proletariat

See also: Proletariat, prolétariat, and proletariát

English

WOTD – 2 April 2021

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.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˌpɹəʊ.lɪˈtɛə.ɹɪ.ət/
• (General American) enPR: prō'lĭ-târʹē-ət, IPA^(key): /ˌpɹoʊ.lɪˈtɛɚ.i.ət/

• Audio (Canada):

  (file)

• Hyphenation: pro‧le‧ta‧ri‧at

Noun

proletariat (plural proletariats)

1. (often derogatory, also figuratively) The lowest class of society; also, the lower classes of society generally; the masses.

   Synonym: proletary

2. (Marxism) 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”).

   Synonyms: proletarian, proletary, prole

   Antonym: bourgeoisie

   Coordinate term: salariat

   • 1848 February, Karl Marx; Frederick Engels [i.e., Friedrich Engels], “Bourgeois and Proletarians”, in Samuel Moore, transl., Manifesto of the Communist Party. […], 2nd edition, New York, N.Y.: National Executive Committee of the Socialist Labor Party, published 1898, →OCLC, page 27:

     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.

3. (chiefly Ancient Rome, historical) The lowest class of citizens, who had no property and few rights, and were regarded as contributing only their offspring to the state.

   Synonyms: proletarian, proletary

Alternative forms

• proletariate

Derived terms

• cognitariat
• commentariat
• cyberproletariat
• cybertariat
• dictatorship of the proletariat
• militariat
• neo-proletariat
• precariat
• prole
• proprietariat
• protoproletariat
• semiproletariat
• subproletariat
• welfariat

Related terms

• proles (rare)
• proletaire (archaic)
• proletairism (archaic)
• proletarian
• proletarianisation, proletarianization
• proletarianise, proletarianize
• proletarianism
• proletarianly
• proletarisation, proletarization
• proletarised, proletarized (adjective)
• proletarise, proletarize (rare)
• proletary (archaic)
• proletkult
• prolicidal
• prolicide

Translations

lowest class of society; lower classes of society generally

• Afrikaans: werkersklas
• Albanian: proletariat (sq) m
• Arabic: بْرُولِيتَارِيَا f (broletāriyā)
• Armenian: պրոլետարիատ (hy) (proletariat)
• Azerbaijani: proletariat
• Belarusian: пралетарыя́т m (praljetaryját)
• Bengali: সর্বহারা (bn) (śorbohara)
• Bulgarian: пролетариа́т (bg) m (proletariát)
• Burmese: ပစ္စည်းမဲ့လူတန်းစား (my) (paccany:mai.lutan:ca:)
• Catalan: proletariat m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 普罗列塔利亚特 (pǔluóliètǎlìyàtè), 普羅列塔利亞 / 普罗列塔利亚 (zh) (pǔluóliètǎlìyà), 無產階級 / 无产阶级 (zh) (wúchǎnjiējí), 普羅列塔利亞特 / 普罗列塔利亚特

• Corsican: pruletariatu m, prulitariatu m
• Czech: proletariát m
• Danish: proletariat n
• Dutch: proletariaat (nl) n
• Esperanto: proletaro
• Estonian: proletariaat, töölisklass (et)
• Finnish: proletariaatti (fi), työväenluokka (fi), alaluokka (fi)
• French: prolétariat (fr) m
• Georgian: პროლეტარიატი (ṗroleṭariaṭi)
• German: Proletariat (de) n
• Greek: προλεταριάτο (el) n (proletariáto)
• Hindi: सर्वहारा (hi) m (sarvahārā)
• Icelandic: öreigastétt f
• Indonesian: proletariat (id)
• Italian: proletariato (it) m
• Japanese: 無産階級 (ja) (むさんかいきゅう, musankaikyū), プロレタリアート (ja) (puroretariāto)
• Kazakh: пролетариат (proletariat)
• Khmer: អធន (ʼaʼthŭən), ពលជីវី (pŭəlciivii), វណ្ណៈអធន (vannaʼ ʼaʼthŭən)
• Korean: 프롤레타리아 (peurolletaria), 프롤레타리아트 (peurolletariateu), 무산계급(無産階級) (ko) (musan'gyegeup)
• Kyrgyz: пролетариат (proletariat)
• Lao: ຊົນກຳມະຊີບ (son kam ma sīp)
• Latvian: proletariāts m
• Lithuanian: proletariatas m
• Macedonian: пролетарија́т m (proletariját)
• Malay: proletariat
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: proletariat n

