LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
adjectivefirst/second-declension adjective

prōlētārius

prōlētārius (feminine prōlētāria, neuter prōlētārium)
Classical[proː.ɫeːˈtaː.ri.ʊs]Ecclesiastical[pro.leˈtaː.ri.us]

Meaning

  1. adjectivebelonging to the lowest class of citizens, who, lacking property, contributed to the State with their offspring instead
  2. adjectivelow-class

Declension

singular
formmasculinefeminineneuter
nominativeprōlētāriusprōlētāriaprōlētārium
genitiveprōlētāriīprōlētāriaeprōlētāriī
dativeprōlētāriōprōlētāriaeprōlētāriō
accusativeprōlētāriumprōlētāriamprōlētārium
ablativeprōlētāriōprōlētāriāprōlētāriō
vocativeprōlētārieprōlētāriaprōlētārium
plural
formmasculinefeminineneuter
nominativeprōlētāriīprōlētāriaeprōlētāria
genitiveprōlētāriōrumprōlētāriārumprōlētāriōrum
dativeprōlētāriīsprōlētāriīsprōlētāriīs
accusativeprōlētāriōsprōlētāriāsprōlētāria
ablativeprōlētāriīsprōlētāriīsprōlētāriīs
vocativeprōlētāriīprōlētāriaeprōlētāria

prōlētārĭus, ĭi, m. proles.
I. According to a division of the people by Servius Tullius, a citizen of the lowest class, who served the State not with his property, but only with his children (proles), a proletary: qui aut non plus mille quingentum aeris aut omnino nihil in suum censum praeter caput attulissent, proletarios nominavit, ut ex iis quasi proles [id est quasi progenies] civitatis exspectari videretur, Cic. Rep. 2, 22, 40; cf Liv. 1, 43; Fragm. XII. Tab. ap. Gell. 16, 10, 1; Enn. ib. (Ann. v. 189 Vahl.): proletarios lucrari plures, Amm. 19, 11, 7: proletarium capite censum, dictum quod ex his civitas constet, quasi proles progenie: iidem et proletanei, Fest. p. 228 Müll.—*
II. Transf., adj., low, common: sermo, Plaut. Mil. 3, 1, 157.

Origins

From prōlēt- (“offspring”) + -ārius, from stem of prōlēs.

Descendants
  • Catalanproletari
  • Frenchprolétaire
  • Englishproletairefrom French prolétaire
  • GermanProletarierfrom French prolétaire
  • Romanianproletarfrom French prolétaire
  • Frenchprolétariatfrom French prolétaire
  • Englishproletariatfrom French prolétaire
  • GermanProletariatfrom French prolétaire
  • Romanianproletariatfrom French prolétaire
  • Italianproletario

Quick answers

What does prōlētārius mean in Latin?
prōlētārius, a adjective, means “belonging to the lowest class of citizens, who, lacking property, contributed to the State with their offspring instead; low-class”.
How do you pronounce prōlētārius?
In classical Latin, [proː.ɫeːˈtaː.ri.ʊs]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [pro.leˈtaː.ri.us].