People who establish or start something new like a company, organization, or town; or ships that sink and fill with water.
From Old French 'fonder,' from Latin 'fundare' (to establish). The nautical meaning comes from Old French 'fondrer' (to sink), both sharing the idea of reaching a 'bottom' or foundation.
The dual meaning of 'founder'—both to establish and to sink—perfectly captures the precarious nature of starting anything new; one wrong decision can cause even the most ambitious venture to 'sink' suddenly, which is why startup statistics are sobering.
Historically defaulted male; female founders erased from institutional narratives (e.g., Ada Lovelace in computing, Katherine Johnson in mathematics).
Specify when foundational work was by women. Use 'founder,' 'co-founder' consistently; avoid masculine default.
["women founders","co-founder (with names)"]
Women's foundational contributions in tech, science, and business are systematically written out of histories; deliberate naming restores accuracy.
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