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Definition of proletariat - 4 dictionary results

pro⋅le⋅tar⋅i⋅at

  [proh-li-tair-ee-uht]
Use proletariat in a Sentence
–noun
1. the class of wage earners, esp. those who earn their living by manual labor or who are dependent for support on daily or casual employment; the working class.
2. (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.
3. the lowest or poorest class of people, possessing no property, esp. in ancient Rome.
Origin:
1850–55; < F prolétariat; see proletary, -ate 3
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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pro·le·tar·i·at   (prō'lĭ-târ'ē-ĭt)   
n.  

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

    2. 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.]
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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Cultural Dictionary

proletariat [(proh-luh-tair-ee-uht)]

In Marxism, the industrial working class, people without property.


proletariat [(proh-luh-tair-ee-uht)]

A term often applied to industrial workers, particularly by followers of Karl Marx.

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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