York Times • Jul. 14, 2023

While the peasantry was chuckling, the Pierce Arrow would buck away in clouds of gray smoke, while the professor up front rendered a few bars of Honk Honk Kadookah.

From "Cheaper by the Dozen" by Frank B. Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey