Related Searches
on Ask.com
Synonyms
tycoon - 5 dictionary results
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; < Japn taikun < MChin, equiv. to Chin dà great + jūn prince
1855–60; < Japn taikun < MChin, equiv. to Chin dà great + jūn prince
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source
|
Link To tycoon
| ty·coon (tī-kōōn') n.
[Japanese taikun, title of a shogun, of Chinese origin.] Word History: It has been claimed that in today's global economy some business leaders have more power than heads of states. It is etymologically fitting that such leaders are sometimes called tycoons. Tycoon came into English from Japanese, which had borrowed the title, meaning "great prince," from Chinese. Use of the word was intended to make the shogun, the commander in chief of the Japanese army, more impressive to foreigners (his official title shōgun merely meant "general"). It worked with Matthew C. Perry, who opened Japan to the West in 1854; Perry carried out his negotiations with the shogun, thinking him to be the emperor. In fact, the shogun did rule Japan, although he was supposedly acting for the emperor. The shogun's title, taikun, was brought back to the United States after Perry's visit. Abraham Lincoln's cabinet members used tycoon as an affectionate nickname for the President. The word soon came to be used for business and industry leaders—at times being applied to figures like J. P. Morgan, who may indeed have wielded more power than many princes and presidents. |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Tycoon
Ty*coon"\ (t[-i]`k[=oo]n"), n. [Chinese tai-kun great prince.] The title by which the shogun, or former commander in chief of the Japanese army, was known to foreigners.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
Cite This Source
Cite This Source
Language Translation for : tycoon
Spanish:
magnate,
German:
der (Industrie-) Magnat,
Japanese:
大立者
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 © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
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, © 2001 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Cite This Source
Copyright © 2009, Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.
