peasant
Americannoun
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a member of a class of persons, as in Europe, Asia, and Latin America, who are small farmers or farm laborers of low social rank.
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a coarse, unsophisticated, boorish, uneducated person of little financial means.
adjective
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of, relating to, or characteristic of peasants or their traditions, way of life, crafts, etc.
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of or designating a style of clothing modeled on the folk costumes of Western cultures, especially women's full-sleeved, round-necked blouses and long, full skirts.
noun
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a member of a class of low social status that depends on either cottage industry or agricultural labour as a means of subsistence
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( as modifier )
peasant dress
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informal a person who lives in the country; rustic
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informal an uncouth or uncultured person
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of peasant
1375–1425; late Middle English paissaunt < Anglo-French paisant, Old French païsant, earlier païsenc, equivalent to païs country (< Late Latin pāgēnsis, equivalent to Latin pāg ( us ) country district + -ēnsis -ensis ) + -enc < Germanic ( see -ing 3)
Explanation
If you enjoy reading tales set in the Middle Ages, you’ve probably encountered your fair share of knights, dragons, and peasants, or residents of the countryside. During the Middle Ages in Europe, most members of the population were peasants who lived a meager existence, working farmland that was owned by wealthy noblemen. Peasant is still used sometimes today to describe a relatively poor person who works as a farm laborer. Peasant can also be used to mean “an unsophisticated and ill-mannered person,” so when using this word, be sure your intended meaning is clear.
Vocabulary lists containing peasant
Christmas Carol Vocab: A Lyrical Lexicon
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Liberty, Equality, Vocabulary: The French Revolution
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Words from Shakespearean Insults
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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.
They impacted the lives of more than 100 million people through trade unions, peasant organisations, student wings and disciplined cadre networks.
From BBC • May 26, 2026
The tighter scope and folksy approach — from a score with more spare acoustic guitar than sweeping orchestral numbers and an abundance of drab peasant rags over plush regal garb — is refreshing, at first.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 16, 2026
In long, meandering speeches laced with peasant folklore, Museveni often appeals for more time, likening himself to a farmer leaving a plantation just as it starts bearing fruit.
From Barron's • Jan. 12, 2026
Ms. Rizer begins in a peasant shift of woven jute and ends, after seven layers and 154 pounds of increasing Tolstoyan grandeur, cocooned in a wintry mantle of taupe.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 1, 2025
He was a farmer’s son, and Anya liked to imagine that if Ilya could go from being a peasant to a knight, maybe she could too.
From Anya and the Dragon by Sofiya Pasternack
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.
