nouveau riche

[ noo-voh reesh; French noo-voh reesh ]

noun

, plural nou·veaux riches [noo, -voh , reesh, noo-voh , reesh].

1. a person who is newly rich:

   the ostentation of the nouveaux riches of the 1920s.

nouveau riche

/ ˌnuːvəʊ ˈriːʃ; nuvo riʃ /

noun

1. often plural a person who has acquired wealth recently and is regarded as vulgarly ostentatious or lacking in social graces

adjective

1. of or characteristic of the nouveaux riches

nouveau riche

1. A pejorative term for one who has recently become rich and who spends money conspicuously. From French, meaning “new rich.”

Word History and Origins

Origin of nouveau riche¹

1805–15; < French: new rich (person)

Word History and Origins

Origin of nouveau riche¹

French, literally: new rich