éminence grise

[ French ey-mee-nahns greez ]

noun

, plural é·mi·nences grises [ey-mee-nah, n, s , greez].

1. gray eminence.

éminence grise

/ eminɑ̃s ɡriz /

noun

1. a person who wields power and influence unofficially or behind the scenes

éminence grise

1. A person who wields power behind the scenes: “The king's brother-in-law is his éminence grise; he has enormous influence, though he is rarely in the public eye.” A French term meaning “gray eminence.”

Word History and Origins

Origin of éminence grise¹

From French

Word History and Origins

Origin of éminence grise¹

C19: literally: grey eminence, originally applied to Père Joseph (François Le Clerc du Tremblay; died 1638), French monk, secretary of Cardinal Richelieu

Example Sentences

The case could hurt prosecutions in an epic bribery scandal implicating five former presidents and Keiko Fujimori, the eminence grise of Peruvian politics and a perennial presidential candidate who came within a hair of winning the job in 2021.

From Seattle Times

Asked in a 2020 interview if he would ever make new work, he balked and then said exactly what you would want the éminence grise of the avant-garde to say: “We are living in decadent times, surrounded by nothing but trash.”

From New York Times

Sunday night at the 66th annual Grammy Awards, Jay-Z accepted the Dr. Dre global impact award, a sort of éminence grise prize.

From New York Times

I looked at Dr. P. With one hand obscuring her lips, she spoke quietly with an older doctor, the éminence grise of the department, who had recently been summoned to help with my situation.

From Slate

“He was constantly talking with people like Benjamin Franklin when they were planning the Declaration of Independence,” said Kennedy, who is 95 and the éminence grise of Albany’s literary scene.

From New York Times