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in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
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English
Pronunciation
Etymology 1
From Middle English maister , mayster , meister ( noun ) and maistren ( verb ) , from Old English mǣster , mæġster , mæġester , mæġister , magister ( “ master ” ) , from Latin magister ( “ chief, teacher, leader ” ) , from Old Latin magester , from Proto-Indo-European *méǵh₂s , (as in magnus ( “ great ” ) ) + -ester /-ister (compare minister ( “ servant ” ) ). Reinforced by Old French maistre , mestre ( noun ) and maistriier , maister ( verb ) from the same Latin source. Compare also Saterland Frisian Mäster ( “ master ” ) , West Frisian master ( “ master ” ) , Dutch meester ( “ master ” ) , German Meister ( “ master ” ) . Doublet of maestro , magister , and meister .
Alternative forms
maistre ( archaic )
Marse , marse ( obsolete , dialectal , US , Caribbean )
mas'r ( dated , pronunciation spelling, representing southern US black English)
Master
mastre , maister , mayster ( obsolete )
Massa , massa , massah , massy , masta , Mastah , mastah , mastuh ( pronunciation spellings )
measter ( obsolete , UK , pronunciation spelling)
mester , mister ( dialectal )
Noun
master (plural masters , feminine mistress )
Someone who has control over something or someone.
1671 , John Milton , “Samson Agonistes, .”, in Paradise Regain’d. A Poem. In IV Books. To which is Added, Samson Agonistes , London: J. M for John Starkey , →OCLC , page 83 , lines 415–420 :Maſter s commands come with a power reſiſtleſs / To ſuch as owe them abſolute ſubjection; / And for a life who will not change his purpoſe? / (So mutable are all the ways of men) / Yet this be ſure, in nothing to comply / Scandalous or forbidden in our Law.
1712 November 24 (Gregorian calendar), [Joseph Addison ; Richard Steele et al. ], “THURSDAY, November 13, 1712”, in The Spectator , number 535 ; republished in Alexander Chalmers , editor, The Spectator; a New Edition, , volume VI, New York, N.Y.: D[aniel] Appleton & Company , 1853 , →OCLC , page 97 :When I have thus made myself master of a hundred thousand drachmas [ …] .
1897 December (indicated as 1898 ), Winston Churchill , chapter IV, in The Celebrity: An Episode , New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company ; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd. , →OCLC , pages 58–59 :The Celebrity, by arts unknown, induced Mrs. Judge Short and two other ladies to call at Mohair on a certain 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 .
Synonyms: skipper , captain
( dated ) A male head of a household.
Someone who employs others.
1897 December (indicated as 1898 ), Winston Churchill , chapter IV, in The Celebrity: An Episode , New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company ; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd. , →OCLC , page 46 :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.
Synonyms: see Thesaurus:skilled person
Mark Twain was a master of fiction.
1843 July, , “Art. VII—The Life of Joseph Addison . By Lucy Aikin.”, in The Edinburgh Review , number CLVII, page 231 :But that which chiefly distinguishes Addison from Swift, from Voltaire, from almost all the other great masters of ridicule, is the grace, the nobleness, the moral purity, which we find even in his merriment.
2001 , “People with Cancer”, in Falun Gong Stories: A Journey to Ultimate Health , Golden Lotus Press, →ISBN , →OCLC , page 62 :A turning point came earlier this year. In January 2000, the local Qigong master who treated me asked me to find Falun Gong material on the Internet for him.
For more quotations using this term, see Citations:master .
A tradesman who is qualified to teach apprentices .
( dated ) A male schoolteacher .
A skilled artist .
( dated ) A man or a boy; mister . See Master .
1731 (date written, published 1745 ), Jonathan Swift , “Directions to Servants ”, in Thomas Sheridan and John Nichols , editors, The Works of the Rev. Jonathan Swift, , new edition, volume XVI, London: J Johnson , , published 1801 , →OCLC :Where there are little Maſters and Miſſes in a Houſe, they are uſually great Impediments to the Diverſions of the Servants;
A master's degree ; a type of postgraduate degree , usually undertaken after a bachelor degree.
