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单词 master
释义

mastern.1adj.

Brit. /ˈmɑːstə/, /ˈmastə/, U.S. /ˈmæstər/
Forms: Old English mægster, Old English magester, Old English magister, late Old English mægester, late Old English mægister, late Old English–Middle English mestre, early Middle English mæstere, early Middle English maȝȝste ( Ormulum, transmission error), early Middle English maȝȝstre ( Ormulum), early Middle English maȝstre (inflected form), Middle English maeyst (transmission error), Middle English maistere, Middle English maistr, Middle English maistur, Middle English maistyr, Middle English mayister, Middle English maystere, Middle English maystir, Middle English maystr, Middle English maystur, Middle English maystyr, Middle English meister, Middle English meistir, Middle English meistre, Middle English mesteir, Middle English 1900s– meyster, Middle English–1500s maistir, Middle English–1500s maistre, Middle English–1500s mayster, Middle English–1500s maystre, Middle English–1600s (1700s– nonstandard) maister, late Middle English masster, late Middle English mastur, late Middle English–1500s mastir, late Middle English–1500s mastyr, late Middle English–1600s (1700s–1800s chiefly archaic) mastre, late Middle English– master, 1500s mastar, 1500s (1800s– U.S. in sense A. 2a, see note below) marster, 1600s (1700s– nonstandard) measter, 1700s–1800s muster; English regional 1800s– maaster (northern), 1800s– maasther (northern), 1800s– maestur (western), 1800s– maister, 1800s– maisther (northern), 1800s– marster (south-eastern), 1800s– mayster, 1800s– measter, 1800s– meeaster (northern), 1800s– mester (northern), 1800s– mesther (northern), 1800s– mestur (northern); Scottish pre-1700 maiester, pre-1700 maistere, pre-1700 maisterris (plural), pre-1700 maistir, pre-1700 maistre, pre-1700 maistur, pre-1700 maistyr, pre-1700 masster, pre-1700 mastar, pre-1700 mastere, pre-1700 mastier, pre-1700 mastir, pre-1700 mastyr, pre-1700 mastyre, pre-1700 mayster, pre-1700 maystir, pre-1700 maystr, pre-1700 maystyr, pre-1700 meisteir, pre-1700 meister, pre-1700 1700s– maister, pre-1700 1700s– master, pre-1700 1800s– mester, pre-1700 1900s– maester, pre-1700 1900s– measter. See also massa n., mister n.2, Mr n.
Origin: Of multiple origins. Partly a borrowing from Latin. Partly a borrowing from French. Etymons: Latin magistr-, magister; French maistre.
Etymology: < classical Latin magistr-, magister (usually taken to be related to magis (adverb) more (the form magester cited by Quintilian as earlier is anomalous); compare minister minister n.), reinforced in Middle English by Anglo-Norman maistre, mastre, meistre, mestre, mistre and Old French maistre, mestre (Middle French maistre , French maître : compare maître n.), of the same origin. Compare magister n.Old English forms are of two types: the first (mægister , mægester , mægster ) has æ in the first syllable, and is usually regarded as a borrowing subsequent to the period of fronting, with later i-mutation (see A. Campbell Old Eng. Gram. (1959) §496); the second and more common (magister ) has a (of uncertain length) in the first syllable. The first type appears to have given rise to early Middle English forms like maister , maistre (corresponding to maȝȝstre in the nonstandard orthography of the Ormulum). Middle English spellings in ei and ey probably arise from forms with e for Old English æ (they are especially common in texts of the west midlands and Kent, where e for Old English æ is common), although reinforced by Anglo-Norman meistre , showing regular ai > ei (sporadic Middle English e -spellings reflect Anglo-Norman mestre , showing subsequent ei > e ). Middle English ei forms predominate in the 13th cent.; ei spellings are rare later, after the general change of ei > ai in later Middle English (the ai spelling in this word probably being reinforced also by Anglo-Norman and Middle French maistre ). Regular simplification of ai > a before the consonant cluster st during the 15th cent. gave rise to the headword form master . Originally this a was long (the reflex of such a form is attested by Hart in 1569), but it must have been shortened