Meaning

1. A free peasant (as opposed to a serf) of the lowest rank, below an earl and a thane; a freeman; also (more generally), a person without royal or noble status; a commoner.
2. A bondman or serf.
3. A rough, surly, ill-bred person; a boor.
4. A countryman, a peasant, a rustic.
5. A person who is stingy, especially with money; a selfish miser, a niggard.
6. A freedman, ranked below a thane but above a thrall.