enterprise

Pronunciation

• IPA: UK /ˈen.tə.praɪz/, US /ˈen.t̬ɚ.praɪz/^[1]

Etymology

It is Middle English enterprise, borrowed from Old French entreprise (“an undertaking”),^[2][3][4] a noun use of the feminine past participle of entreprendre (“to undertake”),^[2][3] from entre- “between” and prendre “to take”,^[2][4] from prehendere (“to catch hold of, seize”).^[2][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

An undertaking, especially a bold or difficult one: about 1430 in the OED, the early 15th century in Etymonline.^[6][2]

Semantic evolution

Readiness to engage in difficult or risky undertakings, a daring spirit, is from 1475.^[6][2] Management or superintendence is from 1534 and obsolete.^[6] A commercial or industrial undertaking is from 1862, and engagement in such undertakings in general from 1769.^[6] Enterprise zone, an area with tax breaks to encourage business, is from 1978, and enterprise culture from 1980.^[6] The verb, to undertake, is from 1485 but now rare.^[6][7]

Timeline

• c. 1430 – an undertaking.^[6]
• 1475 – a daring spirit.^[6]
• 1862 – a business undertaking.^[6]
• 1978 – enterprise zone.^[6]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A large project, especially a bold or difficult one.
2. A business or company.
3. Business activity, especially that of private individuals: private enterprise.
4. Willingness to try new and difficult things; initiative.

Word family

• enterpriser
• enterpriseless
• enterprising
• microenterprise
• free enterprise

Related words

• entrepreneur
• emprise

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
4. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press