The sharecropper had to give half of his harvest to the landowner as rent every year.

sharecropper 是由 share（分享、份额）和 cropper（种植者）组成的复合词。share 在这里指"分成"，cropper 来自动词 crop（种植、收获），指"种植者"。 sharecropper 指"分成制佃农"，即耕种他人土地并将部分收成作为地租交给地主的农民。