Synonyms: masters , master's , ( Quebec ) magistrate
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.
Synonyms: establishing shot , long shot
( law ) 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 , computing ) A device that is controlling other devices or is an authoritative source.
Synonyms: coordinator , primary
Antonyms: secondary , slave , worker
a master wheel
a master database
( Freemasonry ) A person holding an office of authority, especially the presiding officer.
( by extension ) A person holding a similar office in other civic societies.
Short for master key .
2020 , Jane M. Wiggins, Facilities Manager's Desk Reference , page 517 :The use of masters and submasters will enable suites of rooms to be controlled by one key.
( BDSM ) A male dominant .
Coordinate term: mistress
Hyponyms
Derived terms
Pages starting with “master” .
Related terms
Descendants
Translations
someone who has control over something or someone
Albanian: pronar (sq) m
Arabic: سَيِّد m ( sayyid )
Aromanian: domnu , afendu
Basque: jabe
Belarusian: гаспада́р (be) m ( haspadár ) , валада́р m ( valadár )
Bulgarian: господа́р (bg) m ( gospodár )
Buryat: эзэн ( ezen ) , эжэн ( ežen )
Catalan: mestre (ca) m
Chinese:
Mandarin: 主人 (zh) ( zhǔrén )
Czech: pán (cs) m
Daur: ejin
Esperanto: mastro (eo) , reganto
Estonian: isand (et)
Finnish: herra (fi) , isäntä (fi)
Franco-Provençal: maîtro m
French: maître (fr) m
Friulian: paron m
Galician: amo (gl) m
Georgian: ბატონი ( baṭoni ) , მბრძანებელი (ka) ( mbrʒanebeli )
German: Meister (de)
Greek: κύριος (el) m ( kýrios ) , αφέντης (el) m ( aféntis )
Ancient: ἄναξ ( ánax ) , δεσπότης ( despótēs ) , κοίρανος ( koíranos ) , μεδέων ( medéōn ) , πρύτανις ( prútanis ) , κύριος ( kúrios )
Hindi: सरवर (hi) m ( sarvar ) , सलार (hi) m ( salār ) , मालिक (hi) m ( mālik ) , प्रभु (hi) m ( prabhu ) , साहिब (hi) m ( sāhib ) , साहब (hi) m ( sāhab ) , मास्टर (hi) m ( māsṭar ) , सालार (hi) m ( sālār )
Hungarian: mester (hu)
Indonesian: master (id)
Italian: padrone (it) m
Japanese: 主人 (ja) ( しゅじん, shujin )
Kalmyk: эзн ( ezn )
Kannada: ಎರೆ (kn) ( ere )
Kazakh: ие ( ie )
Khmer: ម្ចាស់ (km) ( mcah ) , មេ (km) ( mee ) , សាមី (km) ( saaməy ) , គម្ដែង (km) ( kumdaeng )
Kikuyu: mwathani class 1
Korean: 주인 (ko) ( ju'in )
Lao: ບໍດີ ( bǭ dī ) , ນາຽ ( nāi )
Latgalian: saiminīks m , saimineica f
Latin: dominus (la)
Latvian: saimnieks m , saimniece f
Ligurian: padrón m
Macedonian: господар m ( gospodar ) , стопан m ( stopan )
Manchu: ᡝᠵᡝᠨ ( ejen )
Megleno-Romanian: stăpǫn m
Mongolian:
Cyrillic: эзэн (mn) ( ezen )
Mongolian: ᠡᠵᠡᠨ ( eǰen )
Nivkh: ыс ( əs )
Norman: maître m
Norwegian: mester (no) m , herre (no) m
Occitan: mèstre (oc) m
Old English: hlāford m
