parvenu

See also Parvenü

English

WOTD – 4 August 2008    

Wikipedia

Etymology

From French parvenu, from French parvenir, from Latin perveniō (“arrive, reach”).

See also parvenue (f). Parvenu/parvenue is one of the few words in English which has two forms distinguished according to gender.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA: /ˈpɑː.və.njuː/, /ˈpɑː.və.nuː/
• (US) IPA: /ˈpɑɹ.və.nju/, /ˈpɑɹ.və.nu/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

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  Audio (US)

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• Rhymes: -uː

Noun

parvenu (plural parvenus)

1. A person who has risen, climbed up, or has been promoted to a higher social class, especially through acquisition of wealth, rights, 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", 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.

Related terms

• nouveau riche

Translations

a person who has risen, climbed up, or has been promoted to a higher social class

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 暴發戶 (cmn), 暴发户 (cmn) (bàofāhù)

• Dutch: parvenu (nl)
• Estonian: tõusik (et)
• Finnish: nousukas (fi)
• French: parvenu (fr) m, parvenue (fr) f
• German: Emporkömmling (de) m, Parvenü (de) m

• Icelandic: stéttskiptingur (is) m, uppskafningur (is) m
• Japanese: 成り金 (ja) (なりきん, narikin), 成り上がり者 (ja) (なりあがりもの, nariagari-mono), 出来星 (ja) (できぼし, dekiboshi)
• Russian: парвеню (ru) (parvenjú) m, нувориш (ru) (nuvoríš) m, выскочка (ru) (výskočka) m and f
• Swedish: parveny c, uppkomling c

Adjective

parvenu (not comparable)

1. (Should we delete⁽⁺⁾ this sense?) Being a parvenu; also, like or having the characteristics of a parvenu.
   • 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 (translator), Gabriel García Márquez, Living to Tell the Tale (2002), Chapter 1,

     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.

Translations

being a parvenu; also, like or having the characteristics of a parvenu

• Estonian: tõusiklik (et)
• German: parvenühaft (de)

• Hungarian: parvenü (hu), felkapaszkodott (hu)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.

Translations to be checked

• Finnish: nousukasmainen
• Italian: pervenito
• Latin: pervenitus m, pervenita f

• Portuguese: parvenido m, parvenida f
• Spanish: parvenido

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French

Pronunciation

• IPA: /paʁvəny/, X-SAMPA: /paRv@ny/

Adjective

parvenu m (feminine parvenue, masculine plural parvenus, feminine plural parvenues)

1. parvenu

Noun

parvenu m (plural parvenus; feminine parvenue, plural parvenues)

1. parvenu

Verb

parvenu m (feminine parvenue, masculine plural parvenus, feminine plural parvenues)

1. Past participle of parvenir

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Italian

Etymology

French

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -u

Noun

parvenu m (invariable)

1. parvenu