sans-culotte
noun
(in the French Revolution) a revolutionary of the poorer class: originally a term of contempt applied by the aristocrats but later adopted as a popular name by the revolutionaries.
sans-culottes
-
pluralof sans-culotte.plural
The grammatical form denoting more than one person, place, thing, or idea.
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.
The sans-culottes of the French Revolution and the yellow vests of the French revolt centuries later.
From New York Times ● Jun. 16, 2020
It was an uprising of enslaved people—the “true sans-culottes of the colonies,” according to one French Republican leader—in Saint-Domingue that forced the 1794 abolition of slavery.
From The New Yorker ● Apr. 12, 2019
"I've studied this period — my graduation collection was inspired by the incroyables, the sans-culottes, the French Revolution. "
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 2, 2016
During the French Revolution, Parisian women had requested the right to wear trousers and working-class revolutionaries became known as "sans-culottes" for wearing trousers instead of the silk-knee breeches preferred by the bourgeoisie.
From BBC ● Feb. 4, 2013
Of the other two thousand five hundred slain, the number could not so correctly be ascertained, as they consisted of citizens without regimentals or uniform, and of sans-culottes, none of whom were registered.
From A Trip to Paris in July and August 1792 by Richard Twiss
