petit bourgeois definitions

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a member of the lower middle class
2: lower middle class (shopkeepers and clerical staff etc.) [syn: petit bourgeois, petite bourgeoisie, petty bourgeoisie]

Merriam Webster's

noun Etymology: French, literally, small bourgeois Date: 1828 1. a member of the petite bourgeoisie 2. petite bourgeoisie • petit bourgeois adjective

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. (pl. petits bourgeois pronunc. same) a member of the lower middle classes. Etymology: F

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

also petty bourgeois Someone or something that is petit bourgeois belongs or relates to the lower middle class. He had a petit bourgeois mentality. ADJ [disapproval]