phalanstery
Americannoun
plural
phalansteries-
(in Fourierism)
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the buildings occupied by a phalanx.
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the community itself.
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any similar association, or the buildings they occupy.
noun
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buildings occupied by a phalanx
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a community represented by a phalanx
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any similar association or the buildings occupied by such an association
Etymology
Origin of phalanstery
1840–50; < French phalanstère, blend of phalange phalanx and monastère monastery
Explanation
A phalanstery is a group of people living in a communal society, and it's also the name of a building where they live. A specific kind of utopian community, the phalanstery was first imagined by French philosopher Charles Fourier in the early 1800s. The French term, phalanstère, comes from phalanx, an ancient Greek military group, and monastery. The phalansteries, which later influenced buildings by architect Le Corbusier, were designed with communal kitchens, quiet rooms, libraries, and areas for doing carpentry, metal forging, and more. Work done here was intended to make the phalanstery self-sufficient.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Life in the big, three-story phalanstery was rigorous and simple, but intellectually stimulating.
From Time Magazine Archive
Fourier's phalanstery, on the other hand, was to be a central palace with two wings.
From History of American Socialisms by Noyes, John Humphrey
The phalanstery is ready, indeed, but your human nature is not ready for the phalanstery—it wants life, it hasn't completed its vital process, it's too soon for the graveyard!
From Crime and Punishment by Garnett, Constance
My mind no longer admits that which is demonstrated by syllogisms, analogies, or metaphors, which are the methods of the phalanstery, but demands a process of generalization and induction which excludes error.
From What is Property? by Proudhon, P.-J. (Pierre-Joseph)
It was a real, great phalanstery, composed of brothers, almost all worthy of the name.
From Adventures in the Philippine Islands by La Gironière, Paul P. de
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
