French Revolution Terminology

noun a radical or lower-class Parisian in the French Revolution

adjective relating to or characteristic of the sans culottes

• The sans culottes were a radical group of Parisian working-class citizens during the French Revolution.
• I saw a guy at the party wearing a sans culotte and thought it was a bold fashion statement.
• She's totally a sans culotte when it comes to following the rules.
• His speech was like a sans culotte, rebellious and unconventional.

noun a class or order of society constituted by commoners, especially outside the clergy and the aristocracy

• In feudal France, the third estate consisted of commoners who were not part of the clergy or nobility.
• The third estate was made up of regular people like farmers, merchants, and artisans.
• Back in the day, the third estate was basically the 'working class' of France.
• The third estate symbolized the majority of the population who were often marginalized by the elite classes.