Etymology

peon

P3E1O1N1

Today it means: A lowly person; a peasant or serf; a labourer who is obliged to do menial work. Full definition →

Middle French pion ← Spanish peón ← Late Latin pedōnem
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The story

  1. Late Latin · derived frompedōnem“pedestrian”
  2. Spanish · borrowed frompeón
  3. Middle French · borrowed frompion
  4. English todaypeon

From a combination of Middle French pion, peon and Spanish peón, both from Late Latin pedōnem (“pedestrian”). Doublet of pawn.

Words from the same roots

Late Latinpedōnem all →

pawn

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.