Tycoon came into English in 1857 as a title: the word foreigners used for the shogun of Japan. It is Japanese taikun, "great lord or prince," which is itself borrowed from Chinese tai, "great," plus kiun, "lord" — so the word was already an import in Japanese before English took it.
Its English career was fast and strange. Within four years it had been transferred to mean simply an important person: John Hay used it in his diary in 1861 to describe his employer, President Lincoln. The specific modern sense of a wealthy and powerful businessman only settled after the First World War. The word is said to have been pressed on foreigners by the shogun's supporters, as a way of conveying that the shogun mattered more than the emperor — which makes tycoon, from the start, a piece of public relations.
tycoon (n.) 1857, title given by foreigners to the shogun of Japan (said to have been used by his supporters when addressing foreigners, as an attempt to convey that the shogun was more important than the emperor), from Japanese taikun "great lord or prince," from Chinese tai "great" + kiun "lord." The transferred meaning "important person" is attested by 1861 (in reference to U.S. president Abraham Lincoln, in the diary of his secretary, John Hay); specific application to "wealthy and powerful businessman" is post-World War I. Related: Tycoonate . also from 1857
tycoon came in through Later and wider borrowings, and its spelling follows that family's conventions.
What gives it away on the page
| no consonant clusters, every syllable open | Japanese.tsunami, sushi, karaoke, futon, tycoon |
Later and wider borrowings in the spelling guide · guess another word's family