Sometimes we all use words without knowing their complete meaning. Here are a couple I got round to looking up:
proletarian
adj 1: the lowest class of citizens of ancient Rome who had no property [syn: propertyless] [ant: patrician, plebeian] 2: belonging to or characteristic of the proletariat n : a member of the working class (not necessarily employed); “workers of the world–unite!” [syn: prole, worker]
[From Latin prltrius, belonging to the lowest class of Roman citizens (viewed as contributing to the state only through having children), from prls, offspring. See al-2 in Indo-European Roots.]
stipend
n : a sum of money allotted on a regular basis; usually for some specific purpose
[Middle English stipendie, from Old French, from Latin stpendium, soldier's pay, from *stipipendium : stips, stip-, a small payment + pendere, to weigh, pay; see suspend.]