peon

P3E1O1N1
UK/ˈpiː.ən/UK/ˈpeɪ.ɒn/US/ˈpi.ɑn/US/ˈpeɪ.ɑn/

noun

A lowly person; a peasant or serf; a labourer who is obliged to do menial work.

Similar
drudgenavvygalley slave
OriginMiddle French pion ← Spanish peón ← Late Latin pedōnem →
UncommonScrabble 6
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Meanings

nounpeon (plural peons or peones)

plural peons · plural peones

  1. A lowly person; a peasant or serf; a labourer who is obliged to do menial work.
  2. figurativelyA person of low rank or importance.

    He is well dressed in cheap clothing. Like an office peon whose wife works in a laundry.

    2011, Shehan Karunatilaka, Chinaman: The Legend of Pradeep Mathew, Jonathan Cape, page 260
  3. IndiahistoricalA messenger, foot soldier, or native policeman.

Synonyms & antonyms

nouna laborer who is obliged to do menial work

Similar
drudgenavvygalley slave
Broader
laborermanual laborerlabourer
Also see
chopped livercommonercrumbdrudgegalley slavegremlingruntnavvynonentitynothingburgerpeasantpicayunerinky-dinkserfvillagerzilch

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Late Latinpedōnem“pedestrian”
  2. Spanishpeón
  3. Middle Frenchpion
  4. Englishpeon

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

More words from Middle French, Spanish, Late Latin

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Arabic كَادِح
  • كَادِح (kādiḥ)peasant or serf
Chinese Mandarin 雇農, 苦工
  • 雇農 (gùnóng)peasant or serf
  • 苦工 (kǔgōng)peasant or serf
  • 日工 (rìgōng)peasant or serf
Czech peón
  • peónpeasant or serf
Dutch arbeider, dagloner
  • arbeiderpeasant or serf
  • daglonerpeasant or serf
  • pandelingpeasant or serf
  • schuldslaafpeasant or serf
  • dwangarbeiderpeasant or serf
  • helperpeasant or serf
Esperanto peono
  • peonopeasant or serf
French péon
  • péonpeasant or serf
German Peon, Diener
  • Peonpeasant or serf
  • Dienerpeasant or serf
Hindi चपरासी
  • चपरासी (caprāsī)peasant or serf
Japanese 農奴
  • 農奴 (nōdo)peasant or serf
Polish wyrobnik
  • wyrobnikpeasant or serf
Portuguese peão
  • peãopeasant or serf
Romanian șerb
  • șerbpeasant or serf
Russian батра́к, пео́н
  • батра́к (batrák)peasant or serf
  • пео́н (peón)peasant or serf
Spanish peón
  • peónpeasant or serf
Turkish piyon
  • piyonpeasant or serf
Urdu چپراسی
  • چپراسی (caprāsī)peasant or serf

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with peon

onjohnuponnonemonsongoneconwondonTaiwanCaribbeanronKoreanIanlawnsalonTucsonwanswanGabonlienmontanon
All rhymes →

Sounds the same

paeanpee-on (one pronunciation)

Anagrams

opennopepone
Cite this entry
APA

peon. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/peon

MLA

“peon.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/peon. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “peon,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/peon.

Source: peon on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.