• Occitan: proletariat (oc) m
• Persian: پرولتاریا (fa) (poroletâriyâ)
• Polish: proletariat (pl) m inan
• Portuguese: proletariado (pt) m
• Romanian: proletariat (ro) n
• Russian: пролетариа́т (ru) m (proletariát)
• Sardinian: proletariadu m
• Scottish Gaelic: mòr-sluagh m
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: пролетарѝја̄т m

  Latin: proletarìjāt (sh) m

• Sicilian: prulitariatu
• Slovak: proletariát m
• Slovene: proletariat m
• Spanish: proletariado (es) m
• Swedish: proletariat (sv) n
• Tajik: пролетариат (proletariat)
• Thai: กรรมาชีพ (th) (gam-maa-chîip), ชนชั้นกรรมาชีพ (chon-chán gam-maa-chîip)
• Turkmen: proletariat
• Ukrainian: пролетаріа́т m (proletariát)
• Uyghur: پرولېتارىيات (prolëtariyat)
• Uzbek: proletariat (uz)
• Vietnamese: giai cấp vô sản

wage-earners collectively

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 工薪阶级 (gōngxīnjiējí)

• Esperanto: proletaro
• Finnish: proletariaatti (fi), palkansaajat
• Greek: προλεταριάτο (el) n (proletariáto)
• Icelandic: öreigar m pl
• Indonesian: proletariat (id)
• Polish: proletariat (pl) m inan
• Portuguese: proletariado (pt) m
• Russian: пролетариа́т (ru) m (proletariát)
• Swedish: proletariat (sv) n
• Ukrainian: пролетаріа́т m (proletariát)

lowest class of citizens in Ancient Rome and elsewhere

• Esperanto: proletaro
• Finnish: proletaarit
• German: Proletariat (de) n
• Polish: proletariat (pl) m inan
• Portuguese: proletariado (pt) m
• Russian: пролетариа́т (ru) m (proletariát)
• Swedish: proletariat (sv) n

Further reading

• proletariat on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Anagrams

• reptatorial

Azerbaijani

Etymology

Borrowed from Russian пролетариа́т (proletariát), from French prolétariat.

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

proletariat (definite accusative proletariatı, plural proletariatlar)

1. proletariat

Declension

Declension of proletariat

	singular	plural
nominative	proletariat	proletariatlar
definite accusative	proletariatı	proletariatları
dative	proletariata	proletariatlara
locative	proletariatda	proletariatlarda
ablative	proletariatdan	proletariatlardan
definite genitive	proletariatın	proletariatların

Possessive forms of proletariat

	nominative
	singular	plural
mənim (“my”)	proletariatım	proletariatlarım
sənin (“your”)	proletariatın	proletariatların
onun (“his/her/its”)	proletariatı	proletariatları
bizim (“our”)	proletariatımız	proletariatlarımız
sizin (“your”)	proletariatınız	proletariatlarınız
onların (“their”)	proletariatı or proletariatları	proletariatları
	accusative
	singular	plural
mənim (“my”)	proletariatımı	proletariatlarımı
sənin (“your”)	proletariatını	proletariatlarını
onun (“his/her/its”)	proletariatını	proletariatlarını
bizim (“our”)	proletariatımızı	proletariatlarımızı
sizin (“your”)	proletariatınızı	proletariatlarınızı
onların (“their”)	proletariatını or proletariatlarını	proletariatlarını
	dative
	singular	plural
mənim (“my”)	proletariatıma	proletariatlarıma
sənin (“your”)	proletariatına	proletariatlarına
onun (“his/her/its”)	proletariatına	proletariatlarına
bizim (“our”)	proletariatımıza	proletariatlarımıza
sizin (“your”)	proletariatınıza	proletariatlarınıza
onların (“their”)	proletariatına or proletariatlarına	proletariatlarına
	locative
	singular	plural
mənim (“my”)	proletariatımda	proletariatlarımda
sənin (“your”)	proletariatında	proletariatlarında
onun (“his/her/its”)	proletariatında	proletariatlarında
bizim (“our”)	proletariatımızda	proletariatlarımızda
sizin (“your”)	proletariatınızda	proletariatlarınızda
onların (“their”)	proletariatında or proletariatlarında	proletariatlarında
	ablative
	singular	plural
mənim (“my”)	proletariatımdan	proletariatlarımdan
sənin (“your”)	proletariatından	proletariatlarından
onun (“his/her/its”)	proletariatından	proletariatlarından
bizim (“our”)	proletariatımızdan	proletariatlarımızdan
sizin (“your”)	proletariatınızdan	proletariatlarınızdan
onların (“their”)	proletariatından or proletariatlarından	proletariatlarından
	genitive
	singular	plural
mənim (“my”)	proletariatımın	proletariatlarımın
sənin (“your”)	proletariatının	proletariatlarının
onun (“his/her/its”)	proletariatının	proletariatlarının
bizim (“our”)	proletariatımızın	proletariatlarımızın
sizin (“your”)	proletariatınızın	proletariatlarınızın
onların (“their”)	proletariatının or proletariatlarının	proletariatlarının

Further reading

• “proletariat” in Obastan.com.