in Middle English; Gil and Robinson give it as short, and Samuel Butler rhymes master with disaster and poetaster . The vowel was subject to later lengthening of a before voiceless fricatives in southern English pronunciation. In Surv. Eng. Dial., forms with a long mid vowel or a diphthong in the root syllable (which could reflect either Middle English ai or Middle English ā ) are well represented, especially in the northern and western counties, and probably correspond to the modern English nonstandard written forms maister and measter ; forms with some variety of a are chiefly concentrated in the midlands and East Anglia. The classical Latin word has numerous Romance and Germanic derivatives, e.g. Italian maestro (compare maestro n.), Spanish maestro , Portuguese mestre (compare maistry n.); Old Frisian mastere , mestere (West Frisian master ), Middle Dutch meester , meister , mester (Dutch meester ), Old Saxon mēstar (Middle Low German mēster , mester , meyster , Low German meester ), Old High German maistar , maister , meistar , meister (Middle High German meister , German Meister ; compare Meistersinger n.), Old Icelandic meistari (Icelandic meistari ), Norwegian (Nynorsk) meister , Old Swedish mæstare (Swedish mästare ), Old Danish mester (Danish mester ). See also mistress n. Senses in all four branches are paralleled by uses in Latin, in branch A. III. initially reflecting use of Latin magister in the medieval universities. With uses at branch A. IV., compare adjectival use in French in the sense ‘principal’ (applied to people from c1100 in Old French, to material objects and immaterial things from the 12th cent. in Anglo-Norman); compare also Italian maestro , used adjectivally in this sense from the 14th cent. Several proverbs probably have classical and Romance parallels: with like master, like man (sense A. 2b) compare classical Latin qualis dominus, talis et servus in Petronius Satyricon 58.3, Middle French tel seigneur tel varlet (14th cent.); with the master's eye makes the horse fat (sense A. 3b) compare ancient Greek ἵππον πιαίνει ὁ τοῦ δεσπότου ὀϕθαλμός (Aristotle Oeconomica 1345a3; compare Xenophon Oeconomicus 12.20). In sense A. 2a frequently in form marster in 19th cent. in United States use in representations of African-American speech.
(The term master was originally applied almost exclusively to men (quot. eOE1 at sense A. 12a is a rare early exception), and the word is still normally used of a masculine referent; however, especially in the latter half of the 20th cent. its meaning has been extended to include women (either potentially or in fact) in many of the senses illustrated.)
A. n.1
I. A person or thing having control or authority.
1.
†a. gen. A person (predominantly, a man) having authority, direction or control over the action of another or others; a director, leader, chief, commander; a ruler, governor. Obsolete (archaic in later use).In later use chiefly applied to a king, prince, etc., in relation to his ministers or officers, and as such hard to distinguish from sense A. 2.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > [noun] > those in authority > person in authority
mastereOE
herOE
lordOE
overmana1325
overling1340
seignior1393
prelatea1475
oversman1505
signor1583
hogen mogen1639
boss-cocky1898
man1918
trump1937
authority figure1948
Great White Father1960
society > authority > control > person in control > [noun]
mastereOE
shepper1377
commandera1400
convoyer1488
comptroller?1536
controllera1540
controller-general1562
bridler1570
comptroller-general1587
disposerc1595
overruler1695
skull1880
society > authority > control > person in control > [noun] > director
mastereOE
steerc897
ordainerc1443
director1477
rector1482
sayer1483
orderer1496
solicitera1530
temperator1591
ordinator1615
sternera1634
dirigent1756
chargé d'affaires1797
quarterback1931
society > authority > rule or government > ruler or governor > sovereign ruler or monarch > [noun] > in relation to minister or officers
masterc1485
eOE King Ælfred tr. Gregory Pastoral Care (Hatton) (1871) xvii. 117 Ðonne he gemette ða scylde ðe he stieran scolde, hrædlice he gecyðde ðæt he wæs magister & ealdormonn.
