peon

AI In plain words

Writing a short explanation…

Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.

peon

/ˈpiː.ən/ UK
/ˈpeɪ.ɒn/ UK
/ˈpi.ɑn/ US
/ˈpeɪ.ɑn/ US
/pɪˈuːn/
/pjuːn/

Sounds like paean, pee-on (one pronunciation) · Rhymes with -iːən, -ɒn, -iɑn, -eɪɑn

Where it comes from

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

noun peons · peones

A lowly person; a peasant or serf; a labourer who is obliged to do menial work.
figuratively A person of low rank or importance. He is well dressed in cheap clothing. Like an office peon whose wife works in a laundry.
India, historical A messenger, foot soldier, or native policeman.

Translations

Every language

noun peasant or serf

Español	peón
日本語	農奴 nōdo
中文	雇農 gùnóng, 苦工 kǔgōng, 日工 rìgōng
हिन्दी	चपरासी caprāsī
Português	peão
Français	péon
Deutsch	Peon, Diener
Română	șerb
Русский	батра́к batrák, пео́н peón
العربية	كَادِح kādiḥ

Talk about this word

Cite this

MLA

"peon." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/peon. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

peon. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/peon

Chicago

"peon." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/peon.

BibTeX

@misc{peon_2026,
  title = {peon},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/peon},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}