| 释义 |
peasantn.adj. Origin: A borrowing from French. Etymons: French paisant, païsant. Etymology: < Anglo-Norman paisant, paisaunt, paissant, pesant, pesaunt, peissant, peissaunt and Middle French païsant, paysant, païsan, French paysan (12th cent. in Anglo-Norman and Old French as païsant ) person who lives in the country and works on the land, native inhabitant, rustic, stupid person, probably < a suffixed form (see below) of post-classical Latin pagensis of or relating to the country or a country district (mid 7th cent.; 6th cent. as noun, denoting the inhabitant of a country district; compare note below) < classical Latin pāgus country district (see pagan n. and adj.) + -ēnsis (see -ese suffix). Compare post-classical Latin paisantus (1204 in a British source).The French word apparently reflects a formation on post-classical Latin pagensis (probably in an unrecorded use as noun) with a suffix -enc (borrowed from Frankish; probably cognate with -ing suffix3) which was apparently assimilated to adjectives in -ant (see -ant suffix1; compare also flamingo n.). The Old French form païsan (compare β forms) apparently represents a reanalysis of plural païsanz , païsans as reflecting a singular form païsan . Old Occitan pages (12th cent.), Spanish pages (1st half of 14th cent.), Catalan pagès (13th cent.) are apparently directly < Latin pagensis in the sense ‘inhabitant’. Italian paesano (a1294, early 14th cent. as adjective), Spanish paisano (1407–63) were probably originally independent formations, later influenced by French. An example of paisant glossing Latin colonus in a series of glosses from the second half of the 13th cent. in Anglo-Norman and English on John of Garland's Morale Scolarium is much more likely to show the Anglo-Norman than the Middle English word (see T. Hunt Teaching & Learning Lat. in 13th-cent. Eng. (1991) I. 151). Middle French, French paysan is also attested in adjectival use in the senses ‘rustic, stupid’ (1st half of 13th cent. in Old French; compare sense B. 1) and ‘concerning peasants’ (c1235 in Anglo-Norman in an apparently isolated attestation, 1666 in French; compare sense B. 2a). The French word was subsequently reborrowed into English as paysan n. A. n. 1. the world > food and drink > farming > farmer > [noun] > rustic or peasant society > society and the community > social class > the common people > specific classes of common people > peasant or rustic > [noun] α. a1450 (c1410) H. Lovelich (1913) II. l. 13069 (MED) Whanne that these passantes herde hem so say, thanne of on thing they gonne hem pray. c1475 (?c1451) (Royal) (1860) 73 (MED) If ye were wele..enfourmed of the gret persecucions..that many of suche officers have suffred to be done unponisshed to the pore comons, laborers, paissauntes of the saide duchie of Normandie, [etc.]. 1548 f. xlvi The comen people and peysantz of the countree assembled in greate nombre. 1598 R. Dallington sig. K ivv There is also the ‘Subiect’, that is, the poore paisant that laboureth and tilleth the fiefs. 1642 D. Rogers 275 Heaven lies no more open to a Noble mans performances and merits, then a pezants. 1664 H. More i. xxii. 85 There being a like fear of it..in Princes and Peasants, in Gentle and simple. 1710 C. Whitworth (1758) 48 They have no more freehold left, and their peasants or subjects, now immediately depend upon the Czar's officers. 1761 Chron. in 61/2 An address lately presented to the king of Sweden, by the speaker of the house of Peasants, assembled in diet. 1815 W. Wordsworth vii. 128 Help did she give at need, and joined The Wharfdale Peasants in their prayers. 1844 B. Disraeli I. iii. iii. 286 What can it signify..whether a man be called a labourer or a peasant? 1878 J. R. Seeley I. 433 Famished drudges..who, if they cannot be called serfs, can still less be called peasants, for a peasant properly so called must have a personal interest in the land. 1927 M. J. Olgin tr. F. Engels 18 The small peasants (bigger peasants belong to the bourgeoisie) are not homogeneous. They are either in serfdom bound to their lords and masters,..or they are tenants. 