proletarian definition | Dictionary.com

pro⋅le⋅tar⋅i⋅an

[proh-li-tair-ee-uh

–adjective

1.	pertaining or belonging to the proletariat.

2.	(in ancient Rome) belonging to the lowest or poorest class of the people.

–noun

3.	a member of the proletariat.

Origin:
1650–60; see proletary, -an

Related forms:

pro⋅le⋅tar⋅i⋅an⋅ly, adverb

pro⋅le⋅tar⋅i⋅an⋅ness, noun

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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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pro·le·tar·i·an (prō'lĭ-târ'ē-ən)

adj. Of, relating to, or characteristic of the proletariat.
n. A member of the proletariat; a worker.

[From Latin prōlētārius, belonging to the lowest class of Roman citizens (viewed as contributing to the state only through having children), from prōlēs, offspring; see al-² in Indo-European roots.]
pro'le·tar'i·an·ism n.

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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Proletarian

Prol`e*ta"ri*an\, a. [L. proletarius. See Proletary.] Of or pertaining to the proletaries; belonging to the commonalty; hence, mean; vile; vulgar. "Every citizen, if he were not a proletarian animal kept at the public cost." --De Quincey. -- n. A proletary.

proletarian

1658 (n.), 1663 (adj.), from L. proletarius "citizen of the lowest class," in ancient Rome, propertyless people, exempted from taxes and military service, who served the state only by having children; from proles "offspring, progeny" (see prolific). Proletariat is first recorded 1853, from French. Back formation prole is attested from 1887; popularized by George Orwell's 1949 novel "Nineteen Eighty-Four."

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