Etymograph

English

arriviste

Arriviste comes from French arriver ‘to arrive’, and goes back to Early Medieval Latin adrīpāre.

  1. Early Medieval Latinmodernadrīpāre1
  2. Old Frenchc. 842–1400ariver1‘to arrive’
  3. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600arriver1‘to arrive’
  4. Frenchc. 1600–presentarriver2‘to arrive’
  5. Frenchc. 1600–presentarriviste2
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1920arriviste2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, French arriver
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English arriviste
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1920, Bertrand Russell: “The second class in the bureaucracy, among whom are…”.

Lineage

  1. Early Medieval LatinmodernadrīpāreWiktionary, French arriver
  2. Old Frenchc. 842–1400ariverWiktionary, French arriver‘to arrive’
  3. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600arriverWiktionary, French arriver‘to arrive’
  4. Frenchc. 1600–presentarriverWiktionary, English arriviste‘to arrive’
  5. Frenchc. 1600–presentarrivisteWiktionary, English arriviste
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1920arrivisteWiktionary, English arriviste. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1920, Bertrand Russell: “The second class in the bureaucracy, among whom are…”

Every English word from Early Medieval Latin adrīpāre

Today it means

noun An upstart or newcomer; nouveau riche; parvenu; an ambitious, brash or arrogant person who has yet to integrate with his or her new social group.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “arriviste”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for French arriver. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Early Medieval Latin adrīpāre / arriviste

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