peonage
/ˈpiːənɪdʒ/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.62 in modern English
10
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
3
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
The state of being a peon; the system of paying back debt through servitude and labour; loosely, any system of involuntary servitude.
Example Sentences
- "But there was work to be done down in the Salinas Valley where César Chávez was organizing the grape pickers and lettuce workers out of their state of un-unionized peonage."
- ""It wasn't just the crowds," Luis said softly. "I saw with my own eyes that Díaz's México is a Potemkin village, Miguel. The México profundo where the poor are so hungry they eat grass and bark. I met Indians whose land is being devoured by Díaz's cronies, entire towns swallowed up, and the people reduced to peonage. I talked to Mexican railroad workers who are paid a fraction of what the American owners pay their own countrymen for the same work.""
Etymology
Etymology tree English peon Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-tós Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂tos Proto-Italic *-ātos Latin -ātus Proto-Indo-European *-ikos Proto-Italic *-ikos Latin -icus Latin -āticus Latin -āticum Old French -agebor. Middle English -age English -age English peonage From peon + -age.
Regional Pronunciation
- British English: /ˈpiːənɪdʒ/