éminence grise
/ˌɛmɪnɒns ˈɡɹiːz/
"eminence-grise" is a 13-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“éminence grise” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 14
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A secret or unofficial decision-maker.
Corpus desk
Index EN-eminence-grise · éminence grise · English
éminence grise · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 14 letters
- VOW-6 6 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "É" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | éminence grise |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˌɛmɪnɒns ˈɡɹiːz/ |
| Letters | 14 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “éminence grise” in English
Rare enough to double-check
éminence grise is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˌɛmɪnɒns ˈɡɹiːz/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A secret or unofficial decision-maker.".
éminence grise doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: 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 … The correct English form is éminence grise, spelled É-M-I-N-E-N-C-E- -G-R-I-S-E.
Definition
- 1A secret or unofficial decision-maker.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how éminence grise appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
But Harry Hopkins was no mere manipulator of people and ideas, no eminence grise masterminding the actions of figureheads.
[Ichirō] Ozawa is the Secretary-General of [Yukio] Hatoyama's Democratic Party of Japan (DJP) and the éminence grise of the electoral campaign that catapulted the new Prime Minister to power.
Etymology
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).
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.