I would agree at least that “entrepreneur” connoted something pretty different to me before I became familiar with its usage in tech startup culture. I’d not have included “solo-preneur” or businesses that just operate things (“I own a lot of vending machines”) or a restaurant, say. It implied employees and a market that leans more industrial, and that produces something (even if it’s software, I suppose). I’d not have classed a small tech agency or a dry cleaning business as “entrepreneurship”—which takes nothing away from them, it’s just that the term meant something more-specific to me.

Looking at older dictionaries, this does seem to be more in-line with what the term used to mean, and probably still does in some circles.

the meaning of the word didn't change.

The very first paragraph of the Wikipedia article on entrepreneurship, plus some dictionaries, suggest that yes, it has, and not only that, but the usage in spaces like this one is still not the dominant one.

Unless you’re agreeing that the word still means what I suggest it does (or did), not just starting any kind of business.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entrepreneurship > An entrepreneur (French: [ɑ̃tʁəpʁənœʁ]) is an individual who creates and/or invests in one or more businesses, bearing most of the risks and enjoying most of the rewards.

nothing there precludes even microbusinesses. and nothing requires taking VC or having employees.

the word hasn't changed.

I can cite multiple mainstream sources that definitely suggest it connotes something other than the broadest possible version of that, including, again, Wikipedia. The barest definition isn’t a full description of what a word suggests to people.

I agree that this is the meaning in startup and “hustle” culture: any business whatsoever may be described as entrepreneurship.

[edit] my entire point is simply that the “opening a solo software consultancy is entrepreneurship” or what have you is not universally accepted, and that my experience (plus what evidence I’ve found) is that this sense predates the one of “starting literally any kind of money-making venture is entrepreneurship” which is common in spaces like HN. You may disagree, but I guarantee there are many contexts in which using it in the startup/hussle sense will make you come off as clownish or a liar, if not some kind of con artist, if people realize you aren’t talking about the kind of thing they think you are.