English word origin

Etymology of mogul

2 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗

In this entry · 2 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗

noun

A rich or powerful person; a magnate, nabob.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Figurative use of Moghul, which originally meant Mongol, or person of Mongolian descent. In this context, it refers to the Mughal Empire (Mughal being Persian or Arabic for "Mongol") of the Indian subcontinent that existed between 1526 and 1857: the early Mughal emperors claimed a heritage dating back to the Mongol ruler Genghis Khan. The modern meaning of the word is supposedly derived from the storied riches of the Mughal emperors, which, for example, produced the Taj Mahal.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [],
  "links": [
    [
      "Moghul",
      "Moghul#English"
    ],
    [
      "Mongol",
      "Mongol"
    ],
    [
      "Mughal Empire",
      "Mughal Empire"
    ],
    [
      "Genghis Khan",
      "Genghis Khan"
    ],
    [
      "Taj Mahal",
      "Taj Mahal"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A rich or powerful person; a magnate, nabob."
      ],
      "tags": [],
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  }
}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗

noun

A hump or bump on a skiing piste. · A larger-sized (39 mm diameter) screw base used for large, high-power light bulbs, known as mogul (screw) base light bulbs. · A machine that forms shaped candies from syrups or gels.

verb

To ski over a course of humps or bumps.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From dialectal German Mugel or from dialectal Norwegian mugje (“heap, mound”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Unspecified derivation mentionMugelde
Unspecified derivation mentionmugjeno

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "uder",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "de",
        "3": "Mugel"
      },
      "expansion": "German Mugel"
    },
    {
      "name": "uder",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "no",
        "3": "mugje",
        "4": "",
        "5": "heap, mound"
      },
      "expansion": "Norwegian mugje (“heap, mound”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "Mugel",
      "Mugel#German"
    ],
    [
      "mugje",
      "mugje#Norwegian"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A hump or bump on a skiing piste.",
        "A larger-sized (39 mm diameter) screw base used for large, high-power light bulbs, known as mogul (screw) base light bulbs.",
        "A machine that forms shaped candies from syrups or gels."
      ],
      "tags": [],
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      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 347021
    },
    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "To ski over a course of humps or bumps."
      ],
      "tags": [],
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}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for mogul →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger

Machine-source provenance

Source SHA-256: 5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run: 73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID: w-bW9ndWw