parvenu
UK /ˈpɑː.və.njuː/ · US /ˈpɑɹ.və.nju/ noun, adjective
Forms parvenus
- noun A person who has risen, climbed up, or has been promoted to a higher social class, especially through acquisition of wealth, privileges, or political authority but has not gained social acceptance by those within that new class.
- adjective Being a parvenu; also, like, having the characteristics of, or associated with a parvenu.
Synonyms
Etymology
Borrowed from French parvenu, past participle of parvenir, from Latin perveniō (“arrive, reach”).
See also parvenue f
Webster’s 1913
Etymology [F., prop. p.p. of parvenir to attain to, to succeed, to rise to high station, L. pervenire to come to; per through + venire to come. See Par, prep., and Come.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “parvenu”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details