proletariat
proletariat Lexical Profile
proletariat Game Scores & Validity
• noun
Working-class people regarded collectively, especially in Marxist theory as the social class of wage-earners who do not own the means of production and must sell their labor to survive.
"Rapid industrialization in the nineteenth century led to the growth of an urban proletariat working in factories and mines."
The lowest social and economic class of citizens in ancient Rome, who owned little or no property and served the state primarily through their offspring.
"Reforms in the late Roman Republic allowed members of the urban proletariat to enlist in the legions regardless of property qualifications."
Word Nuance & Usage
In Marxist theory, 'proletariat' specifically denotes the wage-earning class that does not own the means of production, in direct contrast to the 'bourgeoisie' (the capitalist ruling class).
• Rhymes for proletariat
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed in the mid-19th century from French prolétariat, derived from Latin proletarius ('a citizen of the lowest class'), from proles ('offspring'), because in ancient Rome such citizens were regarded as contributing to the state only by raising children rather than paying property taxes.