释义 |
upstart I. \| ̷ ̷| ̷ ̷\ intransitive verb Etymology: Middle English upsterten, from up + sterten to start — more at start 1. : to start up : jump up (as to one's feet) 2. obsolete : to rise up on end 3. : to come into being or notice II. \ˈ ̷ ̷ˌ ̷ ̷\ noun 1. : one that has risen suddenly (as from a low position to wealth or power); especially : one that has risen from a lower position and presumes on his success : parvenu 2. : kip V 1a III. adjective Etymology: upstart (II) 1. : recently come into existence : new < all this material was of neolithic antiquity. … By comparison the taking of peyote was an upstart ceremony — Alice Marriott > 2. a. : recently or suddenly risen to a higher position or greater prominence < a mésalliance with a little nobody — a little upstart governess — W.M.Thackeray > b. : characteristic of an upstart : forward, presumptuous < the upstart pretensions of a young woman without family, connections, or fortune — Jane Austen > • up·start·ness noun -es |