Persian: سرور (fa) ( sarvar ) , سالار (fa) ( sâlâr ) , مالک (fa) ( mâlek )
Polish: władca (pl) m
Portuguese: mestre (pt) m , amo (pt) m
Romanian: stăpân (ro) m , proprietar (ro) m , patron (ro) m
Russian: хозя́ин (ru) m ( xozjáin ) , господи́н (ru) m ( gospodín ) , влады́ка (ru) m ( vladýka )
Samogitian: gaspaduorios m , gaspaduorė f
Sanskrit: प्रभु (sa) m ( prabhu )
Serbo-Croatian:
Cyrillic: госпо̀да̄р m
Roman: gospòdār (sh) m
Sicilian: mastru (scn) m , patruni (scn) m , patruna f , principali (scn) m or f
Slovak: pán (sk) m
Slovene: gospodár (sl) m
Spanish: amo (es) m
Swedish: huvudman (sv) c , herre (sv) c
Tagalog: amo (tl)
Thai: เจ้านาย (th) ( jâo-naai ) , นาย (th) ( naai )
Turkish: komodor (tr) , patron (tr) , efendi (tr) , bey (tr)
Ukrainian: хазя́їн m ( xazjájin ) , госпо́дар (uk) m ( hospódar ) , воло́дар (uk) m ( volódar )
Vietnamese: chủ (vi)
Walloon: mwaisse (wa)
White Hmong: tswv
Yiddish: בעל־הבית m ( balebos )
owner of an animal or slave
Arabic: سَيِّد m ( sayyid )
Belarusian: пан m ( pan ) , улада́р m ( uladár ) , гаспада́р (be) m ( haspadár )
Bulgarian: со́бственик (bg) m ( sóbstvenik ) , стопа́нин (bg) m ( stopánin ) , господа́р (bg) m ( gospodár ) , хазя́ин (bg) m ( hazjáin )
Czech: pán (cs) m
Esperanto: mastro (eo) , posedanto , sinjoro (eo)
Finnish: isäntä (fi)
Friulian: paron m
Georgian: მესაკუთრე ( mesaḳutre ) , მფლობელი ( mplobeli ) , მეპატრონე ( meṗaṭrone )
German: Frauchen (de) n ( animal ) , Herrchen (de) n ( animal )
Greek: κύριος (el) m ( kýrios )
Ancient: κύριος ( kúrios ) , δεσπότης ( despótēs ) , ἄναξ ( ánax )
Hebrew: בְּעָלִים m pl ( be'alím )
Hindi: मेहतर (hi) m ( mehtar )
Italian: padrone (it) m , padrona (it) f , proprietario (it) m
Japanese: 飼い主 (ja) ( かいぬし, kainushi ) ( animal )
Kazakh: ие ( ie )
Khmer: ទាសបតិ ( tiehsa’pa’te’ )
Kyrgyz: ээси (ky) ( eesi )
Lao: ສວາມີ ( suā mī )
Latin: dominus (la)
Latvian: saimnieks m , saimniece f
Macedonian: господар m ( gospodar ) , стопан m ( stopan )
Norwegian: herre (no) m
Old English: hlāford m
Persian: مهتر (fa) ( mahtar ) , ارباب (fa) ( arbâb )
Polish: pan (pl) m , pani (pl) f
Portuguese: dono (pt) m , proprietário (pt) m , senhor (pt) m
Romanian: stăpân (ro) m , proprietar (ro) m
Russian: хозя́ин (ru) m ( xozjáin ) , владе́лец (ru) m ( vladélec ) , повели́тель (ru) m ( povelítelʹ )
Serbo-Croatian:
Cyrillic: госпо̀да̄р m
Roman: gospòdār (sh) m
Sicilian: patruni (scn) m , patruna f , prupitaru m , prupitara f
Slovene: gospodar (sl) m
Spanish: amo (es) m
Swedish: husbonde (sv) c , herre (sv) c
Tagalog: amo (tl)
Turkish: efendi (tr)
Ukrainian: хазя́їн m ( xazjájin ) , воло́дар (uk) m ( volódar )
White Hmong: tswv
captain of a merchant ship
someone who employs others
Esperanto: ĉefo (eo)
Finnish: isäntä (fi) , työnantaja (fi)
