noun
- a tenant farmer who rents a small cottage and plot of land
Usage: historical; chiefly Irish
Examples
- The cottier worked a small patch of land behind his rented cottage.
- Many cottiers in 19th-century Ireland struggled to pay their rent.
- The cottier system was common in rural areas before agricultural reforms.
- As a cottier, he had little security of tenure on the land.
- The cottier’s family depended entirely on their small plot for survival.
- Landlords often evicted cottiers who couldn’t pay their dues.