keiretsu

Where does the word "keiretsu" come from? It comes from Japanese keiretsu, and was adopted directly into English (1980s).

Keiretsu’s story begins in Japanese: keiretsu meant “a network of businesses linked by cross-shareholding.” Literally 'series' or 'grouping', naming networks of allied companies that replaced the dissolved zaibatsu. It reached English by 1980s as keiretsu. Groups such as Mitsubishi and Sumitomo formed around banks after the prewar zaibatsu were broken up. Today, keiretsu means a network of Japanese businesses linked by cross-shareholding and close business ties.

1. Stage 1 · Japanese · post-1945 keiretsu "a network of businesses linked by cross-shareholding", literally 'series' or 'grouping', naming networks of allied companies that replaced the dissolved zaibatsu.
2. Stage 2 · English · 1980s keiretsu "a network of interlinked Japanese companies", groups such as Mitsubishi and Sumitomo formed around banks after the prewar zaibatsu were broken up.