Back to explorer

entry

entrepreneur

/ˌɑːntrəprəˈnɝː/

A person who starts and manages a risky venture

From O.French, continuing in French entreprendre (to undertake).

noun
entreprendre
Old French
Verified
entreprendre
“to undertake,” literally to take in hand or take on

from Old French entreprendre "undertake" (see enterprise ). The word first crossed the Channel late 15c. (Middle...

Middle French
Verified
entreprendre
“to undertake,” the verb from which the agent noun developed

from Old French entreprendre "undertake" (see enterprise ). The word first crossed the Channel late 15c. (Middle...

French
Verified
entreprendre
“to undertake, manage, or engage in”

from Old French entreprendre "undertake" (see enterprise ). The word first crossed the Channel late 15c. (Middle...

-eur
Middle French
Verified
-eur
Agent-forming suffix meaning “one who does something”

from French entrepreneur (“one who undertakes or manages”)

French
Verified
-eur
Forms occupational or agent nouns, as in entrepreneur

from French entrepreneur (“one who undertakes or manages”)

Combined
entrepreneur
French entrepreneur combines entreprendre “to undertake” with the agent suffix -eur: “one who undertakes or manages.”
Middle French
Verified
entrepreneur
“one who undertakes or manages”

from French entrepreneur (“one who undertakes or manages”)

English
AI-inferred
entreprenour
A late-15th-century borrowing that did not remain established
English
Verified
entrepreneur
Reborrowed in 1828 for a theatrical-production manager or promoter; “business manager” followed in 1852

from French entrepreneur (“one who undertakes or manages”)

Modern English
entrepreneur

In medieval French, an entrepreneur was not necessarily building a startup; the person was simply someone who “undertook” a job, a contract, or a project. French formed the noun from entreprendre, “to undertake,” and added -eur, the useful little ending meaning “the person who does it.” English briefly tried the form entreprenour in the late 1400s, then apparently lost interest; the word returned in 1828, this time describing a manager or promoter of a theatrical production. By 1852, it had expanded into the world of business, where risk, money, and opportunity gave the old verb a distinctly modern costume. The memorable core is still there: an entrepreneur is, at heart, someone who takes something on—and then persuades the rest of us to come along.

§