A nouveau riche is often mentioned as an upstart.
Upstart is an adjective that derives from advenir : arrive, arrive or happen. The term is used to describe a person who is not native or natural to a certain place.
For example: “Our association will not tolerate the arrival of an upstart with command intentions,” “I want all citizens to know that I am not an upstart: I have a career of more than thirty years in the police force,” “I can't stand the upstart fans who now want to go to all the band's concerts."
Etymology of upstart
In order to delve into the meaning of the term upstart, we must know its etymological origin. In this case, it must be emphasized that it derives from a Latin word that means "he who is not from this place" and that it is the result of the sum of several components:
- The prefix ad- , which is equivalent to “towards” .
- The verb vinore , which can be translated as “to come.”
- The suffix -izo , which is used to indicate relationship or belonging.
A derogatory sense
Typically, this adjective is used in a derogatory or pejorative sense .
Suppose an actor becomes involved in political activity and launches his candidacy for mayor of his town. The town's most experienced leaders are quick to accuse him of being an upstart who has no experience in this type of issues and who, therefore, should not receive the support of the neighbors.
The upstarts flaunt their wealth.
The upstart as a nouveau riche
An upstart is also called someone who was born in poverty and who, after managing to accumulate a certain amount of wealth , wishes to show himself as a member of the upper class of society . An upstart or nouveau riche is someone who, since he has the financial means to access goods or services that were previously inaccessible, tries to show his fortune and flaunts his economic power.
Those who were born into wealthy families and who have aristocratic roots are likely to mock the nouveau riche, considering that, regardless of the money he collected, he is still a vulgar person who does not have the same status as them. Thus they brand him an upstart and do not allow him to “enter” the privileged sector of the community.
Some examples
The person who received this adjective was Molly Brown , an American philanthropist who actively fought during her life for the rights of women, Colorado miners, and also children. She became known for being one of the Titanic survivors and it was established that she was nouveau riche. Her origins had been very humble, but she managed to amass a great fortune thanks to, in the company of her husband, having discovered a gold mine.
Another nouveau riche may be the Spanish Amancio Ortega , now converted into one of the wealthiest businessmen in the world thanks to being the founder of the Inditex textile group. And this man, from humble origins, began his professional career working in clothing stores and then starting a small business making bathrobes.
In the world of cinema, theater or directly in history we find numerous examples of upstarts. We are referring, for example, to the character of Trimalcion in the satirical novel “The Satyricon” , which is written in Latin and whose authorship is attributed to Petronio .