1956 R. Redfield i. 27 Those peoples are to be included in the cluster I shall call peasants who have..this in common: their agriculture is a livelihood and a way of life, not a business for profit. 1988 A. N. Wilson xiii. 312 He had often..yearned to lead a simple life, and to imitate the peasants. society > authority > subjection > service > feudal service > serfdom > [noun] > serf 1550 H. Latimer sig. Bii They oppressed the poore. They made them slaues, pessaunts, villaines & bondmen vnto them. 1570 P. Levens sig. Bivv/1 A Pesant, verna, seruus. society > society and the community > social class > the common people > specific classes of common people > peasant or rustic > [noun] > rude or ignorant 1576 A. Fleming tr. Erasmus in 344 Defaced by a companie of bussardly pezantes. 1594 T. Nashe sig. B3 A number of pesants and varlets. 1609 R. Cawdrey (ed. 2) Pesant, clowne. 1692 tr. C. de Saint-Évremond 290 But I esteem the Faith of a stupid Peasant, more than all the Lessons of Socrates. 1766 O. Goldsmith I. xv. 150 The ignorant peasant, without fault, is greater than the philosopher. 1791 R. Burns (1968) I. 577 Thou [sc. Death] strik'st the dull peasant, he sinks in the dark. 1873 Nov. 684/1 It's all inexpressably dreary. A stupid peasant scratching his head, a couple of critical Americans picking their steps. 1920 5 Jan. 7/2 The sophistries and delusions which were good enough for the ignorant Russian peasant, but which British common sense..will decisively reject. 1999 (Nexis) 27 July 15 He knows he can only survive if Serbia consists of nothing but brainwashed workers and stupid peasants. the mind > attention and judgement > bad taste > lack of refinement > [noun] > person the mind > mental capacity > lack of understanding > stupid, foolish, or inadequate person > stupid person, dolt, blockhead > lout, oaf, booby > [noun] society > morality > moral evil > evil nature or character > lack of magnanimity or noble-mindedness > [noun] > baseness or moral vileness > person 1581 ii. f. 39 The Subiects of Fraunce, which in reproche they call Pesaunts. 1591 i. sig. C3 Base heardgroome, coward, peasant, worse than a threshing slaue. 1601 R. Yarington iii. ii Thou weathercocke of mutabilitie, White-livered Paisant. 1602 W. Shakespeare ii. ii. 272 I will predominate ore the peasant [1623 pezant], And thou shalt lie with his wife. 1612 J. Taylor sig. D7 Thou ignoble horse-rubbing peasant,..being but a vilipendious mechanicall Hostler. 1840 G. Darley v. ii. 115 Thou liest, Base-hearted peasant! 1947 S. Bellow i. 10 She showed such a dread of hospitals that at last he exclaimed, ‘Don't be such a peasant, Elena!’ 1964 G. Lyall xix. 146 Alone? Of course I'm not alone, you—you peasant. D' you think I drive myself? 1990 Apr. 24/1 (cartoon) Get off me you peasant. Get off or I'll say that you touched my bottom! B. adj. (chiefly attributive) society > society and the community > social class > the common people > specific classes of common people > peasant or rustic > [adjective] society > morality > moral evil > evil nature or character > lack of magnanimity or noble-mindedness > [adjective] > base or vile the world > food and drink > farming > farmer > [adjective] > peasant or rustic 1550 R. Crowley sig. Biiiv The pore men (whom ye cal paisaunte knaues) haue deserued more then you can deuise to laie vpon them. 1596 E. Spenser vi. iii. sig. Bb6 Perdy thou peasant Knight, mightst rightly reed Me then to be full base and euill borne, If I would beare behinde a burden of such scorne. View more context for this quotation 1600 W. Shakespeare Induct. 33 This haue I rumour'd through the peasant townes. View more context for this quotation 1604 W. Shakespeare ii. ii. 552 O what a rogue and pesant slaue am I. View more context for this quotation 1702 N. Rowe iv. i. 1621 The Peasant-Hind, begot and born to Slavery. 1774 (ed. 13) 9 From his melon-ground the peasant slave Has rudely rush'd. 1838 J. H. Merivale I. 93 ‘Zounds!’ said the Gascon artisan, ‘I'll do more.’ ‘What canst thou do, O peasant slave and vile?’ 1863 E. H. Gillett xv. 466 There was no order of proceeding, no reserve in speech, and we were received in a rough and peasant style. 2. Of, relating to, or characteristic of a peasant or peasants. the world > food and drink > farming > farmer > [adjective] > peasant or rustic > relating to society > society and the community > social class > the common people > specific classes of common people > peasant or rustic > [adjective] > that is a peasant 1680 N. Tate iv. 13 Dar'st thou..presume To be ingrafted to the royal stock, And stain with peazant blood the race of kings? 1765 H. Brooke (Dublin ed.) I. iv. 138 His patron..received him, with accustomed tenderness, but greatly wonder'd at his peasant dress. 1829 W. Dimond i. iv. 20 Dancing Girls in Peasant Costume, scatter flowers profusely before the Litter of the Queen. 1880 A. J. Munby i. 3 Rural hardworking maidens Born but of peasant stock. 1929 T. Wolfe xii. 152 His peasant suspicion of new scenes, new faces.., of any life that differed from that of his village. 1951 H. Arendt ii. vii. 193 The Boers had lost both their peasant relationship to the soil and their civilized feeling for human fellowship. 1998 13 Sept. 15/1 There is..still a kind of ‘unorganised peasant credulity’ around in America. the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > [adjective] > other 1895 2 Apr. 11/7 The very latest is a cornflower blue glacé known as the Normandy Peasant Blouse. 1900 June p. xxii/2 A twin bedstead..is covered with peasant tapestry designed by Mr. Godfrey Blunt. 1911 8 Apr. 20/2 (advt.) The new peasant sleeves are featured in the waist part of these garments. 1953 ‘T. Sturgeon’ iii. 167 Janie in a peasant blouse, with a straight spear of morning sunlight bent and moulded to her bare shoulder. 1962 L. Deighton vii. 45 The rugs..of simple dark-toned peasant weaves. 1975 I. S. Black v. 66 A peasant-weave curtain covered the window. 1984 Spring–Summer 51 Peasant blouse has elasticized neckline that can be worn on or off the shoulder. Compounds C1. a. General attributive. (a) 1911 D. Jurkovič et al. (title) Slovak peasant art and melodies. 1991 (Nexis) 3 May His sculptures may occasionally faintly evoke Donatello or Italian peasant art. 1844 20 Aug. 5/5 In the peasant or agricultural class, some violent speeches have been made against the clergy. 1954 B. North & R. North tr. M. Duverger ii. i. 265 It [sc. the Communist party in the Soviet Union]..gave the working class of the towns preponderance over a peasant class that was actually more numerous. 2003 (Nexis) 23 Dec. a1/1 The changes do not have a direct impact on China's peasant class. 1883 2 Oct. 5/1 The report..is..proposing..to reconstruct and reorganise the peasant commune. 1910 I. 563/1 He [sc. Alexander III]..placed the autonomous administration of the peasant communes under the supervision of landed proprietors appointed by the government. 1992 E. Acton (BNC) 84 The myth..that it was possible for Russia to bypass capitalism, moving directly from semi-feudalism to socialism based on the peasant commune. 1859 K. von Raumer in H. Barnard i. iv. 64 In contrast with her is a terribly dark side, a peasant community in the deepest depravity. 1920 W. I. Thomas & F. Znaniecki IV. p. xii Many individuals..consider the social isolation and relatively low cultural level of the peasant communities an undesirable phenomenon. 2003 (Nexis) 24 Dec. 2 The rebels said they agreed to the release after a humanitarian commission visited peasant communities. 1796 S. J. Pratt (ed. 2) lxiii. 115 This peasant family were then celebrating it [sc. the last day of Carme]. 1859 C. Dickens iii. xii. 229 That peasant-family so injured by the two Evrémonde brothers..is my family. 1974 tr. A. Snieckus 75 Inefficient, semi-natural farms, unbearable tax burdens, and constant anxiety over the future—such was the lot of many, many peasant families. 1866 July 461 We shall have to speak hereafter of the peasant farming of the Channel Islands. 