petty bourgeois--how old?

[Vadim Besprozvanny]

The word "буржуй" belongs to colloquialisms (low register). One of
the first instances of its usage can be dated (to the best of my knowledge)
by 1860s. In the 1870-1880 it became quite common in the literature of
Russian Realism (Turgenev, Boborykin, Gorkii, etc.) as a pejorative
appellation to prosperous people of any social stratum. It also can be
traced to popular language (as a joke, irony, even offense); for example,
among kids: "- Mne mama rubl' dala. - Nu ty i burzhuy!").  

VB 

On Thu, 10 May 2012 15:47:00 -0700, Jules Levin  wrote: How old is the
phrase "melkiy burzhua/burzhuy"?
 If used in the 19th Century, would it have been used as an official class
or category, or only in the
 rhetorical style of certain circles?
 Jules Levin
 Los Angeles
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