A peasant or agricultural laborer who occupies a cottage in exchange for work, common in medieval and early modern Europe.
From cot (cottage) + -ier (one who). This term was especially prevalent in Scottish and Irish agricultural history to describe tenant farmers with minimal land rights.
Cottiers were essentially locked into feudal obligations—they couldn't leave their cottage without permission, making the word actually describe a form of serfdom without calling it that!
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.