Entrepreneur
nounA person who sets up and runs a business venture, taking on financial risk in the hope of profit.
How to spell entrepreneur
12 letters · 4 syllables
4 of the 21 people asked to spell entrepreneur in Spelling Garden got it wrong the first time.
How to pronounce entrepreneur
Say the part in capitals loudest.
What does entrepreneur mean?
- nounA person who sets up and runs a business venture, taking on financial risk in the hope of profit.
Entrepreneur in a sentence
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She is a successful entrepreneur who has founded three companies.
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The young entrepreneur launched her first product at sixteen.
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Every entrepreneur needs both vision and patience.
Where does entrepreneur come from?
Language of origin: French
This word comes directly from French, where entrepreneur literally meant 'one who undertakes', formed from the verb entreprendre, 'to undertake' or 'to take in hand'. That verb breaks down into entre, meaning 'between', and prendre, meaning 'to take', the same prendre that gives us 'comprehend' and 'apprehend'. English borrowed entrepreneur in the early 1800s, at first simply for the manager or organiser of a musical or theatrical production, before economists broadened it to mean a person who sets up a business venture and shoulders its financial risk. The unfamiliar French spelling is precisely the trap: the silent middle of 'entre-', the buried 'pren', and the final '-eur' all fight against English instincts to write '-er'. It is a close relative of 'enterprise', which travelled the same French route from the same 'undertaking' idea.
How the word is built
- entre- (between)
- prendre/pren (to take)
- -eur (agent suffix: one who does)
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