millionaire (UNCLASSIFIED)

[Baker, John]

Plutocrat and oligarch are not as marked as magnate or tycoon, but they still have implications for the society referred to and the named individual's role in it that goes beyond saying he or she is wealthy.  The one percent refers to the affluent segment of society generally.

The OED historical thesaurus gives some alternatives, but they tend to be obsolete or otherwise unsuitable:  richling, cob, wealthling, goldfinch, dorado, nabob, richie, wealth-holder, etc.  Multimillionaire can work, but it isn't as common as it might be, perhaps because it has too many syllables.


John Baker


-----Original Message-----
From: American Dialect Society [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On Behalf Of Victor Steinbok
Sent: Tuesday, April 17, 2012 11:06 AM
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
Subject: Re: millionaire (UNCLASSIFIED)

I was going to mention plutocrat and, even more of a stretch, oligarch.
Both are, of course, more than just "wealthy people"--at least,
traditionally--but they are also socially marked. You see and hear these
from the left-leaning crowd, particularly liberal bloggers.

Tycoon and magnate have less to do with wealth than with corporate
control. Of course, there is an implication that he is wealthy as well
(and invariably male), but that's a secondary characteristic. Plutocrat
and oligarch are supposed to be implying some influence or participation
in the government, but there has been considerable drift there. I have
not noticed the same concerning "tycoon" and "magnate"--both are always
in reference to a corporate executive, something that cannot, for
example, be applied to Mitt Romney (I am not even sure he's a "former
tycoon" and he was never a "magnate").

     VS-)

On 4/17/2012 10:34 AM, Mullins, Bill AMRDEC wrote:
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: American Dialect Society [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On Behalf Of Baker, John
>> Sent: Monday, April 16, 2012 6:30 PM
>> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
>> Subject: Re: millionaire (UNCLASSIFIED)
>>
>>          Somewhat more surprisingly, English lacks a common word meaning "a wealthy individual."
> Tycoon
>
> Also magnate, plutocrat

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