OE Old Eng. Hexateuch: Exod. (Claud.) i. 11 Witodlice he sette him weorca mægstras [L. magistros operum], þæt hy gehyndon hi mid hefigum byrþenum.
a1225 (?OE) MS Lamb. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 43 (MED) Heore [sc. the twelve ‘master devils’] aȝene pine neure nere þe lesse þah heo meistres weren.
a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 4072 Ðe mestres of ðise hore-men.
c1330 (?c1300) Bevis of Hampton (Auch.) 85 (MED) For is meisters [sc. the two jailers] wer boþe ded, Þre daies after he ne et no bred.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) 6408 (MED) Moyses þan cald sir iosue And mad him maister o þat semble.
a1450 (a1338) R. Mannyng Chron. (Lamb.) (1887) i. 13084 (MED) Þe Bretons..toke Petron, þe maister Romayn.
c1485 ( G. Hay Bk. Law of Armys (2005) 103 A kingis prouost may haue na mare power na has his maister.
a1500 (?c1450) Merlin 549 (MED) These foure hit herden that were maistris of the hoste and conditoures.
?c1500 J. Blount tr. N. Upton Essent. Portions De Studio Militari (1931) 36 That All soudiars And All suche that Reseue wages of vs And oure Realme be lykewyse obedient vnto theyr immediatt captaynes And maisters.
1596 J. Dalrymple tr. J. Leslie Hist. Scotl. (1888) I. 104 Quhen thay sett vpon the ennimie..thay pas in ordour, following thair maistiris.
1608 W. Shakespeare King Lear iv. 27 Kent. You haue that in your countenance, which I would faine call Maister. Lear. Whats that? Kent. Authoritie. View more context for this quotation
1611 Bible (King James) 1 Sam. xxiv. 6 The Lord forbid that I should doe this thing vnto my master the Lords Anoynted. View more context for this quotation
a1616 W. Shakespeare All's Well that ends Well (1623) iv. v. 71 The King my master . View more context for this quotation
1712 J. Swift Jrnl. to Stella 21 Dec. (1948) II. 585 The Spanish Ambasdr..desired him to tell me, that his Mastr & the K. of Fr..were more obliged to me than any man in Europe.
1885 C. Lowe Life Bismarck I. 396 M. le Comte Benedetti, French Ambassador at Berlin..sped to Vienna with the latest proposal of his master.
1929 Travel Jan. 15/2 I come in peace! My Master, King Draghun sent me to guide you to our camp.
b. In extended use, chiefly with an animal as subject.
ΚΠ
a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) ii. 1134 The vessell..Which Maister was of al the Flete.
1594 W. Shakespeare Titus Andronicus v. i. 15 Like stinging Bees..Led by their Master to the flowred fields. View more context for this quotation
1710 N. Rowe tr. Lucan Pharsalia ix. 1237 Some Master of the Herd, some mighty Bull.
1748 B. Robins & R. Walter Voy. round World by Anson ii. i. 121 The Master of the herd posted himself fronting the enemy, the rest of the goats being all behind him.
1970 H. H. Hermans (title) The law—my master.
1987 A. Hultkrantz Native Relig. N. Amer. ii. 28 Each animal species has its master..; this master of the animals is usually conceived as a mysterious animal spirit larger than ordinary animals of the same kind.
c. The manager, overseer, etc., of a shop, factory, or other business. Now historical.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > worker > workers according to status > [noun] > manager
masterc1400
manager1682
boss1806
mgr.1891
taipan1892
oyabun1948
incharge1956
c1400 Burgh Laws (Bute) c. 71 in Dict. Older Sc. Tongue at Maister, Master Nane sal hafe in his ovyn ma servandis na iiii the maystyr and twa servandis & aknafe.
1627 in J. H. Macadam Baxter Bks. St. Andrews (1903) 87 James Broun and Patrik Walker, maisteris of the said James his baikhous.
1652 in Rec. Mass. Bay (1854) III. 261 John Hull, master of the said Mint.
1662 J. Lamont Diary (1830) 143 William Lundy..measter of the mille.
1794 E. Burke Speech in Impeachment W. Hastings in Wks. (1827) XV. 365 Employing military men..as masters of markets and of gunges.
