See Also: upstart(medicine)
upstart(1)(dictionary)
upstart(2)(dictionary)
upstart(dictionary)

upstart(1) (iou)



upstart noun & adjective. M16.
[from the verb.]
A. noun.
A person newly or suddenly risen to prominence or in social position, esp. one regarded as behaving arrogantly or as lacking appropriate qualifications or accomplishments; a parvenu. M16.
J. Cary The..people are too proud to bear the rule of a foreign upstart. A. West Time..for this young upstart from below stairs to be taught a lesson.
a. An upward start or spring. obsolete exc. poet. M17.
b. Gymnastics. A series of movements on the parallel or asymmetric bars by which a gymnast swings to a position in which the body is supported by the arms above the bar, esp. at the start of a routine. E20.
A stick forming a support for a thatched roof. Scot. M18.
b. adjective.
Of a thing: recently come into existence or notice, new, novel. M16.
Bosworth Smith The upstart naval power of Rome.
Of a person etc.: that is an upstart; characteristic of upstarts. M16.
E. P. Thompson The upstart nouveau riche, fattened by the war.
Rising on end. rare (Spenser). Only in L16.