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Bourgeoisie - 4 dictionary results

bour⋅geoi⋅sie

  [boor-zhwah-zee; Fr. boor-zhwa-zee]
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–noun
1. the bourgeois class.
2. (in Marxist theory) the class that, in contrast to the proletariat or wage-earning class, is primarily concerned with property values.
Origin:
1700–10; < F; see bourgeois 1 , -y 3
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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bour·geoi·sie   (bŏŏr'zhwä-zē')   
n.  
  1. The middle class.
  2. In Marxist theory, the social group opposed to the proletariat in the class struggle.

[French, from bourgeois, bourgeois; see bourgeois.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Bourgeoisie

Bour*geoi*sie"\, n. [F.] The French middle class, particularly such as are concerned in, or dependent on, trade.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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bourgeoisie [(boor-zhwah-zee)]

In general, the middle class. Applied to the Middle Ages, it refers to townspeople, who were neither nobles nor peasants. In Marxism it refers to those who control the means of production and do not live directly by the sale of their labor. Karl Marx distinguished between the “haute” (high) bourgeoisie (industrialists and financiers) and the “petite” (small or “petty”) bourgeoisie (shopkeepers, self-employed artisans, lawyers). Marxism postulates a fundamental conflict between the interests of the bourgeoisie and those of the propertyless workers, the proletariat.

Note: “Bourgeois” may also refer to mediocre taste or to the flashy display of wealth by the nouveau riche.
The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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