master

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 and magister.

noun

1. Someone who has control over something or someone.
   We are masters of the sea. 1881, Benjamin Jowett, Thucydides
2. The owner of an animal or slave.
3. (nautical) The captain of a merchant ship; a master mariner.
4. (dated) A male head of a household.
5. Someone who employs others.
6. An expert at something.
   Mark Twain was a master of fiction.
   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. 1843 July, Thomas Babington Macaulay], “Art. VII—The Life of Joseph Addison. By Lucy Aikin.”, in The Edinburgh Review, number CLVII, page 231
   Darth Vader: I've been waiting for you, Obi-Wan. We meet again, at last. The circle is now complete. When I left you I was but the learner; now I am the master. 1977, George Lucas, Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
   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. 2001, “People with Cancer”, in Falun Gong Stories: A Journey to Ultimate Health, Golden Lotus Press, →OCLC, page 62
7. A tradesman who is qualified to teach apprentices.
8. (dated) A male schoolteacher.
9. A skilled artist.
10. (dated) A man or a boy; mister. See Master.
    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.
    She has a master in psychology.
12. A person holding such a degree.
    He is a master of marine biology.
13. The original of a document or of a recording.
    The band couldn't find the master, so they re-recorded their tracks.
14. (film) The primary wide shot of a scene, into which the closeups will be edited later.
15. (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.[…]
16. (engineering, computing) A device that is controlling other devices or is an authoritative source.
    a master wheel
    a master database
17. (Freemasonry) A person holding an office of authority, especially the presiding officer.
18. (by extension) A person holding a similar office in other civic societies.
19. Short for master key.
    The use of masters and submasters will enable suites of rooms to be controlled by one key. 2020, Jane M. Wiggins, Facilities Manager's Desk Reference, page 517
20. (BDSM) A male dominant.
    Coordinate term: mistress

adj

1. Masterful.
   a master performance
2. Main, principal or predominant.
3. Highly skilled.
   master batsman
   In another minute she lay peaceful and motionless under the anæsthetic — a statue, immobile, yet expressionful, as though carved by some master hand. 1895, Marshall Mather, Lancashire Idylls, page 39
4. Original.
   master copy

verb

1. (intransitive) To be a master.
2. (transitive) To become the master of; to subject to one's will, control, or authority; to conquer; to overpower; to subdue.
3. (transitive) To learn to a high degree of proficiency.
   It took her years to master the art of needlecraft.
4. (transitive, obsolete) To own; to possess.
5. (transitive, especially of a musical performance) To make a master copy of.
6. (intransitive, usually with in) To earn a Master's degree.
   He mastered in English at the state college.

Etymology 2

mast + -er

noun

1. (nautical, in combination) A vessel having a specified number of masts.
   a two-master