peas ‧ ant /ˈpez ə nt/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
[ Date: 1400-1500 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: paisant , from païs 'country' , from Latin pagus ; ⇨ ↑ pagan 2 ]
1 . a poor farmer who owns or rents a small amount of land, either in past times or in poor countries:
Most villagers are peasant farmers.
2 . old-fashioned informal an insulting word for someone who does not behave politely in social situations or is not well educated