a person with the ability or power to use, control, or dispose of something: a master of six languages; to be master of one's fate.
2.
an owner of a slave, animal, etc.
3.
an employer of workers or servants.
4.
the male head of a household.
5.
a person eminently skilled in something, as an occupation, art, or science: the great masters of the Impressionist period.
6.
a person whose teachings others accept or follow: a Zen master.
7.
Chiefly British. a male teacher or schoolmaster.
8.
a worker qualified to teach apprentices and to carry on a trade independently.
9.
a title given to a bridge or chess player who has won or placed in a certain number of officially recognized tournaments.
10.
a person holding this title.
11.
a person who commands a merchant ship; captain.
12.
a victor or conqueror.
13.
a presiding officer.
14.
an officer of the court to whom some or all of the issues in a case may be referred for the purpose of taking testimony and making a report to the court.
15.
the Master, Jesus Christ.
16.
a person who has been awarded a master's degree.
17.
a boy or young man (used chiefly as a term of address).
18.
Also called matrix.an original document, drawing, manuscript, etc., from which copies are made.
19.
a device for controlling another device operating in a similar way. Compare slave(def. 5).
The owner or keeper of an animal: The dog ran toward its master.
The owner of a slave.
One whose teachings or doctrines are accepted by followers.
MasterChristianity Jesus.
An artist or performer of great and exemplary skill.
An old master.
Used formerly as a title for a man holding a naval office ranking next below a lieutenant on a warship.
Used as a title for a man who serves as the head or presiding officer of certain societies, clubs, orders, or institutions.
Chiefly British Used as a title for any of various male law court officers.
Master Used as a title for any of various male officers having specified duties concerning the management of the British royal household.
Master Used as a courtesy title before the given or full name of a boy not considered old enough to be addressed as Mister.
Archaic Used as a form of address for a man; mister.
One who has control over or ownership of something: the master of a large tea plantation.
The captain of a merchant ship. Also called master mariner.
An employer.
The man who serves as the head of a household.
One who defeats another; a victor.
One whose teachings or doctrines are accepted by followers.
MasterChristianity Jesus.
An artist or performer of great and exemplary skill.
An old master.
Used formerly as a title for a man holding a naval office ranking next below a lieutenant on a warship.
Used as a title for a man who serves as the head or presiding officer of certain societies, clubs, orders, or institutions.
Chiefly British Used as a title for any of various male law court officers.
Master Used as a title for any of various male officers having specified duties concerning the management of the British royal household.
Master Used as a courtesy title before the given or full name of a boy not considered old enough to be addressed as Mister.
Archaic Used as a form of address for a man; mister.
A male teacher, schoolmaster, or tutor.
One who holds a master's degree.
An artist or performer of great and exemplary skill.
An old master.
Used formerly as a title for a man holding a naval office ranking next below a lieutenant on a warship.
Used as a title for a man who serves as the head or presiding officer of certain societies, clubs, orders, or institutions.
Chiefly British Used as a title for any of various male law court officers.
Master Used as a title for any of various male officers having specified duties concerning the management of the British royal household.
Master Used as a courtesy title before the given or full name of a boy not considered old enough to be addressed as Mister.
Archaic Used as a form of address for a man; mister.
A worker qualified to teach apprentices and carry on the craft independently.
An expert: a master of three languages.
Abbr. M.
Used formerly as a title for a man holding a naval office ranking next below a lieutenant on a warship.
Used as a title for a man who serves as the head or presiding officer of certain societies, clubs, orders, or institutions.
Chiefly British Used as a title for any of various male law court officers.
Master Used as a title for any of various male officers having specified duties concerning the management of the British royal household.
Master Used as a courtesy title before the given or full name of a boy not considered old enough to be addressed as Mister.
Archaic Used as a form of address for a man; mister.
Master A man who owns a pack of hounds or is the chief officer of a hunt.
An original, such as an original document or audio recording, from which copies can be made.
adj.
Of, relating to, or characteristic of a master.
Principal or predominant: a master plot.
Controlling all other parts of a mechanism: a master switch.
Highly skilled or proficient: a master thief.
Being an original from which copies are made.
tr.v.
mas·tered, mas·ter·ing, mas·ters
To act as or be the master of.
To make oneself a master of: mastered the language in a year's study.
To overcome or defeat: He finally mastered his addiction to drugs.
To reduce to subjugation; break or tame (an animal, for example).
To produce a master audio recording for.
To season or age (dyed goods).
