A colour of historic eminence (4)
I believe the answer is:
grey
'a colour' is the definition.
(grey is a kind of colour)
I don't understand how the rest of the clue works.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for grey that I've seen before include "Lady Jane --" , "The colour of ash" , "Anonymous" , "Drab colour" , "showing his age?" .)