the.com/mogul

a bump on the ski slope and a titan in the boardroom, equally hard to summit

means A mogul is either a hard mound of packed snow on a ski run, or a person who has amassed great power and wealth in a particular industry.

from Two separate words wearing the same coat. The snow-bump 'mogul' likely comes from an Alpine dialect word — Bavarian or Tyrolean 'mugl,' meaning a small hill or mound. The tycoon 'mogul' travels much farther: it descends from 'Mughal,' the name of the Muslim emperors who ruled much of India from the 16th century onward, itself from Persian and ultimately the same root as 'Mongol,' the people of Genghis Khan. The Mughal court dazzled Europeans with its wealth, so by the 17th century English speakers were calling any fabulously rich and powerful man a 'mogul.'

word origin
From Mughal, the empire of Persianized Mongol emperors
ski moguls
Form naturally as skiers carve the same turns repeatedly
olympic sport
Mogul skiing debuted as a medal event in 1992
media titan
Term boomed describing Hollywood studio bosses of the 1930s
for instance

indy moguls — freestyle skiing event at winter olympics featuring bumpy snow terrain with aerial tricks

rupert murdoch — media mogul who built news corp empire across uk, us, and australia since 1952

oprah winfrey — entertainment mogul who built $3.5 billion net worth through media, production, and own network

the.com · every word