chaebol

[ je-buhl ]
/ ˈdʒɛ bəl /

noun, plural chae·bol, chae·bols.

a South Korean conglomerate, usually owned by a single family, based on authoritarian management and centralized decision-making.

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Origin of chaebol

First recorded in 1970–75; from Korean chaebŏl, from chae “wealth, property” + pŏl “clique, faction,” formed from the Korean pronunciation of the two Middle Chinese characters whose Japanese pronunciation is “zaibatsu”; see origin at zaibatsu

Words nearby chaebol

Chadic, chado, chador, chadri, Chadwick, chaebol, Chaeronea, chaeta, chaetiferous, chaeto-, chaetognath
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

British Dictionary definitions for chaebol

chaebol
/ (ˈtʃeɪbɒl) /

noun

a large, usually family-owned, business group in South Korea

Word Origin for chaebol

C20: from Korean, literally: money clan
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012