This time I think your best help will come from the Oxford Dictionaries, and I quote them as follows: PEASANT 1. A poor smallholder or agricultural labourer of low social status (chiefly in historical use or with reference to subsistence farming in poorer countries). 2. (informal) An ignorant, rude, or unsophisticated person. FARMER A person who owns or manages a farm.

The others have answered. I'll add that we sometimes use the word 'peasant' as an insult. We might use it to suggest someone had bad manners, for example. In fact, we often use it as a single word. "Peasant!"

That's a very interesting question. It is all in the connotation. In U.S. English, "farmer" is the usual word. It is neutral, factual, polite, and refers to everyone who farms--large or small, rich or poor. "Peasant" literally means a small farmer. However, in U.S. English it tends to be used about a) European farmers b) in the past. And it is definitely a negative word. It has overtones of being poor, crude, rustic, and unsophisticated. In the United States we speak of "small farmers," "tenant farmers," "poor farmers," and "sharecroppers." These fall within the meaning of "peasants" but we would never say "peasants." We do not have "peasants" in the U.S.!

I think that the difference is terminological. "Peasants" and "farmers" refer to people from two different social classes. The precise distinction depends on the theory one uses, but I believe that among the main criteria there will always be one of the following sort: "farmers" own their means of production and land, while "peasants" do not. "Peasants" are common in a feudal society, while "farmers" - in a capitalist one.

This answer is coming from a non native speaker, but I think I can safely answer this one in a comment. Peasant is a pejorative (negative) term for a farmer with only a small piece of land, mostly primarily nourishing his own family. It is also associated often with lack of education and culture. In a sitcom like "'allo, 'allo" for example, the German military during WOII in Rene's café are talking about the French peasants. And if the BBC would have news about farming in general, they would use the word farmers.