ty·coon

[tahy-koon]
noun
1.
a businessperson of great wealth and power; magnate.
2.
( often initial capital letter ) a title used with reference to the shogun of Japan.

Origin:
1855–60; < Japanese taikun < Middle Chinese, equivalent to Chinese great + jūn prince

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source Link To tycoon
Collins
World English Dictionary
tycoon (taɪˈkuːn) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
n
1.  a business man of great wealth and power
2.  an archaic name for a shogun
 
[C19: from Japanese taikun, from Chinese ta great + chün ruler]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
00:10
Tycoon is always a great word to know.
So is ninnyhammer. Does it mean:
a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes.
a fool or simpleton; ninny.
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

tycoon
1857, title given by foreigners to the shogun of Japan (said to have been used by his supporters when addressing foreigners, as an attempt to convey that the shogun was more important than the emperor), from Jap. taikun "great lord or prince," from Chinese tai "great" + kiun "lord." Transf. meaning "important
person" is attested from 1861, in ref. to U.S. president Abraham Lincoln (in Hay's diary); specific application to "businessman" is post-World War I.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Cultural Dictionary

tycoon definition


Someone who has made a fortune in business, such as Cornelius Vanderbilt.

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Copyright © 2013 Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.
  • Please Login or Sign Up to use the Recent Searches feature
FAVORITES
RECENT