Greek: αφεντικό (el) n ( afentikó )
Ancient: δεσπότης ( despótēs ) , κύριος ( kúrios ) , ἄναξ ( ánax )
Italian: boss (it) m , capo (it) m , titolare (it) m
Japanese: 主人 (ja) ( しゅじん, shujin ) , 主 (ja) ( ぬし, nushi; しゅ, shu ) , 雇用主 ( こようぬし, koyōnushi )
Latin: dominus (la) m
Macedonian: газда m ( gazda )
Persian: کارفرما (fa) ( kârfarmâ )
Polish: kapitan (pl) m
Portuguese: patrão (pt) m
Serbo-Croatian:
Cyrillic: gazda (sh) m
Roman: газда m
Sicilian: mastru (scn) m , patruni (scn) m , capurali m
Spanish: patrón (es) m
Swedish: husbonde (sv) c
Tagalog: bossing (colloquial), amo (tl) (common), compatron (obsolete)
Turkish: usta (tr) , işveren (tr)
expert at something
Arabic: أُصُولِيّ m ( ʔuṣūliyy ) , أُصُولِيَّة f ( ʔuṣūliyya ) , خَبِير m ( ḵabīr )
Avar: устӏар ( ustʼar )
Azerbaijani: usta (az)
Basque: maisu
Belarusian: ма́йстар m ( májstar ) , ма́йстарка f ( májstarka )
Bulgarian: ма́йстор (bg) m ( májstor ) , ма́йсторка f ( májstorka )
Catalan: mestre (ca) m
Chinese:
Mandarin: 技師 / 技师 (zh) ( jìshī ) , 巨匠 (zh) ( jùjiàng ) , 大師 / 大师 (zh) ( dàshī )
Czech: mistr (cs) m , mistryně (cs) f
Dutch: meester (nl) m
Esperanto: majstro
Estonian: meister
Finnish: mestari (fi)
French: maître (fr) m
Friulian: mestri m
Galician: mestre (gl) m
Georgian: ოსტატი ( osṭaṭi ) , სპეციალისტი ( sṗecialisṭi )
German: Meister (de) m , Meisterin (de) f
Greek: δάσκαλος (el) m ( dáskalos ) , ( colloquial ) μάστορας (el) m ( mástoras ) , αριστοτέχνης (el) m ( aristotéchnis )
Ancient: σοφιστής ( sophistḗs )
Hebrew: אָמָּן (he) m ( omán )
Hindi: उस्ताद (hi) m ( ustād ) , मास्टर (hi) m ( māsṭar )
Hungarian: mester (hu)
Ingrian: maasteri , meisteri
Italian: padrone (it) m , maestro (it) m
Japanese: 達人 (ja) ( たつじん, tatsujin ) , 匠 (ja) ( たくみ, takumi )
Kazakh: шебер (kk) ( şeber ) , ұста (kk) ( ūsta )
Korean: 달인 (ko) ( darin ) , 명수 (ko) ( myeongsu )
Kurdish:
Central Kurdish: وەستا ( westa )
Kyrgyz: уста (ky) ( usta ) , чебер (ky) ( ceber )
Latin: magister (la) m
Ligurian: méistro m
Luxembourgish: Meeschter m
Macedonian: мајстор m ( majstor ) , мајсторка f ( majstorka )
Maori: iho pūmanawa , mataaro , mātanga
Nanai: пакси ( paksi )
Neapolitan: masto m
Norwegian: mester (no) m
Persian: استاد (fa) ( ostâd )
Polish: mistrz (pl) m , majster (pl) m , mistrzyni (pl) f
Portuguese: mestre (pt) m
Romanian: maestru (ro) m
Russian: ма́стер (ru) m ( máster ) , мастери́ца (ru) f ( masteríca ) ( feminine form is less common ) , уме́лец (ru) m ( umélec ) ( somewhat dated ) , уме́лица (ru) f ( umélica )
Serbo-Croatian:
Cyrillic: мајстор m
Roman: majstor (sh) m
Sicilian: mastru (scn) m , mastra f
Slovak: majster m , majstryňa f
Slovene: mojster (sl) m , mojstrica f
Spanish: maestro (es) m , máster m
Swedish: mästare (sv) c
