magnate
[ mag-neyt, -nit ]
/ ˈmæg neɪt, -nɪt /
noun
a person of great influence, importance, or standing in a particular enterprise, field of business, etc.: a railroad magnate.
a person of eminence or distinction in any field: literary magnates.
a member of the former upper house in either the Polish or Hungarian parliament.
RELATED WORDS
merchant, tycoon, capitalist, mogul, financier, aristocrat, noble, name, figure, VIP, plutocrat, notable, personage, chief, businessperson, lion, industrialist, bigwig, peer, leader
Nearby words
- magnaflux,
- magnalium,
- magnanimity,
- magnanimous,
- magnanimously,
- magnesia,
- magnesite,
- magnesium,
- magnesium arsenate,
- magnesium carbonate
Origin of magnate
1400–50; back formation from Middle English magnates (plural) < Late Latin magnātēs leading people, equivalent to Latin magn(us) magn- + -ātēs, plural of -ās noun suffix
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for magnate
magnate
/ (ˈmæɡneɪt, -nɪt) /
noun
a person of power and rank in any sphere, esp in industry
history a great nobleman
(formerly) a member of the upper chamber in certain European parliaments, as in Hungary
Word Origin for magnate
C15: back formation from earlier magnates from Late Latin: great men, plural of magnās, from Latin magnus great
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
magnate
mid-15c., "great man, noble, man of wealth," from Late Latin magnates, plural of magnas "great person, nobleman," from Latin magnus "great, large, big" (of size), "abundant" (of quantity), "great, considerable" (of value), "strong, powerful" (of force); of persons, "elder, aged," also, figuratively, "great, mighty, grand, important," from PIE *mag-no-, from root *meg- "great" (cf. Sanskrit maha-, mahat- "great;" Greek megas, fem. megale "great, large;" Gothic mikils, Old English micel "great, big, many;" see mickle).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper