entrepreneur English · revision 10641

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1828|origins=fr entrepreneur}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /ˌɒn.trə.prəˈnɜː/, US /ˌɑːn.trə.prəˈnɝː/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is, borrowed a second time, [[bor|fr|entrepreneur|t=one who undertakes, a manager]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) from Old French entreprendre, to undertake (see [[enterprise]]), and -eur (see [[-or]]).^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The manager or promoter of a theatrical production or musical institution: 1828.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The word had crossed the Channel once before, as Middle English entreprennoure (1475) and enterprenour (1485), but then vanished from recorded English for almost 350 years.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) The modern sense, a person who owns and manages a business and takes the risk, appeared in 1852, first in political economy.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)^(MWU 2024) ''Entrepreneurship'' is from 1934.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1475 – entreprennoure (Middle English).^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1828 – a theatrical promoter.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1852 – a business owner and risk-taker.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1934 – entrepreneurship.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A person who sets up and runs a [[business]], taking on the financial [[risk]] in the hope of profit.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A middleman or commercial intermediary.^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[entrepreneurial]]

+ * [[entrepreneurship]]

+ * [[entrepreneurialism]]

+ * [[entrepreneurially]]

+ * [[enterprise]]

+ * [[infopreneur]]

+ * [[intrapreneur]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[comprehend]]

+ * [[prehensile]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}