http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-an-entrepreneur.

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An entrepreneur is an individual who accepts financial risks and undertakes new

financial ventures. The word derives from the French "entre" (to enter) and
"prendre" (to take), and in a general sense applies to any person starting a new
project or trying a new opportunity.
Many societies place great value on the entrepreneur. To encourage their
activity, they may be offered access to inexpensive capital, tax exemptions and
management advice. An entrepreneur has the greatest chance of success by
focusing on a market niche either too small or too new to have been noticed by
established businesses. To help new technologies come to market, many
universities establish business incubators for entrepreneurs hoping to turn
leading edge research into marketable products.
Characteristics of an entrepreneur include spontaneous creativity, the ability
and willingness to make decisions in the absence of solid data, and a generally
risk-taking personality. An entrepreneur may be driven by a need to create
something new or build something tangible. In the Austrian school of Economics,
entrepreneurs are described as being engaged in the creative destruction of
existing products and services. As new enterprises have low success rates, an
entrepreneur must also have considerable persistence.
Entrepreneurs are generally highly independent, which can cause problems
when their ventures succeed. In a small company the entrepreneur is able to
personally manage most aspects of the business, but this is not possible once
the company has grown beyond a certain size. Management conflicts often arise
when the entrepreneur does not recognize that running a large stable company
is different from running a small growing company. The problem is often
resolved by the entrepreneur either leaving to start a new venture, or being
forced out by shareholders. At Apple Computer, for example, one founder, Steve
Wozniak, left to pursue other interests, while the other, Steve Jobs was
ultimately fired and replaced with a CEO from a much larger company. Note that
many years later, Jobs returned to the helm.
An intrapreneur is an individual who acts like an entrepreneur but from inside
the confines of a large organization or corportation.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurship is the act of being an entrepreneur, which can be defined as
"one who undertakes innovations, finance and business acumen in an effort to
transform innovations into economic goods". This may result in new
organizations or may be part of revitalizing mature organizations in response to
a perceived opportunity. The most obvious form of entrepreneurship is that of
starting new businesses (referred as Startup Company); however, in recent
years, the term has been extended to include social and political forms of
entrepreneurial activity. When entrepreneurship is describing activities within a
firm or large organization it is referred to as intra-preneurship and may include
corporate venturing, when large entities spin-off organizations.[1]
http://searchcio.techtarget.com/definition/entrepreneur
Entrepreneur, translated from its French roots, means "one who undertakes."
The term is used to refer to anyone who undertakes the organization and
management of an enterprise involving independence and risk as well as the
opportunity for profit.
An entrepreneur, typically, is inspired to start a business because the
entrepreneur perceives a consumer need that is not being adequately filled. This
area of need - sometimes called an "opportunity niche" - can usually be
expressed as a problem statement, such as "There is no online resource offering
support for failed Web-based entrepreneurs." In fact, that statement was the
basis for a new Web business startup recently.
Online business start-ups have continued to increase exponentially since the
inception of the World Wide Web. Wireless communications and business-to-
business services are two of the most rapidly developing areas of opportunity
for entrepreneurs.

http://www.morebusiness.com/getting_started/primer/d943458887.brc
Personal qualities common in successful entrepreneurs
Motivation to achieve -- In almost every case, successful entrepreneurs are
individuals who are highly motivated to achieve. They tend to be doers, people
who make things happen. They are often very competitive. Many researchers
have concluded that the most consistent trait found in successful entrepreneurs
is the sheer will to win, the need to achieve in everything they do. They don't
want to come in third, they don't want to come in second, they want to come in
first.
The habit of hard work -- Starting a company is hard work. Let no one kid you
about that. Some time ago a student reported that one of his other professors
said that unless you are prepared to work hard you should not start a company.
He asked my opinion, I said the statement was nonsense. I think the correct way
to say it is that unless you already work hard you should not start a company.
There is a big difference. Starting a company is unlikely to turn a lazy oaf into a
raging bull. In his excellent book, Winners, published by Holt, Rinehart and
Wilson, Carter Henderson quotes Nolan Bushnell, founder of Atari game
company and Pizza Time Theater, as saying it all comes down to one critical
ingredient, "Getting off your ass and doing something." In summary,
entrepreneurs are almost always very hard workers. Nonconformity --
Entrepreneurs tend to be independent souls, unhappy when forced to conform
or toe the line. They are people who find it difficult to work for others, who want
to set their own goals. It is hard to imagine anyone who is more nonconformist
than Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, the founders of Apple Computer, or Bill
Gates, founder of Microsoft.
Strong leadership -- Starting a new company can be a harrowing experience full
of uncertainty and risk. Successfully bringing a small organization through these
trying periods requires a lot of leadership skills.
Street smarts -- I do not know quite how to put this. Shrewd or sharp might be a
better word. Paul Hawken describes it as "trade skill" in his excellent book
Growing a Business, published by Simon and Schuster. We all know owners of
some very successful businesses who were lucky to finish high school and never
even considered college. Yes, they always seem to make the right moves. Call it
common sense, instinct, whatever you want. Successful entrepreneurs seem to
have intuitive good judgement when making complex business decisions.
Personal qualities not found in successful entrepreneurs
Compulsive gambling -- Almost without exception people who start companies
are not gamblers. They are attracted to situations where success is determined
by personal skill rather than chance. They strongly prefer that their destiny be
determined by hard work and conscious decisions rather than by the roll of the
dice.
High risk-taking - Contrary to popular opinion, entrepreneurs do not take
excessive risks. Through careful product and market selection, creative
financing, building a good team, and thorough planning, the real risk of starting
a new business can be quite low. In the world of small business, optimism is
truly cheap and high risk- takers die an early death.