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English
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Etymology 1
Borrowed 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 .
Pronunciation
Adjective
bourgeois (comparative more bourgeois , superlative most bourgeois )
Of or relating to the middle class ( often derogatory ) , their presumed overly conventional , conservative , and materialistic values .
bourgeois opinion
( historical ) Of or relating to the bourgeoisie , the third estate of the French Ancien Regime .
( Marxism ) Of or relating to the capitalist class , ( usually derogatory ) the capitalist exploitation of the proletariat .
Synonyms
( conventional, conservative ) : square
Derived terms
Translations
of or relating to the middle class
conventional, conservative and materialistic
of or relating to capitalist exploitation
Noun
bourgeois (usually uncountable , plural bourgeois )
( politics , collectively , usually in the plural ) The middle class .
( rare ) An individual member of the middle class .
( usually derogatory ) A person of any class with bourgeois (i.e. , overly conventional and materialistic ) values and attitudes .
( history ) An individual member of the bourgeoisie , the third estate of the French Ancien Regime .
( Marxism ) A capitalist , ( usually derogatory ) an exploiter of the proletariat .
Translations
individual member of the middle class
Armenian: բուրժուա (hy) ( buržua )
Belarusian: буржуа́ m ( buržuá ) , буржу́й m ( buržúj ) ( colloquial ) , мешчані́н m ( mješčanín ) , мяшча́нка f ( mjaščánka )
Bulgarian: буржоа́ m ( buržoá )
Czech: měšťák (cs) m , buržuj (cs) m
Esperanto: burĝo (eo)
Finnish: porvari (fi)
French: bourgeois (fr) m , bourgeoise (fr) f
German: Bourgeois (de) m
Indonesian: borjuis (id)
Irish: buirgéiseach m
Italian: borghese (it) m or f
Macedonian: буржуј m ( buržuj ) , буржујка f ( buržujka )
Polish: burżuj (pl) m , mieszczanin (pl) m , mieszczanka (pl) f
Portuguese: burguês (pt) m , burguesa f
Romanian: burghez (ro) m
Russian: буржуа́ (ru) m ( buržuá ) , буржу́й (ru) m ( buržúj ) ( colloquial ) , мещани́н (ru) m ( meščanín ) , меща́нка (ru) f ( meščánka )
Serbo-Croatian:
Cyrillic: бу̀ржӯј m
Roman: bùržūj (sh) m
Slovak: meštiak m , buržuj m
Slovene: buržuj m
Tagalog: burgis
Ukrainian: буржуа́ (uk) m ( buržuá ) , буржу́й (uk) m ( buržúj ) ( colloquial ) , міщани́н m ( miščanýn ) , міща́нка f ( miščánka )
person with bourgeois values
member of the Third Estate
Verb
bourgeois (third-person singular simple present bourgeoises , present participle bourgeoising , simple past and past participle bourgeoised )
( transitive ) To make bourgeois.
Further reading
"bourgeois" in Raymond Williams, Keywords (revised), 1983, Fontana Press, page 45.
Etymology 2
From Middle English burjois , from French Bourgois , probably from Bourges ( a city in France ) + -ois ( forming adjectives ) but possibly from bourgeois above or after Jean de Bourgeois who worked as a printer in Rouen c. 1500.
Pronunciation
Noun
bourgeois (uncountable )
( printing , dated ) A size of type between brevier and long primer , standardized as 9-point .
Synonyms
Derived terms
Translations
Dutch
Etymology
Borrowed from French bourgeois .
Pronunciation
IPA (key ) : /burˈʒʋaː/
Hyphenation: bour‧geois
Rhymes: -aː
Noun
bourgeois m (plural bourgeois , diminutive bourgeoistje n )
bourgeois
Descendants
French
Etymology
Inherited from Middle French bourgois , from Old French borgeis ( “ town dweller ” ) , from borc ( “ fortified place, town ” ) , ultimately from Proto-Germanic *burgz ( “ fortress ” ) , from Proto-Indo-European *bʰérǵʰs ( “ fortified elevation ” ) .
The path from Proto-Germanic to Old French is unclear. Perhaps via Frankish *burg or Late Latin burgus , or possibly both, and probably through the Late Latin intermediate burgensis . Compare Italian borghese , Portuguese burguês , Spanish burgués .
By surface analysis , bourg + -ois .
Pronunciation
Adjective
bourgeois (feminine bourgeoise , masculine plural bourgeois , feminine plural bourgeoises )
bourgeois
Derived terms
Noun
bourgeois m (plural bourgeois , feminine bourgeoise )
A member of the middle class
bourgeois
( archaic ) an inhabitant of a town or city
( archaic ) someone who belongs to neither the aristocratic , clerical , nor military classes
Synonyms
Derived terms
Descendants
Further reading
German
Etymology
Borrowed from French bourgeois , name for a wealthy class of French citizens in the late 18th century.
Pronunciation
IPA (key ) : /bʊrˈʒu̯aː/ , , , ( standard; basic form )
IPA (key ) : /bʊrˈʒu̯aːz-/ ( standard; inflected forms )
IPA (key ) : /bʊrˈʃu̯aː(s-)/ ( often in southern Germany, Austria, Switzerland )
Adjective
bourgeois (strong nominative masculine singular bourgeoiser , comparative bourgeoiser , superlative am bourgeoisesten )
bourgeois
snobbish , elitist (in the context of the upper middle class)
Declension
Positive forms of bourgeois
Comparative forms of bourgeois
Superlative forms of bourgeois
See also
Further reading