n.
A person who has suddenly risen to a higher social and economic class and has not yet gained social acceptance by others in that class.
[French, from past participle of parvenir, to arrive, from Latin pervenīre : per, through + venīre, to come.]
parvenu par've·nu' adj.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
