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agrarian

agrarian

2 6.3
A person who supports or works in farming
  • noun
  • /əˈɡrɛəriən/
translation icon : agricultor
  • Cherokee became skilled agrarians; many moved into brick homes with fine china, cloth, and silver; some, we should note, even built plantations and took slaves.
  • societies from agrarian
  • shift from agrarian

Examples

  • Through time, as societies evolve from agrarian to industrial and information-based economies, the landscape mirrors accompanying shifts in how people obtain food, what they eat, and where they work.

    Academic text (2006)
  • That's because in the long run, the defenders of the customary agrarian order lost.

  • His ideal city seems to be a kind of agrarian democracy, a small scale agrarian society.

  • In the last 100 years of the road's history, American society shifted from agrarian to industrial, with the rise of the second Industrial Revolution.

    Academic text (2012)
  • The shift from traditional to secular-rational values is linked to the shift from agrarian to industrial societies.

    Academic text (2009)
  • So Bruce asks, would this virtue be a parent in an agrarian community or hunter gatherer group?

  • Even though the vast majority lacked much formal education and understanding of modern science, the most isolated agrarian seemingly sensed the value of growing tobacco.

    Academic text (2007)
  • Clearly, the meritocratic belief in schooling has fit well with the ethic of hard work and self-improvement and the entrepreneurial spirit of the American character, having propelled the U.S. through its transition from an agrarian to an industrial society and now into a postindustrial, global age.

    Academic text (2008)
  • In 1932, for instance, company personnel arranged with the A. J. Hend Produce Company of Nashville for Berrien County agrarians to raise 235 acres of contracted tomatoes.

    Academic text (2007)
  • Many agrarians believe in sustainable farming practices that benefit the environment.

Synonyms

farmer
vsagrarian
898 1.0

A person who grows crops or raises animals on a farm

is broader, including mere support or general involvement in rural life
peasant
vsagrarian
157 3.5

A person who works on land for a living, usually on a small farm

is neutral about scale or economic status of rural involvement
grower
vsagrarian
87 2.6

A person who raises plants or crops to sell

can also mean someone who simply supports or lives a rural life
farm worker
vsagrarian
25 1.1

A person who works on a farm doing jobs like planting or harvesting

is more general, covering anyone who supports rural life in any role
small farmer
vsagrarian
9 2.0

A person who owns or works on a small farm to grow food

is broader and may include nonworking supporters of rural life
farmhand
vsagrarian
8 3.0

A person paid to work on a farm doing hard work

can instead mean general support or interest in rural living
farmworker
vsagrarian
5 1.6

A person who works on a farm doing physical tasks like planting and caring for animals

is broader, including unpaid involvement or general rural preference
campesino
vsagrarian
5 8.2

A person who works as a farmer in rural areas, especially in Latin America

is the general idea of supporting or taking part in rural life
tiller
vsagrarian
4 5.6

A person who breaks and turns soil to prepare land for planting

is broader, encompassing support or involvement beyond soil preparation
tenant farmer
vsagrarian
3 3.7

A farmer who rents land from a landowner instead of owning it

covers involvement in rural life without specifying land tenure
agriculturalist
vsagrarian
1 7.4

A person who studies or works in farming to grow crops

is wider, covering practical involvement or social support for rural life
pastoralist
vsagrarian
  • Specialized
1 7.4

A person who raises and looks after grazing animals like cattle or sheep

includes both crop work and general backing of rural life
agriculturist
vsagrarian
  • Specialized
1 6.1

A person who works in farming, often growing crops or raising animals

is more general, covering any kind of rural support or participation
cropper
vsagrarian
1 7.5

A small farmer who grows and gathers food plants

is broader, covering any supporter or participant in rural work
1 3.2

A person who works on a farm doing manual tasks like planting and harvesting

is wider, also including nonmanual support for rural life
culturist
vsagrarian
6.0

A person who grows plants or crops on land

is more general, including ordinary supporters of rural ways
fieldhand
vsagrarian
  • US
7.0

A person who works on a farm doing physical work in the fields

is not limited to field tasks and can include broader rural roles
landman
vsagrarian
  • Archaic
9.9

A person who lives and works on the land, like a farmer

is the modern general term for support or involvement in rural life
ruralist
vsagrarian
7.7

A person who prefers to live in the countryside and values country life

is more active, implying practical work or direct participation in farming

How Agricultural

farmer
898 1.0
agrarian
2 6.3
rural
392 2.5

Surface Forms

agrarian singular
agrarians plural

Morphology

agrarian = agrarian (semi-transparent) = agr + arian

The noun sense is a straightforward conversion from the adjective 'agrarian', but the adjective itself is not fully transparent to most learners because the root is not a standalone English word.

Etymology

Agrarian comes from the old Latin root ager meaning 'field', the same root in agriculture. So an agrarian is a person who supports or works in farming and rural life.