define proletariat
Part of a series on. The proletariat (/ËproÊlÉªËtÉÉriËÉt/ from Latin proletarius) is a term for the class of wage-earners, in a capitalist society, whose only possession of significant material value is their labor-power (their ability to work); a member of such a class is a proletarian. 1 Usage in the Constitution of the Roman Republic.