I. ˈpez ə nt noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English paissaunt, from Middle French paisant, from Old French païsant, from païs country — more at paysage
1. : one of a chiefly European class that tills the soil as small free landowners or hired laborers
burgesses, peasants … have borne arms indistinguishable from those of the nobility — D.L.Galbreath
2. obsolete : a rascally person : scamp
thou shalt know I will predominate over the peasant — Shakespeare
3. : a rather uneducated uncouth person in the low income group
nobody gave a thought to the rest of us peasants — Bernard Taper
she was a complete peasant when she came here — Margery Allingham
II. adjective
1.
a. : of or relating to peasants : having the status of a peasant
the conservative peasant ideas of … immigrants — Oscar Handlin
most … were peasant stock whose descendants today hold important positions — American Guide Series: Minnesota
b. : based upon and characterized by a simple agricultural economy
Asian peasant societies
2. : of or resembling the designs in the clothing of peasants
a very pretty girl in a peasant blouse — Calvin Tompkins
3. : relating to native culture or art : produced by native craftsmen
lacking … any marked tradition of decorative peasant art — Charles Marriott
peasant wares were often so cheap — W.E.Cox