proletarianism

proletarian +‎ -ism; compare proletarism.

• (Received Pronunciation) enPR: prō'lĭtâʹrĭənĭzəm, IPA^(key): /ˌpɹəʊlɪˈtɛəɹɪənɪzəm/
• (General American) enPR: prō'lĭtâʹrēənĭzəm, IPA^(key): /ˌpɹoʊlɪˈtɛɹi.ənɪzəm/
• Hyphenation: pro‧le‧tar‧i‧an‧ism

proletarianism (usually uncountable, plural proletarianisms)

1. (uncountable) The political character and practice of the proletariat; advocacy or advancement of the proletariat’s interests.
2. (uncountable) The state, quality, or condition of being a proletarian.
3. (countable) A proletarian word or turn of phrase; a vulgarism.
   • 1973, Flying, volume 92, page 8:

     The scatological proletarianisms of Don Jonz reflect poorly on your heretofore high level of editorial standards.

   • 1992, Thomas Burns McArthur, editor, The Oxford Companion to the English language, page 553:

     There is a fine dividing line between the everyday sensationalism of popular and tabloid journalism and the parodies in such publications as the British satirical magazine Private Eye, which uses proletarianisms in such headlines as The Royals, dontcha lovem!

   • 2005, John Sutherland, biographical note to H. G. Wells’ The History of Mr Polly (Penguin Classics):

     Sadly, even the ‘genteel’ proletarianisms of Polly and his class are nowadays only normally heard among citizens over the age of fifty. In a few years that richly nuanced dialect will be as dead as Sanskrit.

4. (uncountable, rare) Proletarians regarded as a class; the proletariat.

• proletarianise, proletarianised, proletarianising

• “proleˈtarianism” listed in the Oxford English Dictionary (second edition, 1989)
• “proletarianism, n.” listed in the Oxford English Dictionary (draft revision, June 2007)