Sharecropper (noun)

A tenant farmer who works land owned by another person in exchange for a portion of the crops produced on that land.

Origin:

From the combination of the words 'share' and 'cropper', meaning a person who works as a tenant farmer.

Examples:

1. The sharecropper lived on the land he farmed and received a portion of the crops at the end of the season.
2. During the Great Depression, many farmers became sharecroppers as they were unable to make a living on their own land.
3. The sharecropper was at the mercy of the landowner, who controlled both the land and the means of production.
4. The sharecropper system was prevalent in the American South before and after the Civil War.
5. Many sharecroppers were former slaves who, after the end of slavery, were unable to purchase their own land.