parvenu

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The Word of the Day for August 14 is: 

parvenu   \PAR-vuh-noo\   noun
     : one that has recently or suddenly risen to an unaccustomed position of 
wealth or power and has not yet gained the prestige, dignity, or manner 
associated with it

Example sentence:
     Washington old-timers viewed the young senator as an upstart parvenu.

Did you know?
     French has been generous in providing us with terms for obscure folks who 
suddenly strike it rich. In addition to "parvenu," French has loaned us 
"nouveau riche," "arriviste," and "roturier," all of which can describe a rich 
person of plebeian origins, especially one who is a bit snobby. Those colorful 
and slightly disparaging terms for the newly monied clearly show their French 
heritage, but it may be harder to see the French background of a term 
Massachusetts locals once used for coastal merchants made rich through the 
fishing trade: "codfish aristocracy." "Codfish" comes from Middle English, but 
"aristocracy" passed into English via Middle French.