The Roots of Egalitarianism

Egalitarianism comes to the English language from the French. We fashioned egalitarian from their égalitaire “egalitarian” (which comes from the Latin aequalitas “equality”), and then added our -ism to it. The word first appeared in English in the late 19th century; our current earliest citation is from 1874, in The Times of India: “Before the Revolution the officers of one regiment welcomed brother corps with champagne suppers, but egalitarianism has brought us down to punch at five francs the bowl. . . ." The word has seen a subtle shift in meaning. Its earliest use was typically in reference to a belief in human equality; it has since taken on the sense “a social philosophy that advocates the removal of inequality among people.”

Examples of egalitarianism in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Perhaps most ironically, Olmsted’s designs, though conceived in a spirit of egalitarianism, now define some of the country’s most exclusive neighborhoods, including in Boston and Brookline. — Malcolm Gay, BostonGlobe.com, 11 June 2022 Alger commanded enormous popularity in his time, and his novels became integral to the enduring fantasy of American egalitarianism. — New York Times, 5 Apr. 2022 Or, in some cases, the team members buy the pretense of egalitarianism and then are enraged when the boss makes a decision that is at odds with their position. — Prudy Gourguechon, Forbes, 25 Jan. 2022 In a nod to rising egalitarianism, women now make a covenant to obey God directly. — Caroline Kline, The Conversation, 14 Dec. 2021 The Latter-day Saint tradition continues, therefore, to embrace a double discourse of male headship and marital egalitarianism. — The Salt Lake Tribune, 14 Dec. 2021 After China’s 1949 communist revolution, China developed a strong streak of egalitarianism under Mao Zedong. — Ann Scott Tyson, The Christian Science Monitor, 15 Nov. 2021 One in particular will be finding a way to avoid letting client firms that do not receive investments from feeling left out, especially in an industry like crypto where themes of decentralization and egalitarianism are endemic to its DNA. — Steven Ehrlich, Forbes, 10 Dec. 2021 In his theological works, Luther introduced a radical egalitarianism that helped lay the foundation for modern democracy and human rights. — Joseph Loconte, WSJ, 26 Oct. 2017 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'egalitarianism.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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