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Definition of proletariat

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pro·le·tar·i·at  audio  (prl-târ-t) KEY  

NOUN:
    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.
ETYMOLOGY:
French prolétariat, from Latin prltrius, belonging to the lowest class of Roman citizens ; see proletarian


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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition.
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