The term Third World derives from the French Third Estate

Evidence

Alfred Sauvy claimed that he had coined the term ‘Third World’ in 1952, modelled on the conception of the French Third Estate. In French journalism at least, the term had been used well before Bandung. The phrase was thus of European coinage, and owed its currency to European mediology; but this we shall ignore. The overlap of certain other kinds of background is far more significant. — Aijaz Ahmad, In Theory, 1263

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: The term ‘Third World’ fuses three distinct meaning-sets. — Aijaz Ahmad, In Theory: Classes, Nations, Literatures, 81; The term Third World originally named military non-alignment, not geography or modes of production — Aijaz Ahmad, In Theory: Nations, Classes, Literatures, 564; India is empirical counter-evidence to the Third World’s non-capitalist definition. — Aijaz Ahmad, In Theory: Classes, Nations, Literatures, 388

Broader Connections

• The term Third World originally named military non-alignment, not geography or modes of production #qualifies (0.80) — Aijaz Ahmad, In Theory, 564
• The term ‘Third World’ fuses three distinct meaning-sets. #expands (0.75) — Aijaz Ahmad, In Theory, 81