Meaning

adjective standing above others in quality or position

adjective of imposing height; especially standing out above others

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

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0