Where does “peonage” come from?
Peonage derives from Spanish peón, from Old French -age, from Latin pes meaning "foot," combined with Latin -icus and Proto-Indo-European -kos, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European ped- meaning "foot."
peonage (English): The state of being a peon; the system of paying...
Definitions
- The state of being a peon; the system of paying...
Ancestry of “peonage”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | peon | A lowly person; a peasant or serf; a labourer who... |
| 2 | Spanish | peón | foot soldier, infantryman; child's toy top;... |
| 3 | Latin | pedōnem | — |
| 4 | Latin | pēs | — |
| 5 | Ancient Greek | μέτρον | something used to measure: measure, rule, weight;... |
| 6 | Ancient Greek | -τρον | Forms instrument nouns |
| 7 | Proto-Hellenic | -tron | Forms instrument nouns from verb stems |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | -trom | Forms nouns denoting a tool or instrument |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | -tḗr | Derives agent nouns from verbs, denoting someone... |
Words derived from “peonage”