Catalan

Etymology

From Latin prōlētārius (“a man whose only wealth is his offspring, or whose sole service to the state is as father”) +‎ -at, from proles (“offspring, posterity”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central) [pɾu.lə.tə.ɾiˈat]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic) [pɾo.lə.tə.ɾiˈat]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [pɾo.le.ta.ɾiˈat]

Noun

proletariat m (plural proletariats)

1. proletariat

References

• “proletariat”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007
• “proletariat”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2026
• “proletariat” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• Alcover, Antoni Maria; Moll, Francesc de Borja (1963), “proletariat”, in Diccionari català-valencià-balear (in Catalan)

Danish

Etymology

From French prolétariat.

Noun

proletariat n (singular definite proletariatet, plural indefinite proletariater)

1. proletariat

Declension

Declension of proletariat

neuter gender	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	proletariat	proletariatet	proletariater	proletariaterne
genitive	proletariats	proletariatets	proletariaters	proletariaternes

See also

• proletar (“proletarian”)
• arbejderklasse (“working class”)

References

• “proletariat” in Den Danske Ordbog

Indonesian

Etymology

Borrowed from Dutch proletariaat.

Pronunciation

• (Standard Indonesian) IPA^(key): /prolətaˈriat/ [pro.lə.t̪aˈri.at̪̚]
• Syllabification: pro‧le‧ta‧ri‧at

Noun

prolêtariat (plural proletariat-proletariat)

1. proletariat (lowest class of society)
2. proletariat (wage-earners collectively)

Further reading

• proletariat on the Indonesian Wikipedia.Wikipedia ^id
• “proletariat”, in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia [Great Dictionary of the Indonesian Language] (in Indonesian), Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016

Polish

Etymology

Etymology tree

Latin proletāriusbor.

French prolétaire

French -at

French prolétariatbor.

Polish proletariat

Borrowed from French prolétariat.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /prɔ.lɛˈta.rjat/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -arjat
• Syllabification: pro‧le‧ta‧riat
• Homophone: Proletariat

Noun

proletariat m inan (related adjective proletariacki)

1. (collective, Marxism) proletariat (working class or lower class)
2. (Ancient Rome, collective, historical) proletariat (lowest class of citizens in Rome)

Declension

Declension of proletariat

	singular
nominative	proletariat
genitive	proletariatu
dative	proletariatowi
accusative	proletariat
instrumental	proletariatem
locative	proletariacie
vocative	proletariacie

Derived terms

nouns

• Proletariat
• proletaryzacja
• proletaryzm

Related terms

nouns

• proletariackość
• proletariatczyk
• proletariusz
• proletariuszka

verbs

• proletaryzować impf
• sproletaryzować pf

Further reading

• “proletariat”, in Wielki słownik języka polskiego‎^[1] (in Polish), Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• “proletariat”, in Polish dictionaries at PWN‎^[2] (in Polish)
• proletariat in PWN's encyclopedia

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French prolétariat.

Noun

proletariat n (uncountable)

1. proletariat

Declension

singular only	indefinite	definite
nominative-accusative	proletariat	proletariatul
genitive-dative	proletariat	proletariatului
vocative	proletariatule

Swedish

Noun

proletariat n

1. proletariat

Declension

Declension of proletariat

		nominative	genitive
singular	indefinite	proletariat	proletariats
	definite	proletariatet	proletariatets
plural	indefinite	—	—
	definite	—	—

See also

• proletär (“proletarian”)
• utsugare (“exploiter”)

References

• “proletariat”, in Svensk ordbok [Dictionary of Swedish] (in Swedish)
• “proletariat”, in Svenska Akademiens ordlista [Wordlist of the Swedish Academy] (in Swedish)
• “proletariat”, in Svenska Akademiens ordbok [Dictionary of the Swedish Academy] (in Swedish)