1798 Monthly Mag. 5 395 Mr. Munday, late master of the Falstaff inn.
1859 C. Dickens Tale of Two Cities i. v. 20 The master of the wine-shop..in a yellow waistcoat and green breeches.
1954 W. Wallace Pedlars 12 In the spring of 1773 he conceived the idea of carrying his furs down to York factory... The master at York factory was not receptive to this idea.
1992 J. Rule Vital Cent. (BNC) 198 Child labour recommended themselves [sic] to the early factory masters.
d. The male head of a house or household.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > rule or government > rule or government of family or tribe > head of family, tribe, or clan > [noun] > head of household
houselordOE
husbandOE
lordOE
goodmanc1275
husbandmanc1330
master1536
man of the house1539
housemaster1593
major-domo1649
house head1864
old baas1882
1536 M. Bryan Let. in H. Ellis Orig. Lett. Eng. Hist. (1827) 2nd Ser. II. 80 Mr. Shelton saythe he es Master of thys Hows.
1577 R. Holinshed Hist. Scotl. 396/2 in Chron. I The people generally lamenting his deathe with no lesse sorowe..than as is seene in a priuate house for the deceasse of the welbeloued maister and owner thereof.
1611 Bible (King James) Exod. xxii. 8 The master of the house shall be brought vnto the Iudges. View more context for this quotation
1651 R. Baxter Saints Everlasting Rest (new ed.) iii. xiii. §11 The last whom I would perswade to this great Work..is Parents, and Masters of Families.
1709 R. Steele Tatler No. 82. ⁋4 The Master of a Family that wholly depended upon his Life.
1797 Encycl. Brit. X. 309/1 As a husband, a father, or the master of a family, he was as nearly faultless as the imperfections of humanity will easily permit.
1841 E. W. Lane tr. Thousand & One Nights I. 123 The master of the house begins first.
1892 C. G. D. Roberts in Harper's Mag. Dec. 121 The next neighbor was a prosperous pioneer, being master of a substantial framehouse in the midst of a large..clearing.
1934 Amer. Home July 75/1 Here the master of the house has demanded a small ‘shaving room’ of his own.
1992 National Trust Mag. Summer 23 (caption) Rest for the wicked: the master of the house takes a post-prandial nap in the library.
e. British colloquial. A person's professional superior in the British Civil Service, intelligence service, etc. Frequently in plural.
ΚΠ
1943 N. Balchin Small Back Room xiv. 164 I shall have to cover myself... I mean I shall have to talk to my master.
1972 ‘H. Buckmaster’ Walking Trip 194 The Commissioner wants some deep and instant thinking before he talks again to our masters.
1983 L. Deighton Berlin Game vii. 76 If you start digging lawyers into this dialogue, our masters are going to regard it as a very unfriendly reaction.
2.
a. A person who employs another; (formerly esp.) the employer of a servant or apprentice (cf. sense A. 14). Also: the owner of a slave (see also Mas' n.1, massa n.).The extended South African use (now rare) to denote any white male may belong here; cf. sense A. 20a.lord and master: see lord n. 2a.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > worker > employer > [noun]
mastereOE
employer1600
baas1625
governor1783
old baas1882
society > authority > [noun] > those in authority > person in authority > master of servant
mastereOE
lordOE
sieur1886
eOE King Ælfred tr. Gregory Pastoral Care (Tiber.) (Junius transcript) (1871) xvii. 108 Hit is nidðearf ðæt mon his hlaford ondræde, & se cniht his magister.
c1300 Body & Soul (Laud Misc. 108) (1889) 47 (MED) I þolede þe..To be maister and i þi cnave.
c1390 G. Chaucer Cook's Tale 4399 This ioly prentys with his maister bood.
c1390 (a1376) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Vernon) (1867) A. iii. 211 Seruaunts..Takeþ Meede of heore Maystres.
a1500 (?c1450) Merlin i. 3 The heirdes..tolde their maister the mervelle.
