proletary
Americanadjective
-
proletaries
plural
Etymology
Origin of proletary
1570–80; < Latin prōlētārius belonging to the lowest class of Roman citizens, i.e., those who contributed to the state only through their offspring, equivalent to prōlēt- (akin to prōlēs offspring; pro- pro- 1 + -olēs ( see adult)) + -ārius -ary
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.
Then she had told herself that if any such a one should come,—if at any time any should be allowed by herself to come,—he should be estimated by his merits, whether Duke or proletary.
From Marion Fay by Anthony Trollope
But to live with his wife like a proletary, in St. Petersburg, among her brilliant relations and friends, he could not bring himself to do.
From Asbe?n From the Life of a Virtuoso by Ossip Schubin
Whether proletary or not, there was nothing about him to offend the taste of the best-born of ladies.
From Marion Fay by Anthony Trollope
All this was very nourishing, not to say stimulating, to the starved soul of a proletary.
From The Price by Francis Lynde
"Therefore, as I was about to say, the proletary draws to himself the money of the country," resumed Grossetete.
From The Village Rector by Katharine Prescott Wormeley
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.
