métayer

[ met-uh-yey, mey-tuh- ]

noun

1. a person who works the land using tools, seed, etc., furnished by the landlord and who receives a share of the harvest in compensation.

Word History and Origins

Origin of métayer¹

1770–80; < French < Medieval Latin medietārius, equivalent to mediet ( ās ) ( moiety ) + -ārius -ary

Example Sentences

But the truth is that the métayer was not a free tenant in the sense which we attach to the word.

From Project Gutenberg

Jamet Métayer paid twenty crowns for four sheets in Italics; he demanded three months for the work.

From Project Gutenberg

The workshop of Jamet Métayer, of Tours, cost a rent of eighty-three crowns—about twenty pounds of current money.

From Project Gutenberg

Would he—on the métayer system—consent to give half of his harvest to the landowner?

From Project Gutenberg

The land was already cultivated on the métayer system, half the crop going to the tenant—a state of things advantageous all round.

From Project Gutenberg