sharecropping
SHAIR-krop-ing
/ˈʃeəˌkrɒp.ɪŋ/
nounC1GRESATUPSC
historicalacademic
A system of agriculture where a landowner allows a tenant to use land in return for a share of the crops produced.
Historically associated with high tenant debt and unequal economic dependencies following the abolition of slavery.
The story behind the word. A compound word formed in 19th-century American English. It combined 'share' (portion) and 'crop' (harvested yield) to describe the economic system that replaced plantation slavery.
Word relationships
- metayage: Metayage is the specific European term for sharecropping, whereas sharecropping is standard in English history.
- tenant farming: Tenant farming includes arrangements where rent is paid in cash, whereas sharecropping specifically pays rent in harvested crops.
- owner-farming: Owner-farming means the cultivator owns the land outright and keeps all harvest.
Commonly confused with
- tenancy: Tenancy is the broad legal status of renting land; sharecropping is a specific type of tenancy where rent is paid as a percentage of harvested crops.
Word family
- sharecropper (noun): A tenant farmer who pays rent with a share of the crops.
Collocations
- sharecropping system
- practice sharecropping
- sharecropping family
- trap of sharecropping
Example sentences
- "After the Civil War, sharecropping became the dominant agricultural system in the American South." Post-Civil War US economic history
Memory hook
SHARE the CROP = tenant and landlord split the harvest. Share crops for rent.
When not to use
Do not use for modern commercial tenant farming where fixed cash rent is paid.
Fun facts
- Sharecropping agreements often required tenants to purchase seed and tools from the landlord's store on credit, creating perpetual debt cycles.
Related words
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