different between peasant vs villein

English

Etymology

From Late Middle English paissaunt, from Anglo-Norman paisant, from Middle French païsant (“païsant”), from Old French païsan (“countryman, peasant”), from païs (“country”), from Late Latin p?g?nsis (“inhabitant of a district”), from Latin p?gus (“district”) + Old French -enc (“member of”), from Frankish -inc, -ing "-ing". More at -ing. Doublet of paisano.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?p?z?nt/
• Rhymes: -?z?nt

Noun

peasant (plural peasants)

1. A member of the lowly social class that toils on the land, constituted by small farmers and tenants, sharecroppers, farmhands and other laborers on the land where they form the main labor force in agriculture and horticulture.
2. A country person.
3. (derogatory) An uncouth, crude or ill-bred person.
4. (strategy games) A worker unit.

Synonyms

• (lowly social class) peon, serf
• churl
• (country person) rustic, villager
• (crude person) boor

Derived terms

• peasantry

Translations

Further reading

• "peasant" in Raymond Williams, Keywords (revised), 1983, Fontana Press, page 231.

Anagrams

• Patanes, Pestana, Tapanes, anapest, patenas

English

Alternative forms

• villain (archaic)

Etymology

From Anglo-Norman vilein, variant of vilain; from Medieval Latin villanus (“field hand”), from Latin villa (“country home”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?v?l?n/, /?v?le?n/

Noun

villein (plural villeins)

1. (historical) A feudal tenant.

Hyponyms

• neif (female)

Related terms

• villain

Translations

Finnish

Adjective

villein

1. superlative degree of villi

Declension

Adjective

villein

1. Instructive plural form of villi.

Anagrams

• villien

Old French

Noun

villein m (oblique plural villeinz, nominative singular villeinz, nominative plural villein)

1. Alternative form of vilain