Tycoon

How to spell tycoon

6 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce tycoon

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does tycoon mean?

1. nounA wealthy and powerful person who dominates a particular industry or business.

Tycoon in a sentence

• The property tycoon owned half the buildings on the street.

• A media tycoon bought the struggling newspaper for a fraction of its old value.

Where does tycoon come from?

Language of origin: Japanese

This word came into English from the Japanese taikun, meaning 'great lord' or 'great prince', which was itself formed from Chinese roots, da meaning 'great' and jun meaning 'ruler' or 'sovereign'. In Japan the title was used as a grand honorific for the shogun, the military governor who held real power, especially when dealing with foreigners who might otherwise mistake him for a lesser official. English speakers picked the word up in the 1850s and 1860s, after Commodore Perry's American expedition reopened Japan to Western trade and diplomats heard the title used. It crossed into American usage as an admiring nickname for President Lincoln among his secretaries, and from there it drifted into the modern sense of a powerful, wealthy business magnate. The spelling preserves the doubled 'oo' and the soft opening syllable, which is the main thing that trips writers up, since the word sounds almost like 'tie-coon'.

How the word is built

• tai (great)
• kun (lord/prince/ruler), from Japanese taikun