You might well wonder whether entrepreneur simply means “a person who starts a business and is willing to risk loss in order to make money” or whether it carries an additional connotation of far-sightedness and innovation. The answer, perhaps unsatisfyingly, is that it can go in either direction.
Entrepreneur has been used in English to refer to a kind of businessman since at least the middle of the 18th century, when it appeared in translation of the King of Prussia’s instructions for his generals (“. . . if the country happens not to abound in forage, you must agree with some Entrepreneur for the quantity required.”). During the 19th century, it was also used of a go-between or a person who undertakes any kind of activity (as opposed to just a business).
By the early 20th century entrepreneur appears to have taken on the connotation of go-getter when applied to an independent business owner, a quality that may also be found in the phrase entrepreneurial spirit, which began being used at about the same time.
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the WebThe park was a dream of Phoenix-area entrepreneur Randy Miller. Heather Gillers, WSJ, 15 Sep. 2022 In the last few years, as the popularization of reselling clothes has grown — and as Flanagan puts it, everyone’s become an entrepreneur — the thrift well has begun running dry.Los Angeles Times, 14 Sep. 2022 The owners, entrepreneur David Kalt and his wife, Susan, bought the house in 2005 for $5.95 million, according to public records. Bob Goldsborough, Chicago Tribune, 13 Sep. 2022 The former girlfriend of tech entrepreneur Elon Musk held on to photos and several other mementos from their college days... and is now selling them for thousands of dollars. Alexandra Meeks, CNN, 12 Sep. 2022 Montreal real estate entrepreneur Nikolai Ray has signed on an investor. David Sharp, BostonGlobe.com, 10 Sep. 2022 Signs of her evolution from singer to entrepreneur began showing themselves in 2017, the year her cosmetics brand Fenty Beauty launched. Jasmine Browley, Essence, 9 Sep. 2022 It was founded in 2018 by first-generation entrepreneur-activist Sahra Nguyen, who was on a mission to diversify the coffee industry through various methods. Jacorey Moon, Good Housekeeping, 9 Sep. 2022 Union, an actress and beauty entrepreneur, is doing it all. Chelsea Avila, Allure, 9 Sep. 2022 See More
Word History
Etymology
French, from Old French, from entreprendre to undertake — more at enterprise
ADJECTIVE➤good, great, successful不錯的/偉大的/成功的企業家▸➤creative, innovative有創造性的/有創新精神的企業家▸➤ambitious, dynamic雄心勃勃的/有活力的企業家▸➤large-scale, small, small-scale大型企業的企業家;小型企業的企業家▸➤individual, private個體/私人企業家▸➤budding, potential, would-be嶄露頭角的/潛在的/未來的企業家◇a recent MBA graduate and budding entrepreneur一名剛剛工商管理碩士畢業的嶄露頭角的企業家➤experienced, veteran經驗豐富的企業家➤serial連續創業的企業家◇a serial entrepreneur who had founded four companies一位連續創辦了 4 家公司的企業家➤business企業家;實業家▸➤dotcom, Internet, music, property, real estate, retail, etc.互聯網企業家、音樂企業家、房地產企業家、零售業企業家等