parvenu
See also: Parvenü
English
WOTD – 4 August 2008
Etymology
Borrowed from French parvenu, past participle of parvenir, from Latin perveniō (“arrive, reach”).
See also parvenue f
Pronunciation
- (UK) IPA(key): /ˈpɑː.və.njuː/, /ˈpɑː.və.nuː/
- (US) IPA(key): /ˈpɑɹ.və.nju/, /ˈpɑɹ.və.nu/
,Audio (US) (file) Audio (US) (file) - Rhymes: -uː
Noun
parvenu (plural parvenus)
- 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.
- 2001 January 31, Francis Wheen, “The whole truth about Peter's friends”, in The Guardian:
- But the favourite's power and influence provoke intense ill-feeling among other courtiers, who regard him as a sinister, usurping parvenu with ideas above his station, or perhaps even a sorcerer.
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Synonyms
- arriviste
Derived terms
- parvenuess
Translations
a person who has risen, climbed up, or has been promoted to a higher social class
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See also
- nouveau riche
Adjective
parvenu (not comparable)
- Being a parvenu; also, like, having the characteristics of, or associated with a parvenu.
- 1903, Samuel Butler, chapter 66, in The Way of All Flesh:
- Loss of money is far the worst, then comes ill-health, and then loss of reputation; loss of reputation is a bad third, for, if a man keeps health and money unimpaired, it will be generally found that his loss of reputation is due to breaches of parvenu conventions only, and not to violations of those older, better established canons whose authority is unquestionable.
- 2001, Norman Birnbaum, After Progress, Oxford University Press:
- The Progressives were of the educated middle class, angry at the rule of parvenu financiers and industrialists.
- 2003, Edith Grossman, chapter 1, in Living to Tell the Tale, translation of original by Gabriel García Márquez:
- The majority of the adults, however, viewed Luisa Santiaga as the precious jewel of a rich and powerful family whom a parvenu telegraph operator was courting not for love but self-interest.
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Translations
being a parvenu; also, like or having the characteristics of a parvenu
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked
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Dutch
Etymology
Borrowed from French parvenu.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˌpɑr.vəˈny/
Audio (file) - Hyphenation: par‧ve‧nu
- Rhymes: -y
Noun
parvenu m or f (plural parvenu's, diminutive parvenuutje n)
- parvenu (a social climber not accepted by his or her new milieu, often due to crassness)
French
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /paʁ.və.ny/
Audio (file)
Adjective
parvenu (feminine parvenue, masculine plural parvenus, feminine plural parvenues)
- parvenu
Noun
parvenu m (plural parvenus, feminine parvenue)
- parvenu
Descendants
- → English: parvenu
- → Danish: parvenu
- → Dutch: parvenu
- → German: Parvenü
- → Italian: parvenu
- → Portuguese: parvenu
Participle
parvenu (feminine parvenue, masculine plural parvenus, feminine plural parvenues)
- past participle of parvenir
Further reading
- “parvenu”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Italian
Etymology
Borrowed from French parvenu.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /par.veˈnu/*
- Rhymes: -u
Noun
parvenu m (invariable)
- parvenu
Portuguese
Etymology
Borrowed from French parvenu.
Noun
parvenu m or f by sense (plural parvenus)
- parvenu (a person who has risen to a higher social class)