proletariat

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Related to proletariat: Karl Marx

pro·le·tar·i·at

(prō′lĭ-târ′ē-ĭt)

a. The class of industrial wage earners who, possessing neither capital nor production means, must earn their living by selling their labor.

b. The poorest class of working people.

2. The propertyless class of ancient Rome, constituting the lowest class of citizens.

[French prolétariat, from Latin prōlētārius, belonging to the lowest class of Roman citizens; see proletarian.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

proletariat

(ˌprəʊlɪˈtɛərɪət) or

proletariate

1. (Government, Politics & Diplomacy) all wage-earners collectively

2. (Government, Politics & Diplomacy) the lower or working class

3. (Government, Politics & Diplomacy) (in Marxist theory) the class of wage-earners, esp industrial workers, in a capitalist society, whose only possession of significant material value is their labour

4. (Historical Terms) (in ancient Rome) the lowest class of citizens, who had no property

[C19: via French from Latin prōlētārius proletarian]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

pro•le•tar•i•at

(ˌproʊ lɪˈtɛər i ət)

n.

1. (esp. in Marxist theory) the class of workers, esp. industrial wage earners, who do not possess capital or property and must sell their labor to survive.

2. (esp. in ancient Rome) the lowest or poorest class of citizens, possessing no property.

[1850–55; < French prolétariat; < Latin proletarius belonging to the lowest class of citizens; see -ate³]

proletariat

The class in society who make a living by selling their labor and possess no capital.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Noun

proletariat - a social class comprising those who do manual labor or work for wages; "there is a shortage of skilled labor in this field"

labor, labour, working class

social class, socio-economic class, stratum, class - people having the same social, economic, or educational status; "the working class"; "an emerging professional class"

labor force, labor pool - the source of trained people from which workers can be hired

lumpenproletariat - (Marxism) the unorganized lower levels of the proletariat who are not interested in revolutionary advancement

organized labor - employees who are represented by a labor union

prole, proletarian, worker - a member of the working class (not necessarily employed); "workers of the world--unite!"

proletariat

noun working class, the masses, lower classes, commoners, the herd, wage-earners, lower orders, the common people, hoi polloi, plebs, the rabble, the great unwashed (derogatory), labouring classes, proles (derogatory slang, chiefly Brit.), commonalty a struggle between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat
upper class, aristocracy, nobility, gentry, peerage, ruling class, upper crust (informal), aristos (informal)

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

Translations

proletariát

προλεταριάτο

alaluokkapalkansaajatproletaaritproletariaattityöväenluokka

proletariato proletario

пролетариат

proletariat

[ˌprəʊləˈtɛərɪət] N → proletariado m

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

proletariat

[ˌprəʊlɪˈtɛəriət] n → prolétariat m
the proletariat → le prolétariatpro-life [ˌprəʊˈlaɪf] adj → contre l'avortement

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

proletariat

n → Proletariat nt

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

proletariat

[ˌprəʊləˈtɛərɪət] n → proletariato

References in classic literature ?

Our epoch, the epoch of the bourgeoisie, possesses, however, this distinctive feature: it has simplified the class antagonisms: Society as a whole is more and more splitting up into two great hostile camps, into two great classes, directly facing each other: Bourgeoisie and Proletariat.

In proportion as the bourgeoisie, i.e., capital, is developed, in the same proportion is the proletariat, the modern working class, developed -- a class of labourers, who live only so long as they find work, and who find work only so long as their labour increases capital.

The lower strata of the middle class -- the small tradespeople, shopkeepers, retired tradesmen generally, the handicraftsmen and peasants -- all these sink gradually into the proletariat, partly because their diminutive capital does not suffice for the scale on which Modern Industry is carried on, and is swamped in the competition with the large capitalists, partly because their specialized skill is rendered worthless by the new methods of production.

View in context

I know that the Church has lost the--what you call the proletariat."*

* Proletariat: Derived originally from the Latin PROLETARII, the name given in the census of Servius Tullius to those who were of value to the state only as the rearers of offspring (PROLES); in other words, they were of no importance either for wealth, or position, or exceptional ability.

"And there, a century and a half ago, originated the modern proletariat," Ernest continued.

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And so all over the world two classes were forming, with an unbridged chasm between them--the capitalist class, with its enormous fortunes, and the proletariat, bound into slavery by unseen chains.

Ostrinski explained the organization of the party, the machinery by which the proletariat was educating itself.

It would not do, Ostrinski explained, for the proletariat of one nation to achieve the victory, for that nation would be crushed by the military power of the others; and so the Socialist movement was a world movement, an organization of all mankind to establish liberty and fraternity.

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"The Future of the Proletariat. It's a society," he explained, standing ponderously by the side of the arm-chair, "not anarchist in principle, but open to all shades of revolutionary opinion."

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He could see that she was vastly impressed by this vague talk, so he endorsed his pose by random insinuations concerning great wealth, and mentioned familiarly a few names that are handled reverently by the proletariat. It was Chandler's short little day, and he was wringing from it the best that could be had, as he saw it.

View in context

A vast proletariat, beginning with a nucleus of those formerly employed in export trades, with their multiplying progeny, will be out of employment permanently.