keuterboer

Dutch

Alternative forms

• koterboer (dialectal)

Etymology

From Middle Dutch coter, from cote (“hut, cottage”) (Dutch kot); + boer (“farmer”).

Pronunciation

• Audio:

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Noun

keuterboer m (plural keuterboeren, diminutive keuterboertje n, feminine keuterboerin)

1. (dated) one who earns the right to live in a cottage by working for a farmer or a landlord; a cotter
2. poor farmer who owns only a small patch of land which is barely or not enough to sustain a family, such that he has to find additional work elsewhere, for example in service of another farmer (see herenboer) or in the city

Related terms

• boer, ploeger
• keuterij
• herenboer, eigenerfde, eigengeërfde, scholtenboer