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noun
historical1A person of low social rank; a commoner; specifically (in pre-revolutionary France) a member of a social class comprising all those not nobles or clergy, i.e. the bourgeois and villeins collectively. Compare roture .
In the 19th and early 20th centuries, often implying vulgarity, and the possession of newly acquired wealth.
2In Canada: a person who holds real estate subject to an annual rent paid to a seigneur. Compare roture .
adjective
Of or characteristic of a roturier; of low social rank; not noble; common.
Origin
Late 16th century; earliest use found in John Ferne (c1560–1609), administrator and writer on heraldry. From Middle French roturier (French roturier) (adjective) not noble, concerning an estate held by a commoner, (noun) peasant, commoner from roture + -ier.