Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A person who does menial or repetitive tasks and has a low rank in an organization or society.
  • noun An unskilled laborer or farm worker of Latin America or the southwest United States.
  • noun Such a worker bound in servitude to a landlord creditor.
  • noun In India and other parts of South and Southeast Asia, a person of menial position, especially a messenger, servant, or foot soldier.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A day-laborer; specifically, in Spanish America, a species of serf, compelled to work for his creditor until his debts are paid.
  • noun In India: A foot-soldier.
  • noun A messenger; an attendant or orderly.
  • noun A native constable or policeman.
  • noun In chess, a piece representing a footman; a pawn.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun See poon.
  • noun India A foot soldier; a policeman; also, an office attendant; a messenger.
  • noun A day laborer; a servant; especially, in some of the Spanish American countries, debtor held by his creditor in a form of qualified servitude, to work out a debt.
  • noun (Chess) See 2d Pawn.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A lowly person, a peasant or serf, a labourer who is obliged to do menial work

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a laborer who is obliged to do menial work

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Spanish peón, day laborer, from Medieval Latin pedō, pedōn-, foot soldier; see pioneer. Sense 3, from Portuguese peão and French pion, foot soldier, both ultimately from Medieval Latin pedō.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Spanish peón.

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Examples

  • In the USA peon is a demeaning term, but not in Mexico.

    House Progress 2005

  • In the USA peon is a demeaning term, but not in Mexico.

    House Progress 2005

  • The peon is an Indian, and a Mexican Indian at that.

    The Trouble Makers of Mexico 1914

  • Either the peon is different from the American, or land hunger is one thing to the one and another thing to the other.

    The Trouble Makers of Mexico 1914

  • After thus tantalizing me and taking my measure, he called a peon, whom I found to be an easy boss, and I was placed beside himself digging and shoveling, took his gait, which was much more easy than the Southern darkey.

    The adventures of two Alabama boys, 1912

  • Unfortunately, some idiot schmuck McCain/Palin peon underpaid, overworked employee at the County Recorder managed to enter my address incorrectly, and now I’m supposed to show up to vote in a totally new and different location, where my registration could quite possibly be challenged because it doesn’t match my ID.

    ALERT! Verify your voter registration status! « A Bird’s Nest 2008

  • Unfortunately, some idiot schmuck McCain/Palin peon underpaid, overworked employee at the County Recorder managed to enter my address incorrectly, and now I’m supposed to show up to vote in a totally new and different location, where my registration could quite possibly be challenged because it doesn’t match my ID.

    2008 October « A Bird’s Nest 2008

  • Desmond fancied he saw a slight smile curl the lips of the natives; then the sentry called another peon who stood at hand, and sent him into the palace.

    In Clive's Command A Story of the Fight for India Herbert Strang

  • They went out and when they entered the first shed the Spaniard called a peon and gave him an order Dick did not catch.

    Brandon of the Engineers Harold Bindloss 1905

  • Although I'm cringing at the term 'peon' and wish you'd have used a different word ... maybe a more modern one ...

    moving on down 2006

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