Define parvenu

English Dictionary. Word Lists. Grammar English Easy Learning Grammar.

Add to word list Add to word list. Synonym arriviste disapproving. Examples of parvenu. From this unpromising start, the story apparently went, the young parvenu founded a great people. From the Cambridge English Corpus.

Define parvenu

French has been generous in providing us with terms for obscure folks who suddenly strike it rich. In addition to parvenu , French has loaned us nouveau riche , arriviste , and roturier , all of which can describe a rich person of plebeian origins, especially one who is a bit snobby. Those colorful and slightly disparaging terms for the newly moneyed clearly show their French heritage, but it may be harder to see the French background of a term Massachusetts locals once used for coastal merchants made rich through the fishing trade: codfish aristocracy. Codfish comes from Middle English beyond that its origin is a mystery , but aristocracy passed into English via Middle French it is ultimately from Greek aristos , meaning "best". These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'parvenu. Send us feedback about these examples. Accessed 16 Mar. Nglish: Translation of parvenu for Spanish Speakers. Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free! See Definitions and Examples ». Log In. Synonyms of parvenu.

Register now or log in to access. Chinese English to Simplified. I refuse to invite that upstart to my place.

A parvenu is a person who is a relative newcomer to a high-ranking socioeconomic class. The word is borrowed from the French language ; it is the past participle of the verb parvenir to reach, to arrive, to manage to do something. The word parvenu typically describes a person who recently ascended the social ladder , especially a nouveau riche or "new money" individual. The famous Margaret Brown , who survived the sinking of the Titanic in , was portrayed as a "new money" individual, most notably in the "climbing social classes" musical The Unsinkable Molly Brown , because of her impoverished Irish immigrant roots and lack of social pedigree. The Oxford English Dictionary defines a parvenu as: "A person from a humble background who has rapidly gained wealth or an influential social position; a nouveau riche; an upstart, a social climber. Also in extended use.

By signing in, you agree to our Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy. We'll see you in your inbox soon. See also parvenue f. From Wiktionary. Rousseau his father was a rich parvenu , who brought his son at an early age to Paris, where the latter spent most of his life. A parvenu of the middle classes, he was brutal in his treatment of the lower orders and a sycophant in his behaviour towards the powerful; prodigiously active, ill-obeyedas was the custombut much dreaded. On the death of Filippo Maria Visconti, Filelfo, after a short hesitation, transferred his allegiance to Francesco Sforza, the new duke of Milan; and in order to curry favour with this parvenu , he began his ponderous epic, the Sforziad, of which 12, lines'were written, but which was never published. Born in a drapers shop, this great administrator always preserved its narrow horizon, its short-sighted imagination, its taste for detail, and the conceit of the parvenu ; while with his insinuating ways, and knowing better than Fouquet how to keep his distance, he made himself indispensable by his savoir-faire and his readiness for every emergency. Find similar words to parvenu using the buttons below.

Define parvenu

English Dictionary. Word Lists. Grammar English Easy Learning Grammar. English Grammar in Spanish. Grammar Patterns. English Usage.

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The smell was really quite. English—Swedish Swedish—English. Italian images. This article needs additional citations for verification. Quiz English grammar. Traditional to English. Grammar English Easy Learning Grammar. English synonyms. Translations Click on the arrows to change the translation direction. Grammar Thesaurus. Old money contrasts with the "nouveau riche" and "parvenus". Tell us about this example sentence:. Read More. Your feedback will be reviewed.

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Bilingual Dictionaries. More from Merriam-Webster on parvenu. English—Portuguese Portuguese—English. First Known Use. Read more…. German English to German. Derived forms. Trends of parvenu. Traditional Chinese images. These people, though, had their hands full with the "parvenus", supplying them with enough money, a burden that weighed on the poors backs. Grammar Patterns. English Dictionary. Life of Napoleon Bonaparte. Did you know? I refuse to invite that upstart to my place.