Word: master Part of Speech: noun Etymology: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *meǵh₂-der.? Proto-Indo-European *meh₂-der.? Proto-Italic *magisteros Latin magister, magistrum Old French maistrebor. ▲ Latin magisterder. Old English mǣġester Middle English maister English master 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”), also cognate of English much and mickle) + -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. Pronunciation: /ˈmɑːstə/, /ˈmastə/, /ˈmastəɾ/, /ˈmastəɻ/, /ˈmæstɚ/ 1. Someone who has control over something or someone. Example: We are masters of the sea. Example: Maſters 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. 2. The owner of an animal or slave. 3. The captain of a merchant ship; a master mariner. Example: Master at two-and-twenty, and married at twenty-three— 4. A male head of household. Labels: dated 5. Someone who employs others. Example: 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. 6. An expert at something. Example: Mark Twain was a master of fiction. Example: 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. 7. A tradesman who is qualified to teach apprentices. 8. A male schoolteacher. Labels: dated 9. A skilled artist. 10. A man or a boy; mister. See Master. Labels: dated Example: Where there are little Maſters and Miſſes in a Houſe, they are uſually great Impediments to the Diverſions of the Servants; 11. A master's degree; a type of postgraduate degree, usually undertaken after a bachelor degree. Example: She has a master in psychology. 12. A person holding such a degree. Example: He is a master of marine biology. 13. The original of a document or of a recording. Example: The band couldn't find the master, so they re-recorded their tracks. 14. The copyright in a sound recording. Labels: broadly Example: Many modern recording artists value owning their masters. 15. The primary wide shot of a scene, into which the closeups will be edited later. 16. A parajudicial officer (such as a referee, an auditor, an examiner, or an assessor) specially appointed to help a court with its proceedings. Example: The case was tried by a master, who concluded that the plaintiffs were the equitable owners of the property.[…] 17. A device that is controlling other devices or is an authoritative source. Example: a master wheel Example: a master database 18. A person holding an office of authority, especially the presiding officer. 19. A person holding a similar office in other civic societies. Labels: broadly 20. Ellipsis of master key. Labels: abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis Example: The use of masters and submasters will enable suites of rooms to be controlled by one key. 21. A male dominant.