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It is a word that you don't here that often nowadays, but from what I remember it always referred to the lowest skilled workers at construction sites. I assume that in other contexts would apply to the same kind of labourers.

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Note added at 16 mins (2004-10-15 12:54:32 GMT)
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http://wordreference.com/es/en/translation.asp?spen=peon&v=b
peón m
1 unskilled labourer o US laborer
2 Ajedrez pawn

- Source: Diccionario Espasa Concise © 2000 Espasa Calpe

peón1.
(Del lat. pedo, -ōnis).
1. m. Jornalero que trabaja en cosas materiales que no requieren arte ni habilidad.
2. m. Soldado de infantería.
3. m. Juguete de madera, de forma cónica y terminado en una púa de hierro, al cual se arrolla una cuerda para lanzarlo y hacerle bailar.
4. m. Cada una de las ocho piezas negras y ocho blancas, respectivamente iguales y de calidad menor, del juego del ajedrez.
5. m. Árbol de la noria o de cualquier otra máquina que gira como ella.
6. m. Colmena de abejas.
7. m. Persona que actúa subordinada a los proyectos e intereses de otra.
8. m. Taurom. peón de brega.
9. m. ant. peatón (ǁ persona que va a pie).
~ caminero.
1. m. Obrero destinado a la conservación y reparación de los caminos públicos.
~ de brega.
1. m. Taurom. Torero subalterno que ayuda al matador durante la lidia.
~ de mano.
1. m. Constr. Operario que ayuda al oficial de albañil para emplear los materiales.
~ doblado.
1. m. En el juego de ajedrez, peón que se coloca delante o detrás de otro de igual color, por haber comido una pieza o peón del color contrario.
a ~.
1. loc. adv. coloq. Dicho especialmente de la perdiz: andando (ǁ dando pasos).
a torna ~.
1. loc. adv. coloq. a torna punta.
□ V.
alférez mayor de los peones

DO YOU WANT A TRANSLATION INTO SPANISH??? THE WORD PEON IS in ENGLISH already and below are the meanings IN ENGLISH



when used by an ENGLISH speaker, it means a person of lowly status who does manual labor on behalf of a boss..here's an Internet round-up which is correct.
Pe´on
n. 1. See Poon.
1. A foot soldier; a policeman; also, an office attendant; a messenger.
2. A day laborer; a servant; especially, in some of the Spanish American countries, debtor held by his creditor in a form of qualified servitude, to work out a debt.
3. (Chess) See 2d Pawn.
Noun 1. peon - a laborer who is obliged to do menial work
Synonyms: navvy, drudge, galley slave
(jargon) peon - A person with no special (root or wheel) privileges on a computer system. "I can't create an account on foovax for you; I'm only a peon there."

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 Spanish-speaking countries, especially those in Latin America, where the hacienda system kept laborers unfree to leave the estate, peon has 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 (see debt bondage).

In the United States, in a historical and legal sense, peon generally has only the latter meaning, i.e. someone working in various unfree labour systems, known collectively in the US as "peonage", especially debt bondage. (Compare indenture.)



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Note added at 31 mins (2004-10-15 13:09:40 GMT)
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A PERSON OF LOWLY STATUS WHO DOES MENIAL LABOR FOR VERY LOW WAGES...

This book refers to PARAGUAY.....but the USE IN ENGLISH of the word has the meaning given above....

"Peón" is used everywhere, not to talk about peasants but about rural workers. There's a difference between a peasant and a rural worker: the peasant owns a piece of land (it may be a very small one), the rural worker works someone else's land. Peasant="Campesino". Peon="Peón"