proletariat
/ˌpɹoʊ.lɪˈtɛɚ.i.ət/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.98 in modern English
13
Scrabble Score
11
Letters
5
Syllables
8
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
The lowest class of society; also, the lower classes of society generally; the masses.
Derogatory
noun
Wage earners collectively; people who own no capital and depend on their labour for survival; the working class, especially when seen as engaged in a class struggle with the bourgeoisie (“the capital-owning class”).
Example Sentences
- "Of all the classes that stand face to face with the bourgeoisie to-day, the proletariat alone is a really revolutionary class. The other classes decay and finally disappear in the face of modern industry; the proletariat is its special and essential product."
Etymology
Borrowed from French prolétariat, from prolétaire + -at, from Latin proletārius, from prōlēt- (“offspring”) + -ārius, from stem of prōlēs, from pro- + *olēs (“growth”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂el- (“to grow, nourish”). By surface analysis, Latin prōlēt- + -ary + -at.
Origin
- Source language: Latin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˌpɹoʊ.lɪˈtɛɚ.i.ət/
- British English: /ˌpɹəʊ.lɪˈtɛə.ɹɪ.ət/