Vol. 09 · Loanwords ·Japanese ·1850s
Tycoon
from taikun — "great lord"
- Meaning
- A title used for the shōgun in diplomatic correspondence with foreigners.
- Source word
- taikun — "great lord"
- Route into English
- Commodore Perry's 1853 mission brought the word home to the US, where it became newsroom slang for a business magnate by the 1920s.
- Arrived
- 1850s
From Japanese
Two waves — Meiji-era diplomatic contact (1850s–1900s) and post-war US military presence (1945–) account for almost all Japanese loans in general English.
English borrows.
Browse the full loanword atlas or explore another source language.