n. 1 esp. colloq. a countryman or countrywoman; a rustic. 2 a a worker on the land, esp. a labourer or smallholder. b hist. a member of an agricultural class dependent on subsistence farming. 3 derog. a lout; a boorish person. peasantry n. (pl. -ies). peasanty adj.
[ ME f. AF paisant, OF païsent, earlier païsence f. païs country ult. f. L pagus canton ]