eminent

From Middle French éminent, from Latin present participle ēminēns, ēminentis, from verb ēmineō (“I project, I protrude”), from ex- (“out of, from”) + mineō, related to mons (English mount). Compare with imminent. Unrelated to emanate, which is instead from mānō (“I flow”).

• IPA^(key): /ˈɛmɪnənt/

• Audio (US):

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eminent (comparative more eminent, superlative most eminent)

1. Noteworthy, remarkable, great.

   Synonyms: remarkable, outstanding; see also Thesaurus:notable

   His eminent good sense has been a godsend to this project.

2. (of a person) Distinguished, important, noteworthy.

   Synonyms: distinguished, noteworthy; see also Thesaurus:notable

   In later years, the professor became known as an eminent historian.

   • 2018 February 28, Justine Jordan, “Asymmetry by Lisa Halliday review – a dizzying debut”, in The Guardian‎^[1]:

     “So. Miss Alice. Are you game?” The question is posed by an eminent novelist of about 70, who has sat on a Manhattan park bench and struck up conversation with a young woman reading a book.

3. (archaic) High, lofty.

   Synonyms: towering, prominent; see also Thesaurus:tall

Eminent and imminent are very similar sounds, and are weak rhymes; in some dialects, these may be confused. A typo of either word may result in a correction to the wrong word by spellchecking software. Eminent may also be confused with immanent, immanant, or emanate.

• imminent
• prominent

• “eminent”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1911), “eminent”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.
• “eminent”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

• T'ien-men, T'ien-mên, tinemen

Borrowed from Latin ēminentem.

eminent m or f (masculine and feminine plural eminents)

1. eminent

• eminentment

• eminència

• “eminent”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007
• “eminent”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2025
• “eminent” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “eminent” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

Borrowed from Latin ēminēns. Often said to be borrowed from Middle French éminent, but this is unlikely as the figurative meaning of the French word is attested later than that of the Dutch.^[1]

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eminent (comparative eminenter, superlative eminentst)

1. eminent, distinguished

   Synonyms: illuster, vooraanstaand, voornaam

• → Indonesian: eminen

Borrowed from French éminent, from Latin eminens.

• IPA^(key): [emiˈnɛnt]
• Hyphenation: emi‧nent

• Audio:

  (file)

eminent (strong nominative masculine singular eminenter, comparative eminenter, superlative am eminentesten)

1. eminent

• “eminent” in Duden online
• “eminent” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache

ēminent

1. third-person plural present active indicative of ēmineō

eminent (indefinite singular eminent, definite singular and plural eminente)

1. eminent

eminent (indefinite singular eminent, definite singular and plural eminente)

1. eminent

Borrowed from French éminent, from Latin eminens.

eminent m or n (feminine singular eminentă, masculine plural eminenți, feminine and neuter plural eminente)

1. notable