Etymologically
Log in

prolétariat

History Permalink

Etymology and origin of the French word prolétariat

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1832 Pierre Leroux, Revue encyclopédique More words from the 19th century
Ultimate origin
Latin prōlēs
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
French prolétariat
English proletariat

Pronunciation

  • /pʁɔ.le.ta.ʁja/[1]

Forms

prolétariat m (plural prolétariats)[1]

Etymology

It is a learned derivative, formed from French prolétaire + -at.[2][3][1] Bloch and Wartburg date it to 1836, the TLFi to 1832.[4][2] Its base comes from Latin prōlētārius, derived from prōlēs (“offspring”), which in Roman political language meant a citizen of the lowest class.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first records are from 1832, in writings of Pierre Leroux, where it meant both the condition of a prolétaire and the class of proletarians.[2][5]

Semantic evolution

The two senses appeared together in 1832.[2] The word came to be used chiefly in the Marxian definition of the class of wage workers, and the phrase dictature du prolétariat is recorded in 1850, in the statutes of the Société universelle des communistes révolutionnaires.[2][5] The older sense “condition of a proletarian” is now dated.[6] The word is also applied to the proletarians of ancient Rome.[2]

The poorest part of the class was named sous-prolétariat (1945), and the German Lumpenproletariat is found from 1912.[5] English borrowed proletariat from French by 1853.[7]

Timeline

  • 1832 – Pierre Leroux uses it for the condition and the class of proletarians.[2]
  • 1850 – Dictature du prolétariat appears in the statutes of a society of revolutionary communists.[2][5]
  • 1853 – English borrows the word.[7]
  • 1912 – Lumpen prolétariat is recorded.[5]
  • 1945 – Sous-prolétariat is recorded.[5]

Meanings

Noun

  1. The social class of proletarians, the working class living on wages, in Marxist theory the class that produces value and is revolutionary under capitalism: le prolétariat des villes.[6][8][9]
  2. Dictature du prolétariat: the dictatorship of the proletariat.[6][2]
  3. (dated) The condition of a proletarian.[6][2]
  4. (Roman antiquity) The condition or class of the Roman proletarians.[2]

Word family

  • sous-prolétariat
  • prolétaire
  • prolétarien
  • prolétariser
  • Latin prōlētārius
  • English proletariat

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
  3. ^ Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  4. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  5. ^ a b c d e f Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  6. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  7. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  8. ^ Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
  9. ^ Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)
Cite this entry

“Prolétariat.” Etymologically, 14 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/prol%C3%A9tariat. Accessed 15 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·