Etymology

éminence grise

émi·nence grise

Today it means: A secret or unofficial decision-maker. Full definition →

French éminence grise
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The story

  1. French · borrowed froméminence grise
  2. English todayéminence grise

Borrowed from French éminence grise (literally “grey eminence”), originally applied to François Leclerc du Tremblay (1577–1638), also known as Père Joseph, a French Capuchin friar who was the confidant and agent of Cardinal Richelieu (1585–1642), the chief minister of France under Louis XIII (1601–1643). The term refers to du Tremblay’s influence over the Cardinal (who bore the honorific of Eminence), and the colour of his habit (grey, rather than the red of a cardinal).

Words from the same roots

Frenchéminence grise all →

gray eminence

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.