peon C2+ Topic:Work & Careers US /ˈpiɑn/ UK /ˈpiːɒn/ See IPA manual 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... laborerdrudgeserfmenialworkerunderlinggrunt ↔ Opposites masteroverseerboss Word family Forms peons Derived forms peonage Related forms pawnpioneer Etymology AI details 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 Work & Careers External links Google Images Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary # 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 - Work & Careers markdown