In order to delve into the meaning of the term upstart, we must begin by knowing what its etymological origin is. In this case, it must be emphasized that it derives from Latin, which 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 “to”.
-The verb “venire”, which can be translated as “to come”.
-The suffix “-izo”, which is used to indicate relationship or belonging.
According to Digopaul, upstart is an adjective derived from advenir: arrive, arrive or events. The term is used to describe the person who is not native or natural of a certain site. For example: “Our association will not tolerate the arrival of an upstart with intentions of command”, “I want all citizens to know I’m not a sojourner: I have a career spanning more than thirty years in the police force”, ” I can not stand Upstart fans who now want to go to all the band’s concerts. ”
This adjective is generally used in a derogatory or pejorative sense. Let us suppose that an actor gets involved in political activity and launches his candidacy for mayor of his town. The most experienced leaders of the town do not take long to accuse him of being someone upstart who does not have experience in this type of issues and, therefore, should not receive the support of the neighbors.
An upstart is also said to one who was born in poverty and who, after achieving a certain wealth, wants to show himself as a member of the upper class of society. An upstart or new rich person is someone who, since he has the economic means to access goods or services that were previously inaccessible, tries to show his fortune and shows off his economic power.
Those who were born into wealthy families and who have aristocratic roots are likely to mock the new rich, considering that, beyond the money he raised, he remains a vulgar person who does not have the same status as them. Thus they label him as an upstart and do not allow him to “enter” the privileged sector of the community.
In the world of cinema, theater or directly from history we find numerous examples of upstarts. We are referring, for example, to the character of Trimalcion, in the satirical novel “El Satiricón”, which is written in Latin and whose authorship is attributed to Petronius.
He also receives that adjective Molly Brown, an American philanthropist who actively fought in life for the rights of women, of Colorado miners and also of children. She became known for being one of the survivors of the Titanic and was established to be a new rich woman. 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.
Precisely another new rich man may be the Spanish Amancio Ortega, now become one of the wealthiest entrepreneurs in the world thanks to owning the Inditex textile group. And it is that this man, of humble origin, began his professional career working in clothing stores and then starting a small business of making bathrobes.
