South Asian dialects of English: a peon is an office boy, an attendant, or an orderly, a person kept around for odd jobs (and, historically, a policeman or foot soldier).
Where does peon come from?
It comes from the Spanish peón, meaning “peasant” or “day laborer.” The word derives from the Latin root ped-, meaning “foot” (as seen in words like pedal and pedestrian). Historically, peons worked on their feet. In parts of the U.S., the word referred to farm workers and other low-paid, unskilled laborers.
What is a synonym for peon?
Definitions of peon. a laborer who is obliged to do menial work. synonyms: drudge, galley slave, navvy. type of: jack, laborer, labourer, manual laborer.
What is peon slang for?
A (figurative) peon (reflecting the former institution of peonage and modern analogs of it) is a person with little authority, often assigned unskilled tasks, or an underling or any person subjected to capricious or unreasonable oversight.
What do peons do? – Related Questions
What is a Mexican peon?
Peons are agricultural workers tied to large estates (haciendas). In most cases they live on the haciendas, on land rented from the estate, and in return have to provide labor services to the landlord.
Where does the last name peon come from?
Where Does The Last Name Peon Come From? The surname Peon (Russian: Пеон) is borne by more people in Spain than any other country or territory. It may also be rendered as a variant: Peón or Péon.
What does the French word peon mean?
Noun. peon (plural peons) A lowly person; a peasant or serf; a labourer who is obliged to do menial work.
Where did the insult SAP come from?
Sap is an American slang term for an idiot or sucker. According to Daniel Cassidy, the dork of New York, in his crap book of fake etymologies, How The Irish Invented Slang, this derives from the Irish sop, which according to him means ‘a wisp of straw, a useless lout, a cowardly weak fellow, a silly person.
Is SAP an abusive word?
If someone calls you “a sap,” it suggests you lack strength and character. And if you get sap — the sticky liquid inside a tree — on your hands, good luck getting it off in the middle of a forest without a bar of soap and running water. Yuck.
What is a slapper in Ireland?
(countable, UK, Ireland, slang) A prostitute.
Why is Pratt an insult?
If you describe someone as a prat, you are saying in an unkind way that you think that they are very stupid or foolish. What’s that prat doing out there now?
What does you Pillock mean?
/ˈpɪl.ək/ a stupid or silly person: You pillock, look what you’ve done!
Who is a Pillock?
Definitions of pillock. a person who is not very bright. synonyms: dolt, dullard, poor fish, pudden-head, pudding head, stupe, stupid, stupid person. types: berk. a stupid person who is easy to take advantage of.
Is Prat a cuss word?
Prat. A low-key curse work for a stupid person. Pratting around could also be used to describe someone behaving in a foolish way.
Why do Brits say bloody?
Bloody. Don’t worry, it’s not a violent word… it has nothing to do with “blood”.”Bloody” is a common word to give more emphasis to the sentence, mostly used as an exclamation of surprise. Something may be “bloody marvellous” or “bloody awful“. Having said that, British people do sometimes use it when expressing anger…
Is the F word English?
The f-word is of Germanic origin, related to Dutch, German, and Swedish words for “to strike” and “to move back and forth.” It first appears, though, only in the 16th century, in a manuscript of the Latin orator Cicero.
How do the British swear?
Bollocks
One of the greatest British swear words is bollocks. It means testicles, but it’s used in some wonderful ways, most often to exclaim when something has gone wrong: “The train’s delayed and we’re going to miss our flight.” “Bollocks!”
What is the British F word?
The F Word (also called Gordon Ramsay’s F Word) is a British cookery programme featuring chef Gordon Ramsay. The programme covers a wide range of topics, from recipes to food preparation and celebrity food fads. The programme was made by Optomen Television and aired weekly on Channel 4.
Is bloody the F word in England?
Bloody is a common swear word that is considered to be milder and less offensive than other, more visceral alternatives. In 1994, it was the most commonly spoken swear word, accounting for around 650 of every million words said in the UK – 0.064 per cent.
What Brits say when they screw up?
Bollix. Dictionary.com says bollix means “to do (something) badly; bungle (often followed by up), E.g. ‘His interference bollixed up the whole deal. ‘” This word is also spelled bolix and bollocks, which has a decidedly British feel to it.
