proletary

American  

[proh-li-ter-ee] / ˈproʊ lɪˌtɛr i /

adjective

plural

proletaries

1. proletarian.

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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

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

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

Griswold's swing-chair righted itself with a click, and Bainbridge's prophecy that a hot-hearted proletary was likely to become the hardest of masters became a prediction fulfilled.

From The Price by Lynde, Francis

All this was very nourishing, not to say stimulating, to the starved soul of a proletary.

From The Price by Lynde, Francis

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