Tabasaran: уста ( usta )
Tagalog: pantas (tl)
Tajik: устод (tg) ( ustod )
Tatar: оста (tt) ( osta )
Turkish: usta (tr) , üstad
Ukrainian: ма́йстер (uk) m ( májster ) , ма́йстерка f ( májsterka )
Urdu: استاد m ( ustād )
Walloon: mwaisse (wa)
Yiddish: מײַסטער m ( mayster )
tradesman who is qualified to teach apprentices
courtesy title of a man
Belarusian: пан m ( pan ) , спада́р (be) m ( spadár )
Esperanto: sinjoro (eo)
Finnish: herra (fi)
German: Meister (de) m
Greek: κύριος (el) m ( kýrios )
Hindi: आका (hi) m ( ākā ) , आक़ा m ( āqā ) , आगा (hi) m ( āgā ) , आग़ा m ( āġā ) , साहिब (hi) m ( sāhib ) , साहब (hi) m ( sāhab ) , मास्टर (hi) m ( māsṭar )
Italian: mastro (it) m
Latin: dominus (la)
Persian: آقا (fa) ( âqâ )
Polish: ( usually capitalized ) pan (pl) m
Portuguese: senhor (pt) m
Romanian: maestru (ro) m
Sicilian: mastru (scn) m , don m , donna (scn) f , gna (scn) f , zìu m , zu (scn) m , zìa f , za (scn) f , signuri (scn) m
Spanish: maese (es) m , amo (es) m , señor (es) m
Swedish: mäster (sv) c
Ukrainian: пан (uk) m ( pan )
person holding a master's degree
original of a document or of a recording
film: primary wide shot of a scene
legal: parajudicial officer
engineering: device that is controlling other devices or is an authoritative source
freemasonry: person holding an office of authority
person holding a similar office in other civic societies
Translations to be checked
See also
Adjective
master (not comparable )
Masterful .
a master performance
Main , principal or predominant .
Highly skilled .
master batsman
1895 , Marshall Mather, Lancashire Idylls , page 39 :In another minute she lay peaceful and motionless under the anæsthetic — a statue, immobile, yet expressionful, as though carved by some master hand.
Original.
master copy
Derived terms
Translations
main, principal or predominant
Verb
master (third-person singular simple present masters , present participle mastering , simple past and past participle mastered )
( intransitive ) 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.
1898 , J. Meade Falkner , chapter 4, in Moonfleet , London, Toronto, Ont.: Jonathan Cape , published 1934 :Then 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.
( transitive , obsolete ) To own; to possess.
c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare , “The Merchant of Venice ”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies (First Folio ), London: Isaac Iaggard , and Ed Blount , published 1623 , →OCLC , , page 183 , column 2:[ …] the wealth / That the world maſters .
( transitive , especially of a musical performance) To make a master copy of.
( intransitive , usually with in ) To earn a Master's degree.
He mastered in English at the state college.