1936 tr. V. Lenin III. 183 Peasant farming also evolves in a capitalist way and gives rise to a rural bourgeoisie and a rural proletariat. 1995 N. Hudson (ed. 3) xiv. 362 There is today severe destruction occurring as the result of the spread of small-scale peasant farming onto land which cannot possibly support this in the long term. 1828 F. D. Hemans Lady of Castle in (ed. 2) 197 With alms before her castle gate she stood, Midst peasant groups. 1934 XII. 52/2 Even within a single country such as Germany local differences—physiographic, economic, historical—make for a very considerable variation among peasant groups. 1989 A. Wilentz (1990) viii. 279 The peasant groups..sometimes built silos to stockpile grains like rice and corn that would otherwise have gone to waste. 1875 4 Mar. 4/5 The Defenders—a rude peasant league against what was afterwards known as Orangeism. 1988 T. Cubitt (BNC) 133 Despite the successes of the Brazilian peasant leagues and rural syndicates, these were not class movements. 1833 5 Mar. 6/1 Remove those tendencies of the peasant mind which..cannot fail to record themselves in letters of blood and fire. 1911 J. London 8 Jan. (1966) 330 Charmian has no peasant-mind. 1995 (Nexis) 26 Feb. 24 In the superstitious peasant mind she was likened to the goddess Durga. 1875 W. T. Adams xv. 222 We often met a peasant party in a rude wagon. 1911 XIX. 813/1 The ‘lawyers' party’..and the ‘peasant party’..formed an alliance. 2003 (Nexis) 21 Aug. PSL should be moving away from its image as anti-liberal peasant party. 1873 VI. 543/2 These peasant-plays had less regularity in their dramatic form. 1990 67 418/2 The seventeenth century is typified by the domination of satiric comedy and the emergence of..the peasant play. 1870 July 119 After many sanguinary contests the Peasant Revolution failed. 1950 E. H. Carr I. i. i. 4 Narodniks—a composite name for a succession of revolutionary groups believing in the theory of peasant revolution and..terrorism against members of the autocracy. 1995 Apr. 33/1 He fell in with the Petrashevsky Circle, a radical group dedicated to stirring up a peasant revolution. 1869 23 Nov. 4/2 His Majesty..caused it to be officially negatived that he has any sympathy with the so-called ‘Patriotic Peasant Societies’ and their ‘furibund’ declamations against Prussia, Lutheranism, and the like. 1949 E. Coxhead vii. 176 Hermia..would frequently deplore the Fascist trend latent in peasant societies. 2003 (Nexis) 26 Oct. 1 Romania.., a peasant society that still tills the land with ox-drawn plows. (b) 1901 11 Dec. 5/5 An exhibition of Russian peasant-made articles. 2000 R. E. Seavoy v. 212 Purchasing monopolies were granted by daimyo to designated merchants to purchase peasant made handicraft items at below market prices. 1939 18 Dec. 9/5 A hand-printed..silk square is a gift with many uses, as peasant-style headgear or to give a touch of colour at the neck. 2002 (Nexis) 5 Apr. e1 Choose a romantic peasant-style shirt with stitching detail and long sleeves. b. Appositive. 1698 J. Savage II. v. 177 The eldest of them generally eats with him at Table with his Cap off, and every one of them has a Peasant-boy to wait on him. 1777 C. Reeve 17 His goodness to me, a peasant boy, only known to him by my lord's kind and partial mention. 1992 L. Appignanesi (BNC) 363 He was..not some peasant boy she could steal away with the promise of a better life. 1848 J. S. Mill I. i. iv. 72 When a peasant farmer or proprietor lives on the produce of his land. 1906 21 Mar. 6/6 Of peasant-farmer stock, the elder Bunsen..became tutor in an English family. 1994 18 July 4/2 Hutus, mostly peasant farmers, make up eighty-five percent of the population. 1694 E. Settle 54 Alas, the poorest Lowborn Peasant Girl, That never heard of Crowns above a Garland. 1883 C. M. Yonge I. ix. 99 She kept the cows and knitted like a peasant girl. 2004 (Nexis) 24 Jan. a15/4 It is precisely this low status of peasant girls in so many countries that makes the trafficking possible. 1883 Macmillan's Mag. (heading) in 29 Sept. 2/6 A Swiss peasant novelist. 