master

Meanings

Noun

• Someone who has control over something or someone.
• The owner of an animal or slave.
• The captain of a merchant ship; a master mariner.
• The head of a household.
• Someone who employs others.
• An expert at something.
• A tradesman who is qualified to teach apprentices.
• A schoolmaster.
• A skilled artist.
• A man or a boy; mister. See Master.
• A master's degree; a type of postgraduate degree, usually undertaken after a bachelor degree.
• A person holding such a degree.
• The original of a document or of a recording.
• The primary wide shot of a scene, into which the closeups will be edited later.
• A parajudicial officer (such as a referee, an auditor, an examiner, or an assessor) specially appointed to help a court with its proceedings.
• A device that is controlling other devices or is an authoritative source.
• A person holding an office of authority, especially the presiding officer.
• A person holding a similar office in other civic societies.
• A vessel having a specified number of masts.

Adjective

• Masterful.
• Main, principal or predominant.
• Highly skilled.
• Original.

Verb

• To be a master.
• To become the master of; to subject to one's will, control, or authority; to conquer; to overpower; to subdue.
• To learn to a high degree of proficiency.
• To own; to possess.
• To make a master copy of.
• To earn a Master's degree.

Related

Narrower meaning words

• mistress

Origin

• From Middle English maister, mayster, meister and maistren, from Old English mǣster, mæġster, mæġester, mæġister, magister, from Latin magister, from Old Latin magester, from Proto-Indo-European *méǵh₂s, (as in magnus) + -ester/-ister (compare minister). Reinforced by Old French maistre, mestre and maistriier, maister from the same Latin source. Compare also Saterland Frisian Mäster, West Frisian master, Dutch meester, German Meister. maestro, and magister.
• mast + -er