colonus

American  

[kuh-loh-nuhs] / kəˈloʊ nəs /

noun

plural

coloni

1. a serf in the latter period of the Roman Empire or in the early feudal period.

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Etymology

Origin of colonus

First recorded in 1885–90; from Latin colōnus “inhabitant of a colony, tenant farmer, farmer,” derivative of colere “to inhabit, till, cultivate”; cult, cultivate

Example Sentences

Rostra vacant, edicta silent, sua praemia desunt Emeritis, populo jura, colonus agris.

From The Irish Ecclesiastical Record, Volume 1, November 1864 by

Sequor hunc, Lucanus an Appulus anceps; Nam Venusinus arat finem sub utrumque colonus.

From The Lives of the Twelve Caesars, Complete by Suetonius Tranquillus, Gaius

"Neither colonus nor casarius nor the son of such is he, nor even esne, whose trade might win him privileges."

From Nicanor - Teller of Tales A Story of Roman Britain by Kinney, Margaret West

As the colonus stood higher than the slave, so did the pauper, socially at any rate, free to support himself, exceed the colonus.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 5, Slice 8 "Chariot" to "Chatelaine" by Various

It has been taken to denote two degrees of servitude—the predial dependence of a colonus and the personal dependence of a true slave.

From Villainage in England Essays in English Mediaeval History by Vinogradoff, Paul