1978 M. Poster vii. 189 In the case of the peasant novelist Restif de la Bretonne, however, evidence is given of loose and frequent sexual practices in a Burgundian village in the eighteenth century. 1889 June 423 Peasant owners before the Revolution owned one-half of the cultivated land of France. 1974 J. White tr. N. Poulantzas vi. i. 275 The small peasant owners are the ‘rural petty bourgeoisie’ par excellence. 1798 62 The peasant poets were composing couplets, while all the village was severally employed in preparing their grateful festivity. 1857 W. Bagehot (1965) II. 24 The eager peasant-poet was at fault in the..refinements of the..drawing-room. 2003 (Nexis) 20 Apr. 2 John Clare, peasant poet and pastoral hero. 1794 A. Young (ed. 2) I. xix. 542 Caussade.—This country is full of peasant proprietors of land. 1899 G. B. Shaw Dec. (1972) II. 121 You have to deal with a war [sc. the Boer war] declared by a peasant-proprietor State. 2000 (Nexis) 20 Apr. 21 The legion of peasant proprietors, still using horses to pull their ploughs across their tiny southern Polish plots. 1846 30 Nov. 3/5 Mr. O'Brien lays down, as his grand nostrum, the establishment of a peasant proprietary. 1903 25 Mar. 2/1 The peasant-proprietary clauses did not work; rackrenting continued, evictions increased. 1973 M. Brown xviiii. 292 The outcry for a peasant proprietary..was suddenly taken up seriously by Irish landlords themselves. the mind > possession > owning > [noun] > ownership of land > by peasants 1851 May 269/2 The very able discussions on the subject of peasant-proprietorship, contained in the Political Economy of the younger Mill. 1960 R. K. Webb xi. 338 The abuses of peasant proprietorship in France. 2002 32 456 In the case of India..landlords who employ unfree labour will be replaced..by ‘pure’ agrarian capitalists who employ nothing but free wage labour, a stage in which peasant proprietorship reigns supreme. 1710 tr. V. Bianchi 6 These Peasant Soldiers..are continually instructed in Military Exercises. 1871 E. Lazarus 230 A red clad peasant soldier Goes pacing up and down. 1988 G. Szirtes 54 He stands gently and placidly, tall, slim, Melancholy, prepared for sacrifice, A peasant soldier, simple as they come. 1849 Jan. 230 To deprive the owners of the rents which they received from their peasant-tenants was in fact to deprive them of their estates. 1987 C. Brooke (ed. 2) 114 Even his [sc. the lord's] own domain was in large measure tilled by the peasant tenants. 1779 W. Coxe 432 His wife..[is] dressed like the peasant women of the country. 1891 T. Hardy II. xxxv. 209 You are an unapprehending peasant woman. 2003 (Nexis) 1 Dec. 12 Mary sings this song as a woman of the people, like millions of poor peasant women in Latin America. 1913 17 Mar. 10/3 The average earning of a peasant worker is from 2s. 6d to 3s. a week. 1991 Jan. 35/2 Peasant workers..‘disappeared’ after being seized by soldiers from the army's counter-insurgency Mobile Brigade..in the Magdalena Medio region. c. Objective. 1844 P. Harwood 145 To check the system of torture, house-burning, and peasant-shooting. 2003 (Nexis) 29 Nov. (Weekend Mag.) 31 There are Roman newspapers, peasant-shooting announcements pinned on trees and a ‘This is Your Life’ cartoon on the piratical Blackbeard. d. Complementary. 1798 H. Brand Adelinda iv. ii, in 323 Were I peasant born, not the sharp pang of houseless poverty should tempt me to such base, such low-souled dishonesty. 1859 C. Dickens iii. v. 184 Lovely girls; bright women;..stalwart men and old; gentle born and peasant born; all red wine for La Guillotine. 1895 5 Nov. 2/1 A grind of Greek grammar by night will not eliminate the peasant in the peasant-born. 1988 (Nexis) 9 Sept. vi. 8/1 The imprisoned Noah..is made to assume his ceremonial duties, speeches, even his bedroom frolics with Simms' fiery peasant-born mistress. e. Parasynthetic. 1951 24 257 The transformation of the Chinese Communist Party into a peasant-based party. 