[Middle English, from Old English māgister, mægister and Old French maistre, both from Latin magister; see meg- in Indo-European roots.]
mas'ter·dom n.
Usage Note: Master has been a productive source of compounds in English, evidenced by words such as masterpiece, concertmaster, mastermind, and masterstroke, to name just a few. It is also used frequently on its own as a noun, verb, and adjective, with meanings ranging from "an original document that is to be copied" to "a man who serves as the head of a household." The latter sense lends the word masculine connotations, which, along with the word's associations with the institutions of slavery, causes some people to be offended by the use of master in any form. Nonetheless, many senses of master, such as the noun sense "an expert" and the verb sense "to make oneself an expert at," have long been thought of as gender-neutral and are in wide use. Some compounds, like masterpiece and master plan, have lost most, if not all, of their associations with maleness. They exist as distinct words, and people do not usually think of them as a combination of parts each containing a different meaning.
O.E. mægester "one having control or authority," from L. magister "chief, head, director, teacher" (cf. O.Fr. maistre, Fr. maître, It. maestro, Ger. Meister), infl. in M.E. by O.Fr. maistre, from L. magister, contrastive adj. from magis (adv.) "more," itself a comp. of magnus "great." Meaning "original of a recording" is from 1904. In academic senses (from M.L. magister) it is attested from 1380s, originally a degree conveying authority to teach in the universities. The verb is attested from c.1225.
most important element; "the chief aim of living"; "the main doors were of solid glass"; "the principal rivers of America"; "the principal example"; "policemen were primary targets"; "the master bedroom"; "a master switch" [syn: chief]
noun
1.
an artist of consummate skill; "a master of the violin"; "one of the old masters" [syn: maestro]
2.
a person who has general authority over others [syn: overlord]
3.
a combatant who is able to defeat rivals [syn: victor]
Main Entry: master Function: adjective : being the principal or controlling one : governing a number of subordinate like things <a master insurance
policy>
Main Entry: mas·ter Function: noun 1: an individual or entity (as a corporation) having control or authority over another: as a: the owner of a
slave b:EMPLOYER —compare SERVANTc:PRINCIPAL 1a 2: an officer of the court appointed (as under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure
53) to assist a judge in a particular case by hearing and reporting on the case, sometimes by making findings of fact and conclusions of law, and by performing various related functions NOTE:
Under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, a master may be a magistrate or else may be a person with some special expertise in the matter. The word master as used in the Federal Rules
encompasses a referee, an auditor, an examiner, and an assessor. If the master makes findings of fact, they are reviewable by the court except when the case is not to be tried to the jury and the
findings are clearly erroneous, or when the parties have stipulated that the master's findings are to be final.
Bur"go*mas`ter\, n. [D. burgemeester; burg borough + meester master; akin to G. burgemeister, b["u]rgermeister. See 1st Borough, and Master.]1. A chief magistrate of a municipal town in Holland, Flanders, and Germany, corresponding to mayor in England and the United States; a burghmaster. 2. (Zo["o]l.) An aquatic bird, the glaucous gull (Larus glaucus), common in arctic regions.
Ma*gis"ter\, n. [L. See Master.] Master; sir; -- a title of the Middle Ages, given to a person in authority, or to one having a license from a university to teach philosophy and the liberal arts.
Mag`is*te"ri*al\, a. [L. magisterius magisterial. See Master.]1. Of or pertaining to a master or magistrate, or one in authority; having the manner of a magister; official; commanding; authoritative. Hence: Overbearing; dictatorial; dogmatic. When magisterial duties from his home Her father called. --Glover. We are not magisterial in opinions, nor, dictator-like, obtrude our notions on any man. --Sir T. Browne. Pretenses go a great way with men that take fair words and magisterial looks for current payment. --L'Estrange. 2. (Alchem. & Old Chem.) Pertaining to, produced by, or of the nature of, magistery. See Magistery, 2. Syn: Authoritative; stately; august; pompous; dignified; lofty; commanding; imperious; lordly; proud; haughty; domineering; despotic; dogmatical; arrogant. Usage: Magisterial, Dogmatical, Arrogant. One who is magisterial assumes the air of a master toward his pupils; one who is dogmatical lays down his positions in a tone of authority or dictation; one who is arrogant in sults others by an undue assumption of superiority. Those who have long been teachers sometimes acquire, unconsciously, a manner which borders too much on the magisterial, and may be unjustly construed as dogmatical, or even arrogant.
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Audio Help [mas-ter, mah-ster] Pronunciation Key 