Derived terms
Terms derived from the verb master
Translations
to learn to a high degree
Dutch: beheersen (nl)
Esperanto: ellerni
Finnish: hallita (fi)
French: maîtriser (fr)
German: meistern (de) , beherrschen (de)
Greek: κατέχω (el) ( katécho )
Ancient: κρατέω ( kratéō )
Hungarian: elsajátít (hu)
Ingrian: maasteroittaa
Japanese: マスターする ( masutā suru ) , 熟達する (ja) ( jukutatsu suru )
Kazakh: меңгеру ( meñgeru )
Macedonian: владее ( vladee )
Norwegian: mestre , beherske (no)
Portuguese: dominar (pt)
Romanian: stăpâni (ro) , excela (ro)
Spanish: dominar (es)
Swedish: bemästra (sv)
Ukrainian: опано́вувати impf ( opanóvuvaty ) , опанува́ти pf ( opanuváty ) , оволодіва́ти impf ( ovolodiváty ) , оволоді́ти pf ( ovolodíty ) , засво́ювати impf ( zasvójuvaty ) , засво́їти pf ( zasvójity ) , осво́ювати impf ( osvójuvaty ) , осво́їти pf ( osvójity )
Etymology 2
mast + -er
Noun
master (plural masters )
( nautical , in combination) A vessel having a specified number of masts .
a two-master
Derived terms
Translations
vessel having specified number of masts
Anagrams
'maters , Amster , METARs , Stream , armest , armets , mastre , maters , matres , metras , ramets , ramset , remast , stream , tamers , tremas , trémas
Finnish
Etymology
From English master .
Pronunciation
Noun
master
( BDSM ) (male) dom
Declension
French
Etymology
Borrowed from English master . Doublet of maestro , borrowed from Italian, magister , borrowed from Latin, and maître , inherited from Latin.
Pronunciation
IPA (key ) : /mas.tɛʁ/ , /mas.tœʁ/
Noun
master m (plural masters )
master's degree , master's (postgraduate degree)
master (golf tournament)
master , master copy
Further reading
Anagrams
Indonesian
Etymology
From Dutch master , from English master , 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 Proto-Indo-European *méǵh₂s , (as in magnus ( “ great ” ) ) + -ester /-ister (compare minister ( “ servant ” ) ). Doublet of maestro , magister , and mester .
Pronunciation
IPA (key ) :
Hyphenation: mas‧têr
Noun
master (plural master-master , first-person possessive masterku , second-person possessive mastermu , third-person possessive masternya )
master :
someone who has control over something or someone.
an expert at something.
the original of a document or of a recording.
( education ) a master's degree; a type of postgraduate degree, usually undertaken after a bachelor degree.
Synonym: magister
Affixed terms
Compounds
Further reading
Norwegian Bokmål
Noun
master m or f
indefinite plural of mast
Norwegian Nynorsk
Etymology 1
From English master . Doublet of magister .
Noun
master m (definite singular masteren , indefinite plural masterar , definite plural masterane )
a master's degree
a master's thesis
a person that has a master's degree
original document or recording
Etymology 2
Noun
master f (definite singular mastra or mastri , indefinite plural mastrer , definite plural mastrene )
( pre-2012 ) alternative form of mast
Etymology 3
Noun
master f
indefinite plural of mast
References
Old Frisian
Alternative forms
Etymology
Borrowed from Vulgar Latin *maester , from Latin magister . Cognates include Old English mæġester and Old Saxon mēstar .
Pronunciation
Noun
māster m
master
leader
commissioner
Inflection
Derived terms
Descendants
References
Bremmer, Rolf H. (2009 ) An Introduction to Old Frisian: History, Grammar, Reader, Glossary , Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company, →ISBN , page 28
Romanian
Etymology
Borrowed from English master . Doublet of măiestru , maestru , maistru , magistru , and meșter .
Noun
master m (plural mastere )
master's degree
Declension
Swedish
Noun
master
indefinite plural of mast
Anagrams
West Frisian
Etymology
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium .)
Noun
master c (plural masters , diminutive masterke )
master
Derived terms
Further reading
“master ”, in Wurdboek fan de Fryske taal (in Dutch), 2011