peon
1 Americannoun
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(in Spanish America) a farm worker or unskilled laborer; day laborer.
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(formerly, especially in Mexico) a person held in servitude to work off debts or other obligations.
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any person of low social status, especially one who does work regarded as menial or unskilled; drudge.
noun
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a messenger, attendant, or orderly.
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a foot soldier or police officer.
noun
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a Spanish-American farm labourer or unskilled worker
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(formerly in Spanish America) a debtor compelled to work off his debts
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any very poor person
noun
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a messenger or attendant, esp in an office
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a native policeman
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a foot soldier
Usage
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.
Etymology
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
Explanation
Pity the poor peon. He exists at the very bottom of the food chain of servitude, beneath wage-slaves, underlings, drudges, or even minions. His boss doesn't even know he exists. Peon was a Mexican word originally, meaning an agricultural worker in servitude to his landlord. Today, peon has a more comic ring to it and is usually used in fun — though if you are a personal assistant to a tyrannical Hollywood star, for example, it's probably no laughing matter.
Vocabulary lists containing peon
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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The Watsons Go to Birmingham
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Body Language: Ped, Pod ("Foot")
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
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 • Jul. 20, 2024
It is kind of incredible that Sony has chosen to close the PlayStation 4 era with such a colossally expensive and tragically beautiful peon to nihilism, terror and, most shockingly of all, forgiveness.
From The Guardian • Jun. 24, 2020
“It must be done. It is the only measure that will really abolish slavery. It is the only guarantee against peon laws and against oppression.”
From New York Times • Feb. 15, 2020
As I said, though, those first few nights, it was clear my peon sack would not be multiplied.
From The New Yorker • Mar. 4, 2019
“A peon? Didn’t you see The Magnificent Seven? Peons was them folks what was so poor that the rich folks would just as soon pee on them as anything else.”
From "The Watsons Go to Birmingham" by Christopher Paul Curtis
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
