FACTOID # 120: Nepal’s flag is the only one in the world that isn't square or rectangular.
 
 Home   Encyclopedia   Statistics   Countries A-Z   Flags   Maps   Education   Forum   FAQ   About 
 
WHAT'S NEW
RELATED ARTICLES
People who viewed "Peon" also viewed:
RECENT ARTICLES
More Recent Articles »
 

SEARCH ALL

FACTS & STATISTICS   

Search encyclopedia, statistics and forums:

 

 

(* = Graphable)

 

 


Encyclopedia > Peon

Look up peon, peón in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

The words peon and peonage are derived from the Spanish peón (pe'on). Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Wiktionary (a portmanteau of wiki and dictionary) is a multilingual, Web-based project to create a free content dictionary, available in over 150 languages. ...

Contents

Spanish usage

In its obsolete usage in Spain itself, the word denoted a person who travelled by foot rather than on a horse (caballero). It now means a chess pawn, or a trompo (a kind of top). Binomial name Equus caballus Linnaeus, 1758 The horse (Equus caballus, sometimes seen as a subspecies of the Wild Horse, Equus ferus caballus) is a large odd-toed ungulate mammal, one of ten modern species of the genus Equus. ... Chess is a recreational and competitive game for two players. ... Initial placement of the pawns. ... There are very few or no other articles that link to this one. ... erendir A top with sides marked in Braille A top, or spinning top, is a childrens toy that can be spun on an axis, balancing on a point. ...


In Spain and other Spanish-speaking countries, especially those in Latin America, where the hacienda system kept labourers from leaving estates, peón has also a range of meanings related to unskilled or semi-skilled work or manual labour, whether referring to a low-status wage earner in a variety of rural and urban industries (especially a day labourer or a servant); a peasant; a bullfighter's assistant, or, historically, someone subject to forms of unfree labour. Latin America consists of the countries of South America and some of North America (including Central America and some the islands of the Caribbean) whose inhabitants mostly speak Romance languages, although Native American languages are also spoken. ... Hacienda is a Spanish word describing a vast ranch, common in the Pampa. ... Manual labour (or manual labor) is physical work done with the hands, especially in an unskilled job such as fruit and vegetable picking, road building, or any other field where the work may be considered physically arduous, and which has as a profitable objective, usually the production of goods. ... A wage is a compensation which workers receive in exchange for their labor. ... Sign in a rural area in Dalarna, Sweden Qichun, a rural town in Hubei province, China An artists rendering of an aerial view of the Maryland countryside: Jane Frank (Jane Schenthal Frank, 1918-1986), Aerial Series: Ploughed Fields, Maryland, 1974, acrylic and mixed materials on apertured double canvas, 52... Crowded Shibuya, Tokyo shopping district An urban area is an area with an increased density of human-created structures in comparison to the areas surrounding it. ... Day labor is work done where the worker is hired and paid one day at a time, with no promise that more work will be available in the future. ... A servant is a person who is hired to provide regular household or other duties, and receives compensation. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Spanish toreo, corrida de toros or tauromaquia; Portuguese corrida de touros or tauromaquia) is a blood sport that involves, most of the times, professional performers (matadores) who execute various formal moves with the goal of appearing graceful and confident, while masterful over the bull itself; these maneuvers are performed at... Unfree labour is a generic or collective term for those work relations, especially in modern or early modern history, in which people are employed against their will by the threat of destitution, detention, violence (including death), or other extreme hardship to themselves, or to members of their families. ...


English usage

The English words peon and peonage were derived from the Spanish word, and have a variety of meanings related to the Spanish usages, as well as some other meanings. In the English-speaking world in general, the term peon is used colloquially to mean a person with little authority, often assigned unskilled or drudgerous tasks; an underling. In this sense, peon can be used in either a derogatory or self-effacing context. The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ...


It is widely thought that a peon is so named because they are so low in standing as to be urinated upon, hence pee-on. This is a false etymology and has no factual backing. A false etymology is an assumed or postulated etymology which is incorrect from the perspective of modern scholarly work in historical linguistics. ...


There are several ways in which the word is used:

See also: Black Codes in the USA
  • South Asian English: a peon is usually an office boy, an attendant, or an orderly, a person kept around for odd jobs (and, historically, a policeman or foot soldier). In an unrelated South Asian sense, "peon" may also be an alternative spelling for the poon tree (genus Calophyllum) or its wood, especially when used in boat-building.
  • Computing slang: a peon is an "unprivileged user"—a person without special privileges on a computer system. The opposite is a "superuser."
  • In the Warcraft universe it's the name of the Orc unit, used to construct buildings and gather resources.
  • In the television show Scrubs, "The Worthless Peons" is a band that features regularly on the show.

