Upstarted

Part of speech: adjective, verb

Definitions

1. A person who has swiftly ascended to wealth or status is recognized as someone who has recently experienced a significant rise in their social standing
2. An individual who has quickly achieved notable success and recognition is viewed as having suddenly elevated their position in society
3. An individual who has dramatically improved their financial or social status is seen as someone recently emerging from a less prominent situation

Etymology: "Upstarted" is the past tense and past participle of "upstart," a verb meaning to rise suddenly, or to rise up from a lower position. The verb developed from the noun "upstart," which in Middle English was formed from "up" and "start," the same "start" that means to begin or to jump into motion. The image is of someone leaping up quickly from a seated or lowly position, and that physical sense of sudden movement is still visible in the word's meaning. Over time, the idea of rising quickly was applied to people rising in social rank, and an "upstart" came to mean someone who had climbed the ladder too fast and was resented for it. The verb's past forms carry the same sense: a person who has upstarted has leapt into prominence without the standing that usually comes with it.