The Etymological Roots of Risk: Tracing the ‘Entrepreneur’ from 1723
The modern business world treats the "entrepreneur" as a visionary—a high-tech disruptor or a social innovator. However, the academic foundation of the term is rooted less in "innovation" and more in the gritty reality of logistics and financial liability . To understand where we are going, we have to look back to 1723 , the year the term officially entered the Dictionnaire Universel de Commerce compiled by Jacques Savary des Brulons. The Literal Translation: "To Undertake" The word is derived from the Old French verb entreprendre , composed of entre (between) and prendre (to take). In its earliest usage, an entrepreneur was literally an "undertaker" —not in the funereal sense, but in the sense of someone who "undertook" a task or a contract. In the early 18th century, this usually referred to someone managing a construction project or a government contract.They were the bridge between resources and results. The 1723 Definition: Orga...