parvenu
/ˈpɑːvənuː
/ /ˈpɑːvənjuː/noun often derogatory
A person of humble origin who has gained wealth, influence, or celebrity: the political inexperience of a parvenu [as modifier]: cynical parvenu bureaucrats...
- The others are parvenus and upstarts in comparison.
- He presented himself as a supremely patrician figure, so different from the vulgar parvenues of the Thatcher cabinet.
- And yet one often hears the bitterness of a displaced generation: ‘How many out of this avalanche of parvenus will stay the course?’
Synonyms
upstart, social climber, arriviste, vulgarian;
the nouveau riche, the new rich
Origin
Early 19th century: from French, literally 'arrived', past participle of parvenir, from Latin pervenire 'come to, reach'.