egalitarianism

noun

egal·​i·​tar·​i·​an·​ism i-ˌga-lə-ˈter-ē-ə-ˌni-zəm 

1

: a belief in human equality especially with respect to social, political, and economic affairs

2

: a social philosophy advocating the removal of inequalities among people

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The Roots of Egalitarianism

Egalitarianism comes to the English language from the French. We fashioned egalitarian from their égalitaire “egalitarian” (which comes from the Latin aequalitas “equality”), and then added our -ism to it. The word first appeared in English in the late 19th century; our current earliest citation is from 1874, in The Times of India: “Before the Revolution the officers of one regiment welcomed brother corps with champagne suppers, but egalitarianism has brought us down to punch at five francs the bowl. . . ." The word has seen a subtle shift in meaning. Its earliest use was typically in reference to a belief in human equality; it has since taken on the sense “a social philosophy that advocates the removal of inequality among people.”

Examples of egalitarianism in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Just as the point of state neutrality is personal non-neutrality, the point of political egalitarianism is interpersonal disproportion. —Becca Rothfeld, Harper's Magazine, 2 Mar. 2024

Democrats overwhelmingly favor gender egalitarianism while Republicans want more traditional gender hierarchies. —Constance Grady, Vox, 7 Dec. 2018

Carter's commitment to egalitarianism on matters of race and gender manifested itself in his approach to federal court nominations. —David Faris, Newsweek, 29 Dec. 2024

Prasad, for instance, thinks there’s a kind of egalitarianism that’s inherent in English and missing from its Indian alternatives. —Manvir Singh, The New Yorker, 23 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1874, in the meaning defined at sense 1