Master
Pronunciation
- RP IPA: /ˈmÉ‘Ës.tÉ™/
- Rhymes: -É‘ËstÉ™(r)
- US IPA: /ˈmæs.tɚ/
Origin 1
From Middle English maister, mayster, meister, from Old English mǣster, mæġster, mæġester, mæġister, magister ("master"), from Latin magister ("chief, teacher, leader"), from Old Latin magester, from mag- (as in magnus ("great")) + -ester/-ister (compare minister ("servant")). Reinforced by Old French maistre, mestre from the same Latin source.
Full definition of master
Noun
master
(plural masters)- Someone who has control over something or someone.
- Addisonmaster of a hundred thousand drachms
- Jowett (Thucyd.)We are masters of the sea.
- 1898, Winston Churchill, The Celebrity Chapter 4, The Celebrity, by arts unknown, induced Mrs. Judge Short and two other ladies to call at Mohair on an afternoon when Mr. Cooke was trying a trotter on the track....Their example was followed by others at a time when the master of Mohair was superintending in person the docking of some two-year-olds, and equally invisible.
- The owner of an animal or slave.
- (nautical) The captain of a merchant ship; a master mariner.
- Someone who employs others.
- 1898, Winston Churchill, The Celebrity Chapter 4, No matter how early I came down, I would find him on the veranda, smoking cigarettes, or otherwise his man would be there with a message to say that his master would shortly join me if I would kindly wait.
- An expert at something.Mark Twain was a master of fiction.
- Macaulaygreat masters of ridicule
- John LockeNo care is taken to improve young men in their own language, that they may thoroughly understand and be masters of it.
- A tradesman who is qualified to teach apprentices.
- (dated) A schoolmaster.
- A skilled artist.
- (dated) A man or a boy; mister. See Master.
- Jonathan SwiftWhere there are little masters and misses in a house, they are impediments to the diversions of the servants.
- A master's degree; a type of postgraduate degree, usually undertaken after a bachelor degree.She has a master in psychology.
- A person holding such a degree.He is a master of marine biology.
- The original of a document or of a recording.The band couldn't find the master, so they re-recorded their tracks.
- (film) The primary wide shot of a scene, into which the closeups will be edited later.
- (legal) A parajudicial officer (such as a referee, an auditor, an examiner, or an assessor) specially appointed to help a court with its proceedings.The case was tried by a master, who concluded that the plaintiffs were the equitable owners of the property....
- (engineering) A device that is controlling other devices or is an authoritative source (e.g. master database).
- A person holding an office of authority among the Freemasons, especially the presiding officer; also, a person holding a similar office in other civic societies.
Synonyms
- (master's degree) masters, master's
- (master's degree) magistrate Quebec English
- (film) establishing shot, long shot
- (ship) skipper, captain
Derived terms
Related terms
- mistress feminine form of "master"
Adjective
master
- Masterful.
- Main, principal or predominant.
- Highly skilled.master batsman
- Original.master copy
Verb
- To be a master.
- (transitive) To become the master of; to subject to one's will, control, or authority; to conquer; to overpower; to subdue.
- John LockeObstinacy and willful neglects must be mastered, even though it cost blows.
- 1898, J. Meade Falkner, Moonfleet Chapter 4Then Elzevir cried out angrily, 'Silence. Are you mad, or has the liquor mastered you? Are you Revenue-men that you dare shout and roister? or contrabandiers with the lugger in the offing, and your life in your hand. You make noise enough to wake folk in Moonfleet from their beds.'
- (transitive) To learn to a high degree of proficiency.It took her years to master the art of needlecraft.
- (obsolete) To own; to posses.
- Shakespearethe wealth that the world masters