THE FIRST WORD

kingmaker

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.