I. | ̷ ̷| ̷ ̷ intransitive verb
Etymology: Middle English upsterten, from up + sterten to start — more at start
1. : to start up : jump up (as to one's feet)
2. obsolete : to rise up on end
3. : to come into being or notice
II. ˈ ̷ ̷ˌ ̷ ̷ noun
1. : one that has risen suddenly (as from a low position to wealth or power) ; especially : one that has risen from a lower position and presumes on his success : parvenu
2. : kip V 1a
III. adjective
Etymology: upstart (II)
1. : recently come into existence : new
all this material was of neolithic antiquity. … By comparison the taking of peyote was an upstart ceremony — Alice Marriott
2.
a. : recently or suddenly risen to a higher position or greater prominence
a mésalliance with a little nobody — a little upstart governess — W.M.Thackeray
b. : characteristic of an upstart : forward , presumptuous
the upstart pretensions of a young woman without family, connections, or fortune — Jane Austen
• up·start·ness noun -es