Etymology

nouveau pauvre

Today it means: A newly impoverished person; somebody who has recently become poor. Full definition →

First used 1965French nouveau pauvre
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The story

  1. French · borrowed fromnouveau pauvre“new poor”
  2. English todaynouveau pauvre

Unadapted borrowing from French nouveau pauvre (“new poor”), modeled on nouveau riche (“new money”).

First known use, by meaning

  • from 1965 A newly impoverished person; somebody who has recently become poor.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.