éminence grise love

éminence grise

Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A powerful adviser or decision maker who operates secretly or unofficially.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A secret or unofficial decision-maker; the power behind the throne.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun (French) a person who exercises power or influence in certain areas without holding an official position

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[French, the power behind the throne : éminence, power + grise, feminine of gris, gray, shadowy.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From French éminence ("power") + grise ("gray")

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Examples

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Comments

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  • éminence grise is the head adviser, usually unofficially or behind the scenes, who wields immense power. The éminence grise has perhaps more power than the actual leader. It's like the king's right hand man who actually calls all the shots.

    June 22, 2009