Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. The middle class.
- n. In Marxist theory, the social group opposed to the proletariat in the class struggle.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. Properly, the French middle classes, but often applied to the middle classes of any country, especially those depending on trade.
Wiktionary
- n. a class of citizens who were wealthier members of the Third Estate
- n. Marxism The capitalist class.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. The French middle class, particularly such as are concerned in, or dependent on, trade.
WordNet 3.0
- n. the social class between the lower and upper classes
Etymologies
- Borrowing from French bourgeoisie, from bourgeois ("a class of citizens who were wealthier members of the Third Estate"), from bourgeois, “burghers”, i.e., inhabitants of towns. (Wiktionary)
- French, from bourgeois, bourgeois; see bourgeois. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“LAMB: I have what you call bourgeoisie values written down, so everybody knows what we're talking about: "thrift, diligence, sobriety, fidelity, procedure and orderliness.”
“Firstly and chiefly, he hates what he calls the bourgeoisie -- he is obliged to use the French word, because his native language does not contain an equivalent term -- and especially capitalists of all sorts and dimensions.”
“Difference between him — and the bourgeoisie is that he robs without illusion.”
“If, as Marx put it, the modern bourgeoisie is itself the product of a long course of development”
The Melancholic Gift: Freedom in Nineteenth-Century Philosophy and Fiction
“Breach is "a triumph in bourgeoisie beige, so like life in the District that you'll want to run, shrieking from the theater, out of pure boredom.”
“What Marx called the bourgeoisie was the people who owned the businesses, not the vague, inclusive category that is today called "the middle class." by”
“Now, what I was saying here was that our program was not entirely socialist, it was a bourgeois program -- a more progressive program -- though I should not use the expression bourgeoisie because it would not be an exact concept; it was an advanced social program, the best we could organize.”
“Difference between him - and the bourgeoisie is that he robs without illusion.”
“In the hierarchy of colours green is the "bourgeoisie" - self-satisfied, immovable, narrow.”
“Had there been in Russia a regularly constituted assembly possessing adequate power and representing the nation as a whole, including the "bourgeoisie" -- who also "are God's creatures" -- as well as workmen, instead of irregular bodies appealing to the greed and hatred of a class, most of the misery through which Russia is passing might have been prevented, and the prospects of early restoration would have been assured.”
Rebuilding Britain A Survey Of Problems Of Reconstruction After The World War
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘bourgeoisie’.
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Impressionism
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seascapes, landscapes, modern, impression, impressionist, contemporary, flicker, sensation, modernity, perceived, perceiving, momentary and 142 more...
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Interesting words
A list of words that are odd or words that I have looked up.
concupiscence, brize, scree, scoria, forestaff, spanaemia, valetudinarianism, distasture, pyrethrum, laudanum, gentian, bicameral and 11250 more...
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250 Cherry-Picked Words
Juicy words for the intermediate and advanced speller
consomme, miniaceous, nankeen, smaragdine, stramineous, vitellary, allemande, beguine, bransle, charabanc, margaritaceous, chaconne and 238 more...
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Words sung by: Belle and Sebastian
beguiling, herbaceous, peninsula, suffragette, damascan, hastening, berserk, overtime, leccy, bestow, swathe, arab strap and 193 more...
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of Montreal
Every time I finally decipher Kevin Barnes's song lyrics, I feel somewhat smarter.
These are strange/big/obscure words and phrases from the lyrics of the band 'of Montreal' (intentiona...southern hemisphe..., paradigm, Phaidon Press, permutation, List Christie, Gemini Tactics, eluardian, persecution complex, Himmlers, parabola, Mono Club, subconscious mass... and 132 more...
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Tricky Words from French
Loanwords from French -- both established and wet behind the ears -- that are tricky to spell or pronounce properly.
trompe l'oeil, hors d'oeuvre, oeuvre, objet d'art, objet trouvé, contretemps, milieu, métier, mise en scène, mise en place, éclat, faineant and 64 more...
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English with Tongue
French words and phrases used by English speakers.
objet d'art, nom de plume, petite, bon voyage, avant-garde, faux pas, faux, touché, répondez, s'il vo..., rouge, papier mâché, joie de vivre and 85 more...
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dandy's list
favourite words
cattywampus, wibble, fenagle, whisker, sneeze, wisteria, honeysuckle, clove, perihelion, glimmer, twilight, dusk and 264 more...
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Twitter favourites
The new favourite words of people on Twitter.
A script searches Twitter for "X is my new favourite word" and adds it to this list.
See also:
thunderfuck, incredible, merp, sara, flopparoo, smother, fugly, buer, plum, canny, nefelibata, cuntbucket and 2434 more... -
generationnext's Words
petulant, vehement, pensive, lascivious, vacillate, histrionic, satiated, svelte, lithe, zeitgeist, viscous, sommelier and 526 more...
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inkhorn's Words
inkhorn, aplomb, apotheosis, asinine, avatar, bombastic, boorish, bromide, bucolic, cagey, canvass, digress and 991 more...
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fifi
verbs Adj Adv noun
indulge, convene, solve, dissolve, prospect, prospective, allege, resolve, accountable, administration, amid, agenda and 407 more...
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Words to Learn
colloquium, resilient, ruminate, missive, sylvan, indefatigable, preclude, prowess, quiescent, caustic, verdant, specter and 119 more...
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spicolli's Words
terrapin, ravenous, fuck, sepulchral, garlic, suss, queer, curmudgeon, foodie, intricate, omphalos, subversion and 534 more...
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List Erine
cool mint antiseptic
shalom, cattywampus, bourgeoisie, aerophile, traverse, grotto, epicurean, ex cathedra, nautilus, epitaph, lathe, continuum and 753 more...
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Daily
Daily Vocab List
lull, pious, lurid, objurgate, insurgent, lewd, patio, onus, lampoon, geisha, larceny, maim and 206 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for bourgeoisie.
jennarenn Oh my! Oh me!
Feb 10, 2009
super-logos Only the French would create a supercilious-sounding word to represent the middle class or upper middle class. I always thought that this word applied to successful, hard-working, God-fearing people with money, who went to church, knew how to use silver properly at the table, and encourgaed their kids to go to college.
There is a French expression, BCBG, which means "bon chic bon genre," which I think captures the class above the bourgeoisie. A bourgeois person is someone with scruples and guilt to go along with the money. They care what others think of them. Query whether they are the Joneses everyone is trying to keep up with? Aug 8, 2008
Prolagus Listen Dear, I've been watching you lately
If I said all these things you would hate me
Le pastie de la bourgeoisie
At the church bazaar
I nearly went too far.
(Le pastie de la bourgeoisie, by Belle and Sebastian) Aug 5, 2008
bestiary (adj: m: bourgeois, f: bourgeoise) Jul 21, 2008