Eminence

How to spell eminence

8 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce eminence

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does eminence mean?

1. nounA position of great distinction, superiority, or renown in a field.

Eminence in a sentence

• She rose to eminence as one of the country's leading economists.

• His early research brought him scientific eminence within a decade.

Where does eminence come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word descends from the Latin eminentia, meaning 'a standing out' or 'prominence', which was formed from the verb eminere, 'to project, jut out, or stand above'. That verb breaks down into the prefix e- (a form of ex-, meaning 'out') and minere, 'to project or jut', the same root that lies behind 'prominent' and 'imminent'. The original sense was strongly physical, describing a hill or a feature that literally rose above its surroundings, and English still preserves that meaning when 'eminence' refers to a piece of high ground. English borrowed it through Old French eminence around the early 1400s, and the abstract sense of high rank, distinction, or fame soon overtook the literal one. The honorific use, as in addressing a Roman Catholic cardinal as 'His Eminence', dates from the seventeenth century. The spelling trap is the unstressed middle vowel and the soft -ence ending: the schwa hides whether to write i, e, or a, while -ence (not -ance) catches even careful writers.

How the word is built

• e- (from ex-: out)
• min (to project, stand out, from Latin minere)
• -ence (noun-forming suffix denoting a quality or state)