Link Centre Dictionary

bourgeois

bour·geois

UK/bəːˈdʒɔɪs/ US/bəɹˈd͡ʒɔɪs/ fairly common
noun (2) adjective (3)

noun

1.
2.

a member of the middle class

Synonyms

adjective

1.

(according to Marxist thought) being of the property-owning class and exploitive of the working class

Similar
2.

conforming to the standards and conventions of the middle class

  • “a bourgeois mentality”
Synonyms
Similar
3.

Origin

Unadapted borrowing from French bourgeois (“a class of citizens who were wealthier members of the Third Estate”), from Old French burgeis (“town dweller”), from Frankish *burg, ultimately from Proto-Germanic *burgz (“stronghold; city”) (whence borough). Doublet of burgess; compare also burgish.

Phrases

  • épater le bourgeois
  • petit bourgeois
  • petty bourgeois

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

Narrower terms

Parts

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.