peon

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˈpiɑn/ UK /ˈpiːɒn/ See IPA manual

noun

Meanings

1

noun
a low-ranking worker or laborer, often unskilled or menial

He felt like a mere peon in the vast corporate hierarchy.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a low-ranking worker or... laborer drudge serf menial worker underling grunt

Opposites

master overseer boss

Word family

Forms peons

Derived forms peonage

Related forms pawnpioneer

Etymology

From Spanish peon ('foot soldier, laborer'), from Medieval Latin pedo, pedonis ('foot soldier'), from Latin pes, pedis ('foot').

peon Spanish pes Latin *pṓds Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities

# peon

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** ˈpiɑn
**IPA (UK):** ˈpiːɒn

## Meanings
1. a low-ranking worker or laborer, often unskilled or menial

## Examples
- He felt like a mere peon in the vast corporate hierarchy.

## Synonyms
- laborer
- drudge
- serf
- menial
- worker
- underling
- grunt

## Antonyms
- master
- overseer
- boss

## Derived Forms
- peonage

## Related Forms
- pawn
- pioneer

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: peon
- Root: pes
- Root: *pṓds

## Etymology
From Spanish peon ('foot soldier, laborer'), from Medieval Latin pedo, pedonis ('foot soldier'), from Latin pes, pedis ('foot').

## AI Etymology
Peon is from Spanish peon ('foot soldier, laborer'), from Medieval Latin pedo, pedonis ('foot soldier'), from Latin pes, pedis ('foot'). Important recorded forms include peon (Spanish), pes (Latin), and *pṓds (Proto-Indo-European). The modern sense follows that older lexical line closely. In current use it covers a low-ranking worker or laborer, often unskilled or menial. The wider family includes derived forms such as peonage and related words such as pawn and pioneer.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities

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peon

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