For other uses, see American English (disambiguation). ... Debt bondage or bonded labor is a means of paying off a familys loans via the labor of family members or heirs. ... An Indentured servant is an unfree labourer under contract to work (for a specified amount of time) for another person, often without any pay, but in exchange for accommodation, food, other essentials and/or free passage to a new country. ... The Black Codes were laws passed on the state and local level in the United States to restrict the civil rights and civil liberties of Black People, particularly former slaves. ... Indian English is a catch-all phrase for the dialects or varieties of English spoken widely in India (by about 11% of the population, according to the 1991 census) and the Indian subcontinent in general. ... Species Calophyllum amoenum Calophyllum angulare Calophyllum angustifolium Calophyllum antillanum Calophyllum australianum Calophyllum austroindicum Calophyllum bicolor Calophyllum biflorum Calophyllum blancoi Calophyllum bracteatum Calophyllum brasiliense Calophyllum cholobtaches Calophyllum calaba Calophyllum caledonicum Calophyllum candidissimum Calophyllum canum Calophyllum carrii Calophyllum cerasiferum Calophyllum collinum Calophyllum cordato-oblongum Calophyllum coriaceum Calophyllum costatum Calophyllum curtisii Calophyllum dasypodum... Memory (Random Access Memory) Look up computing in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... On many computer operating systems, superuser, or root, is the term used for the special user account that is controlled by the system administrator. ... // The Warcraft universe is a fictional universe in which a series of games and books are set. ... Male and Female Orcs as seen in the World of Warcraft. ... Scrubs is an Emmy- and Peabody Award-winning American situation comedy that premiered on October 2, 2001 on NBC. It was created by Bill Lawrence, who also co-created Spin City. ...

Peonage

Labor was in great need to support the expanding agriculture, mining, industrial, and public-work jobs that arose from conquerors settling in the Americas. To account for these jobs a system came about where creditors forced debtors to work for them. This system of involuntary servitude was called peonage. The origin of this form of involuntary servitude goes back to the Spanish Conquest of Mexico when Conquerors forced poor Indians to work for Spanish planters and mine operators. Peonage was prevalent in Spanish America especially in the countries of Mexico, Guatemala, Ecuador, and Peru. Peonage was also common in the South of the United States after the American Civil War. Poor white farmers and African-Americans who could not afford their own land would farm another white man's crops. This was called sharecropping and initially the benefits were mutual. The land owner would pay for the seeds and tools in exchange for a percentage of the money earned from the crop and a portion of the crop. However, as time passed many landowners began to abuse this system. Instead of the benefits remaining beneficial, the landowner would force the tenant farmer to buy seeds and tools from the land owner’s store which had inflated prices. Many of the tenant farmers could not afford these costs so they were forced to involuntary labor due to the debts they owed the land owner. After the Civil War, the Thirteenth Amendment was added to the United States Constitution, which prohibited involuntary servitude such as peonage for all but convicted criminals. Congress also passed various laws to protect the constitutional rights of Southern blacks, making those who violated such rights by conspiracy, by trespass, or in disguise, guilty of an offense punishable by ten years in prison and civil disability. Unlawful use of state law to subvert rights under the Federal Constitution was made punishable by fine or a year's imprisonment. But up till 1960 some sharecroppers in Southern states were forced to continue working to pay off old debts or to pay taxes. Southern states allowed this in order to preserve sharecropping. Amendment XIII in the National Archives The Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution officially abolished, and continues to prohibit, slavery, and, with limited exceptions, those convicted of a crime, prohibits involuntary servitude. ... Page one of the original copy of the Constitution. ... The Congress of the United States is the legislative branch of the federal government of the United States of America. ...


References

Hodges v. U.S. (1906) 203 U.S. 1


See also


  Results from FactBites:
 
Peon - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (264 words)
The words peon and peonage are derived from the Spanish peón.
The English words peon and peonage were derived from the Spanish word, and have a variety of meanings related to the Spanish usages, as well as some other meanings.
South Asian English: a peon is usually an office boy, an attendant, or an orderly, a person kept around for odd jobs (and, historically, a policeman or foot soldier).
peon - definition of peon in Encyclopedia (192 words)
The word peon, derived from the Spanish peón, in its root connoting a person who is on foot rather than mounted (see caballero), and the derivation peonage are English words which have a variety of related meanings:
In computing slang, a peon is someone with no special (root or wheel) privileges on a computer system -- also known as a luser or, officially, an "unprivileged user".
In varieties of English used in South Asia, a peon is usually an office boy, an attendant, or an orderly, a person kept around for odd jobs (and historically, it also means a policeman or foot soldier).
  More results at FactBites »

 

COMMENTARY     


Share your thoughts, questions and commentary here
Your name
Your location
Your comments
Please enter the 5-letter protection code


Lesson Plans | Student Area | Student FAQ | Reviews | Press Releases |  Feeds | Contact
The Wikipedia article included on this page is licensed under the GFDL.
Images may be subject to relevant owners' copyright.
All other elements are (c) copyright NationMaster.com 2003-5. All Rights Reserved.
Usage implies agreement with terms.