1994 26 May 4/2 The quest for community rights that has been the consistent objective of peasant-based movements. 1875 May 614/2 Her brother..was laboriously painting family saints and peasant-faced Virgins for a bare subsistence in a back street in Naples. 1979 J. Gardner xii. 44 A big peasant-faced lumpish boy. 1924 M. Arlen iii. 93 These peasant-minded noblewomen, these matrons who appear to have gained in youth what they have lost in dignity. 2003 (Nexis) 11 Aug. 10 I am convinced that this peasant-minded religious zealot should be executed. C2. society > trade and finance > management of money > management of national resources > [noun] > political economy > types of economic system 1883 6 Jan. 38/1 The extraordinary disregard for the value of time in the peasant economy is most remarkable. 1917 Aug. 156 The peasant economy of Europe has a place for the labor of the child. 1994 P. Ormerod (1995) iii. 63 Markets had never evolved beyond those of rudimentary village agriculture, which have characterised peasant economies for thousands of years. the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > according to family > Cruciferae (crucifers) > [noun] > cress 1597 J. Gerard ii. 209 Pesants Mustarde. 1786 II. 226 To pray you rich, yet keep you poor, Ye peasant train! I can't endure. 1813 W. S. Walker 84 Recent from toil, the weary peasant-train Reclined their languid limbs along the plain. 1864 J. M. Neale xxiv. 28 They hurry onwards towards the wall The helpless peasant train, Whose corpses soon shall form the way By which their lord may reach his prey. Derivatives the world > food and drink > farming > farmer > [noun] > rustic or peasant 1841 H. F. Chorley (1844) III. 88 Here were peasantesses, presiding over their homely wares in enormous winged caps. a1924 S. Baring-Gould (1925) 60 A statue of a Tyrolean peasantess..was a representation of S. Nothburga. the world > food and drink > farming > farmer > [noun] > rustic or peasant > quality or condition society > society and the community > social class > the common people > specific classes of common people > peasant or rustic > [noun] > quality or condition of 1830 773/1 The homely dress she wore in the days of her peasanthood. 1899 H. D. Rawnsley 37 To come between Our restless crowds of rovers and the scene Where is simplicity of peasanthood. 2002 (Nexis) 1 June 14 The reign of the second Queen Elizabeth may not be recorded by historians in quite the same tones as the ‘golden age’ of Elizabeth I, but for those who live in the English countryside, it has seen the emergence from peasanthood. 1599 T. Heywood sig. P Pesant-like vnheard of treachery. 1703 R. Steele ii. i What a Peasant-like Amour do these course Words import? 1886 W. J. Tucker 303 The room..was..partly peasant-like in its appurtenances and partly burgher-like. 1989 S. Sucharitkul i. xiii. 144 He knew that she would think it vulgar and peasantlike of him, but the situation did not warrant the preservation of such niceties as might preoccupy the minds of folk at home. society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > district in relation to human occupation > town as opposed to country > village > [noun] > small village or hamlet 1762 P. Murdoch tr. A. F. Büsching IV. 339 These prefecturates consist of parishes, and the parishes in them of peasantships, which are properly small villages..in which many peasants reside together. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2005; most recently modified version published online June 2022). † peasantv.Origin: Formed within English, by conversion. Etymon: peasant n. Obsolete. rare. society > authority > subjection > service > feudal service > serfdom > make serf [verb (transitive)] 1598 J. Marston i. ii. sig. C2 But now, (sad change!) the kennell sinck of slaues, Pesant great bloods, and seruile seruice craues. 1598 J. Marston iii. x. sig. I That now poore Soule, (Thus pesanted to each lewd thoughts controule). This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2005; most recently modified version published online December 2020). <  n.adj.a1450 v.1598 |
