peon (1)

[Fr.=a pawn in che , a foot-soldier; Sp. peon =a foot-soldier, a day-laborer, a pedestrian, from Low Lat. pedonem, acc us, of pedo a foot-soldier, from Lat. pes (gen it. ped is )=a foot.] pepinnier I. Ordinary Language: *1. One traveling on foot; a pedestrian. 2. In the East Indies, a native constable. 3. A day-laborer; a servant; spec if., in Mexico, a debtor held by his creditor in a form of qualified servitude, to work out his debt; a serf. *II. Che : A pawn. pê-ôn (2), s. [Penang dialect.] A rough spar cut from the Piney tree (q. v.).