petite bourgeoisie

noun

: the lower middle class including especially small shopkeepers and artisans

Examples of petite bourgeoisie in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
The landed gentry hold hands with bankers, the petite bourgeoisie, and the nouveaux riche. Samuel Earle, The New Republic, 23 Feb. 2021 Image This tournament, thus far, has belonged not to soccer’s great aristocratic houses, but to its petite bourgeoisie. Rory Smith, New York Times, 29 June 2018 Each mobilized men and women from a broad spectrum of the population but had particular attraction for the petite bourgeoisie. Nancy K. MacLean, Slate Magazine, 20 Mar. 2017 The airport is to America’s petite bourgeoisie—the small-time capitalists and traveling salesmen who delivered us to Trump—what the factory is to the white working class: a symbol of how much better things used to be. Henry Grabar, Slate Magazine, 7 Sep. 2017

Word History

Etymology

French, literally, small bourgeoisie

First Known Use

1872, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of petite bourgeoisie was in 1872

Dictionary Entries Near petite bourgeoisie

Cite this Entry

“Petite bourgeoisie.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/petite%20bourgeoisie. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.

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