This week's theme
Words from royalty

This week's words
interregnum
basilic
kingdom come
royal road
kingmaker

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PRONUNCIATION:

(KING-may-kuhr)

MEANING:

noun: A person or organization having great power and influence in the selection of a candidate for an important position.

ETYMOLOGY:

The term was originally applied to Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick, as "Warwick the Kingmaker" during the Wars of the Roses. Earliest documented use: 1595.

USAGE:

"In recruiting them for SNL, Lorne Michaels has played kingmaker to some of US comedy's biggest names. 'Think the Godfather with a whoopee cushion', one critic wrote."
Jon Swaine; The Inscrutable Kingmaker of Comedy; The Guardian (London, UK); Feb 17, 2014.

See more usage examples of kingmaker in Vocabulary.com's dictionary.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: