man of affairs
- noun
:
hombre de negocios
- As a well-respected man of affairs, he often attended networking events to meet influential industry leaders.
Examples
-
Allow your man of affairs to ascertain that everything is in order, as I am sure it is.
Fiction book (1990) -
A successful man of affairs, he negotiated several lucrative deals that expanded the company's reach.
-
The man of affairs confidently made business decisions that increased profits for the entire organization.
Synonyms
332
2.0
A man who works in business, often owning or running a company
69
3.6
A person who runs a business like a shop
7
2.9
A person who owns or runs a company
Antonyms
How Business-Minded
38
5.5
- US
23
5.7
305
6.9
332
2.0
∞
1.3
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly derivable from the constituents: 'man' (adult male) + 'of affairs' (affairs = matters/business), so 'a man involved in affairs/business' follows straightforwardly. The 'X of affairs' associative pattern is a regular, compositional structure found across languages, so a B1 learner who knows the words would likely infer this meaning.
Etymology
Man of affairs comes from the idea that affairs meant 'matters' or 'business'. Imagine a person with many letters and papers, always handling other people's affairs; that's why it means 'a man involved in business or important matters'.