peon

¹

[ pee-uhn, pee-on ]

noun

1. (in Spanish America) a farm worker or unskilled laborer; day laborer.
2. (formerly, especially in Mexico) a person held in servitude to work off debts or other obligations.
3. any person of low social status, especially one who does work regarded as menial or unskilled; drudge.

peon

²

[ pee-uhn, pee-on ]

noun

1. a messenger, attendant, or orderly.
2. a foot soldier or police officer.

peon

¹

/ ˈpiːɒn; pjuːn; ˈpiːən /

noun

1. a messenger or attendant, esp in an office
2. a native policeman
3. a foot soldier

peon

²

/ ˈpiːɒn; ˈpiːən /

noun

1. a Spanish-American farm labourer or unskilled worker
2. (formerly in Spanish America) a debtor compelled to work off his debts
3. any very poor person

Word History and Origins

Origin of peon¹

1820–30; < Spanish peón peasant, day laborer < Vulgar Latin *pedōn- (stem of *pedō ) walker (whence Medieval Latin pedōnēs infantry, Old French peon pawn ² ), derivative of Latin ped- (stem of pēs ) foot

Origin of peon²

1600–10; < Portuguese peão, French pion foot soldier, pedestrian, day laborer. See peon ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of peon¹

C17: from Portuguese peão orderly; see peon ¹

Origin of peon²

C19: from Spanish peón peasant, from Medieval Latin pedō man who goes on foot, from Latin pēs foot; compare Old French paon pawn ²

Example Sentences

During the same press conference in Dhaka, she said she had taken action against a household assistant – or peon - after he allegedly amassed $34 million.

From BBC

Not afraid but brave, not weak but empowered, not peons but partners.

From Los Angeles Times

“He was the highest-paid actor in the world. I was a peon.”

From Los Angeles Times

The message couldn't be clearer: there's a strict hierarchy here, and you peons in the middle are at the absolute bottom.

From Scientific American

It's less clear whether that translates into sympathy for the peons who raided the Capitol at Trump's bidding.

From Salon

Related Words

• drudge
• hireling

More About Peon

What does peon mean?

A peon is a person of low social status, especially one who does unskilled work and is poorly treated.

Peon was once used in a more specific way to refer to farmworkers and other unskilled laborers in Mexico and parts of the United States.

Example: People are going to keep quitting if management keeps treating them like peons.

Where does peon come from?

Peon was once more commonly used in India or Sri Lanka to refer to a police officer or an infantry soldier. This word derives from the Portuguese peão, which comes from the French pion, meaning “foot soldier,” “pedestrian,” or “day laborer.” The first records of this sense of peon come from the 1600s.

The sense of the word that was used in parts of North and Central America is first recorded in the 1800s. It comes from the Spanish peón, meaning “peasant” or “day laborer.” The word derives from the Latin root ped-, meaning “foot” (as seen in words like pedal and pedestrian).

Historically, peons worked on their feet. In parts of the U.S., the word referred to farm workers and other low-paid, unskilled laborers. In Mexico, peons were those who were forced to work in low-paying positions to pay off debts. Today, peon is used more generally to refer to poor people or those who perform menial labor—work that is often considered lowly and degrading. The word peon often implies that such a person receives poor treatment or is being exploited. In this sense, low-income workers are sometimes called peons to highlight the poor conditions they often have to work in.

The term is also used to describe anyone who has to do drudgework, such as an intern who’s ordered to fetch coffee for their supervisors. In this usage, it’s often intended to be humorous.

Did you know ... ?

What are some synonyms for peon?

• unskilled worker
• unskilled laborer
• peasant
• drudge

What are some words that share a root or word element with peon? 

 

• pawn
• pioneer

What are some words that often get used in discussing peon?

• farmhand
• labor
• menial
• serf
• worker
• laborer

What are some words peon may be commonly confused with?

• paeon
• paean

How is peon used in real life?

Today, peon is most commonly used to refer to a lowly and poorly treated worker. It’s especially used as a criticism not of the worker but of their treatment.

Placed my 5 day notice. Felt bad for a minute and then thought about all the times I was treated like a peon. Go where you're appreciated 🤘🏻

— Patrick Simonis (@pSimonis8) January 29, 2017

Our government at this point is just a kind of skeletal lending institution that shoulders all of the risk of corporate America with none of the profits and voters and taxpayers are debt peons whose lives and well-being are sacrificed to maintain the kleptocracy.

— Emily Witt (@embot) March 26, 2020

"bring me kibble, and feed it to me one by one as i contenplate my own glory, peon" pic.twitter.com/fF6C2rMvfn

— ترکتازی (@PasturesPolitic) March 14, 2020

 

 

Try using peon!

Which of the following words is not a synonym of peon?

A. master
B. farmhand
C. servant
D. peasant