proletary
Americanadjective
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.
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 Schubin, Ossip
Thus the complacent, musing upper thought in the mind and on the lips of the proletary as he wended his way through the quiet and well-nigh deserted streets to the older part of the town.
From The Price by Lynde, Francis
"Therefore, as I was about to say, the proletary draws to himself the money of the country," resumed Grossetete.
From The Village Rector by Wormeley, Katharine Prescott
They are equal in the eyes of the proletary.
From The Onlooker, Volume 1, Part 2 by Lewis, Alfred Henry
Whether proletary or not, there was nothing about him to offend the taste of the best-born of ladies.
From Marion Fay by Trollope, Anthony
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.
