pe|on

pe|on «PEE on, -uhn», noun.

1. a) a person doing work that requires little skill; unskilled worker. b) an impoverished Indian laborer in Latin America.

2. (formerly in the southwestern United States and Mexico) a worker held for service to work off a debt.

3. (formerly, in India) any of various workers: a) a foot soldier; b) a constable; c) an attendant or orderly.

╂[(definition 1, 2) American English < Mexican Spanish peón; (definition 3) < Portuguese peão foot soldier; both < Late Latin pedō, -ōnis splay-footed. See etym. of doublet pawn ². (Cf. ↑pawn)]