proletariat

[proh-li-tair-ee-uh t]

See more synonyms for proletariat on Thesaurus.com

noun

the class of wage earners, especially those who earn their living by manual labor or who are dependent for support on daily or casual employment; the working class.
(in Marxist theory) the class of workers, especially industrial wage earners, who do not possess capital or property and must sell their labor to survive.
the lowest or poorest class of people, possessing no property, especially in ancient Rome.

Origin of proletariat

1850–55; < French prolétariat; see proletary, -ate³

Related formsnon·pro·le·tar·i·at, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for proletariat

peasant, bourgeoisie, proletarian

Examples from the Web for proletariat

Contemporary Examples of proletariat

At the height of the Soviet Union, the proletariat universally understood everything their government said was a work of fiction.
The Facts About Ferguson Matter, Dammit
Doug McIntyre
December 3, 2014
Ultimately, though, what saved the Okies was not proletariat revolution but another world war.
Is There a Ma Joad for the Piketty Era?
Katie Baker
July 1, 2014
In a post on his blog, Sprouse claims that he has become a member of the proletariat to feed his video game addiction.
Taylor Swift Cast in ‘The Giver,’ Kimmel Laughs at Kanye ‘Rap Feud’
Culture Team
September 27, 2013
While Bolshevism was a dictatorship of the proletariat, Nazism was a dictatorship with a voting consensus behind it.
Communism and Fascism: The Reason They Are So Similar
J.P. O’Malley
September 28, 2012
Many Socialist Jews were anti-Zionist because they believed the proletariat should unite across religious and ethnic lines.
Israel's Democracy Hypocrisy
Peter Beinart
May 9, 2011

Historical Examples of proletariat

First of all it compels the proletariat to live in the most disgusting promiscuity.
The Sexual Question
August Forel
I thought the proletariat would have won, and you say it is all different.
Astounding Stories of Super-Science, August 1930
Various
They will exhaust themselves struggling against their proletariat.
Under Western Eyes
Joseph Conrad
Am I going to motor down to hear the protests of the proletariat to-night?
An American Suffragette
Isaac N. Stevens
This is a distinct phase of the struggle of the proletariat everywhere.
Socialism
John Spargo

British Dictionary definitions for proletariat

proletariat

noun

all wage-earners collectively
the lower or working class
(in Marxist theory) the class of wage-earners, esp industrial workers, in a capitalist society, whose only possession of significant material value is their labour
(in ancient Rome) the lowest class of citizens, who had no property

Word Origin for proletariat

C19: via French from Latin prōlētārius proletarian

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for proletariat

also proletariate, "the lowest class," 1853, from French prolétariat, from Latin proletarius (see proletarian). In political economics, "indigent wage-earners," from 1856. Leninist phrase dictatorship of the proletariat attested from 1918.

proletariat in Culture

proletariat

[(proh-luh-tair-ee-uht)]

In Marxism, the industrial working class, people without property.

proletariat

[(proh-luh-tair-ee-uht)]

A term often applied to industrial workers, particularly by followers of Karl Marx (see also Marx).