What does bourgeoisie mean?
The bourgeoisie is the social class situated between the aristocracy and the working class — broadly, the middle class, and more specifically the property-owning segment of it. The term entered English from French in the sixteenth century and derives from 'bourg', meaning a walled town, so it originally described townspeople: merchants, shopkeepers, and professionals who lived by trade rather than land. Its meaning sharpened dramatically in the nineteenth century, when Karl Marx made 'bourgeoisie' a technical term for the capitalist class that owns the means of production and lives on profit from others' labor, in opposition to the proletariat. Today the word serves both senses: in sociology and economics it names the propertied middle class, while in everyday criticism it often carries a dismissive edge, implying materialism, conformity, and concern with respectability. Calling someone's tastes 'bourgeois' is rarely a compliment, which gives the noun a similarly pointed tone in casual use.
nounThe bourgeoisie is the middle class of a society, especially the property-owning class regarded as concerned chiefly with material interests and conventional respectability. In Marxist theory, it denotes the capitalist class who own the means of production.
- The middle class of society, particularly the property-owning, materially minded class.
- (Marxist theory) The capitalist class that owns the means of production and employs wage labor.
"The novel satirizes the complacent bourgeoisie of nineteenth-century Paris, obsessed with property and social standing."
"The revolution was driven by resentment of a wealthy bourgeoisie that controlled both land and commerce."
"He dismissed the film as flattery aimed at a comfortable suburban bourgeoisie."
Rarely used; 'bourgeoisie' normally functions as an uncountable collective noun referring to the class as a whole.
"Comparative studies have examined how different national bourgeoisies responded to industrialization."
The word 'bourgeoisie' literally means 'people of the walled town' — it began as a label for city dwellers and ended up naming the class Marx predicted would be overthrown.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of bourgeoisie
Bourgeoisie comes from French, formed from 'bourgeois' (a townsperson), which derives from the Late Latin 'burgus' (fortified town), of Germanic origin, related to Old English 'burh' — the same root that gives English 'borough' and 'burgher'. It was borrowed into English in the sixteenth century in its general sense of the middle class. In the mid-nineteenth century, Marxist writers gave it its specialized economic sense of the capitalist class, a usage now standard in political and sociological discourse.
Related word forms
How bourgeoisie is actually used
The term is formal and often carries a critical or ironic connotation when used outside economics or sociology, suggesting smugness, materialism, or conventional tastes. In Marxist writing it is a precise technical term. The anglicized plural 'bourgeoisies' exists but is rare; 'bourgeoisie' usually functions as a collective noun taking either singular or plural agreement.
Easily confused with bourgeoisie
Bourgeoisie is the noun for the class as a whole, while bourgeois is an adjective (or singular noun) describing its characteristic attitudes or an individual member.