Svengali
Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
Svengali /svɛnˈgɑːli/
▶noun a person who exercises a controlling influence on another, especially for a sinister purpose.
– origin Svengali, a musician in George du Maurier's novel Trilby (1894) who controls Trilby's stage singing hypnotically.
'Svengali' also found in these Oxford entries:
