Did You Know?
An "arriviste" is someone who is just beginning to "arrive," in the sense of achieving success or making a name for oneself. Often the word can have slightly negative connotations, indicating a person who is highly aggressive or perhaps unscrupulous in his or her climb to the top. Like its synonym "parvenu," "arriviste" can also indicate a lack of certainty or confidence in one's newfound position. "Arriviste" is something of a new arrival itself, relatively speaking. English speakers borrowed the term from French in the early 20th century.
