Meanings
eminence1
plural eminences
- countableuncountableSomeone of high rank, reputation or social status.
[Terence] Tao is not the only mathematical eminence with a rather sudden change of heart.
2026 September 14, Joseph Howlett, “25 winners of math’s ‘Nobel Prize’ decry the AI invasion of their discipline”, in Scientific American - countableuncountableThe quality or state of being eminent.
- countableuncountableProminence in a particular order or accumulation; esteem.
- countableuncountablegeographyAn elevated land area or a hill.
From the summit of an eminence I had already had a distant view of Osbaldistone Hall, a large and antiquated edifice, peeping out from a Druidical grove of huge oaks [...].
1817, Walter Scott, Rob Roy1 more example
We stopped for a moment at the golf course to chat with members of the Consular staff, and then drove on to the Consulate, which was set upon an eminence, above evidences of landscape-gardening; a sweep of lawns, with coarse, whitened grass; flower-beds in which larkspur and nasturtiums fought against desperate odds.
1952, Norman Lewis, Golden Earth - countableuncountableanatomyA protuberance.
- uncountableA dark purple color.
For quotations using this term, see Citations:eminence.
Eminence2
- A ghost town in Finney County, Kansas, United States.
- A home rule city in Henry County, Kentucky, United States.
- A city, the county seat of Shannon County, Missouri, United States.
Synonyms & antonyms
antonym(s) of “someone of high rank, reputation or social status”
antonym(s) of “the quality or state of being eminent”
nounhigh status importance owing to marked superiority
nouna protuberance on a bone especially for attachment of a muscle or ligament
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Latinēminentia“prominence”, “protuberance”; “eminence”, “excellence”
- Old Frencheminence
- Englisheminence
From Old French eminence, from Latin ēminentia (“prominence”, “protuberance”; “eminence”, “excellence”).
More words from Old French, Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian възвишение
- възвишение (văzvišenie)an elevated land area or a hill
Catalan eminència, eminència
- eminènciasomeone of high rank, reputation or social status
- eminènciathe quality or state of being eminent
- eminènciaan elevated land area or a hill
- eminència(anatomy) protuberance
Chinese Mandarin 顯貴 /显贵, 傑出 /杰出
- 顯貴 /显贵 (xiǎnguì)someone of high rank, reputation or social status
- 傑出 /杰出 (jiéchū)the quality or state of being eminent
Esperanto elstaraĵo
- elstaraĵoan elevated land area or a hill
Hungarian kiválóság
- kiválóságsomeone of high rank, reputation or social status
Irish ardchéim, mullach
- ardchéimthe quality or state of being eminent
- mullach(geology) an elevated land area or a hill.
Japanese 高名, 顕貴
- 高名 (kōmei)someone of high rank, reputation or social status
- 顕貴 (kenki)someone of high rank, reputation or social status
- 傑出 (kesshutsu)the quality or state of being eminent
- 高地 (kōchi)an elevated land area or a hill
Russian возвышенность
- возвышенность (vozvyšennostʹ)an elevated land area or a hill
Spanish eminencia, prócer
- eminenciaan elevated land area or a hill
- próceran elevated land area or a hill
Turkish tepe, çıkıntı
- tepean elevated land area or a hill
- çıkıntı(anatomy) protuberance
- eminans(anatomy) protuberance
- kabartı(anatomy) protuberance
Cite this entry
eminence. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/eminence
“eminence.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/eminence. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “eminence,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/eminence.
Source: eminence on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.