1526 Hundred Mery Tales (1866) 146 Here is nother mayster nor man.
1600 W. Shakespeare Merchant of Venice v. i. 47 My Maister will be heere ere morning. View more context for this quotation
1623 King James VI & I in J. Rushworth Hist. Coll. (1659) 127 He is a happy man that serves a good Master.
1711 R. Steele Spectator No. 107. ⁋1 The general Corruption of Manners in Servants is owing to the conduct of Masters.
?1746 ‘T. Bobbin’ View Lancs. Dial. 3 Meh Measter had lik't o kill meh.
1765 W. Blackstone Comm. Laws Eng. I. xiv. 416 A Master may by law correct his apprentice.
1788 W. Cowper Negro's Compl. iii Think, ye masters iron-hearted.
1804 Sydney Gaz. 18 Mar. John Gilliard, for insolence to his master, received a corporal punishment.
1833 J. G. Whittier Abolitionists in Prose Wks. (1889) III. 64 A majority of the masters..are disposed to treat their..slaves with kindness.
1833 Graham's Town Jrnl. (S. Afr.) 6 June 2 I know that they beat the old master, and that he fell.
1843 G. Borrow Bible in Spain II. xvi. 345 I have lived in many houses and served many masters.
1880 J. McCarthy Hist. our Own Times IV. liv. 171 The masters and the workmen.
1914 J. M. Barrie Admirable Crichton i. 65 The same person might not be master; the same persons might not be servants.
1962 S. Wynter Hills of Hebron vi. 81 His master..made his mother a house-slave so that Cato could grow up in the big house.
1980 Capetonian Jan. 26 Jus' cos I worked for a otta masters and merrems [i.e. madams] doesn't mean to say I'se a rondloper wot cannot hold down a job.
1991 Investors Chron. 16 Aug. 17/2 His employees are known as ‘Sugarlumps’, slavish devotees of their master's no-nonsense work ethic.
b. [Compare Middle French a tel seigneur, tel varlet (14th cent.).] Proverbs. like master, like man and variants; fire is a good servant but a bad master and variants.For additional proverbs, see M. P. Tilley Dict. Proverbs Eng. 16th & 17th Cent. (1950).
ΚΠ
?1503–5 H. Watson tr. Valentine & Orson (1937) 317 A disloyall traytoure named Galeran whiche had serued him longe, for suche mayster suche servaunt.
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 120v Suche maystre suche man.
1538 T. Elyot Dict. at Similes A lewd servaunt with an yll master..Lyke master lyke man.
1554 in J. Strype Eccl. Memorials (1721) III. xxiii. 190 The old proverbe is true..‘such a master, such a servant’.
1562 W. Bullein Dial. Sorenes f. 47 in Bulwarke of Defence Fire and water, are good seruauntes, but euill maisters.
1615 T. Adams Englands Sicknes sig. D2v The world, like fire, may be a good seruant, will bee an ill Master.
1655 T. Fuller Church-hist. Brit. ix. 178 He crossed the Proverb, like Master, like Man, the Patron being Cruel, the Chaplain Kinde.
1665 R. Boyle Occas. Refl. iv. viii. sig. Dd4v Fire and Water, they cannot be so good Servants, but that they are worse Masters.
1692 R. L'Estrange Fables xxxviii. 38 Fire and Water,..are Good Servants, but Bad Masters.
1808 J. Adams Wks. (1851) VI. 533 Like fire, they [sc. the aristocracy] are good servants, but all-consuming masters.
1874 T. Hardy Far from Madding Crowd I. vi. 73 Oh, man—fire, fire! A good master and a bad servant is fire, fire!—I mane a bad servant and a good master. Oh, Mark Clark—come!
1960 Woman's Illustr. 16 July 15 ‘It sounds to me,’ said Sarah, slowly and with spirit, ‘a case of like master—like man.’
1973 J. Caird Murder Remote xx. 201 Is not whisky the wonderful thing? But like fire, like fire—a good servant but a bad master.
†c. In some English public schools: the boy whom another serves as a fag; = fagmaster n. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > education > learning > learner > one attending school > [noun] > schoolboy > one who has fag
fagger1818
fagmaster1818
master1833
1833 E. Bulwer-Lytton Eng. & English (ed. 2) II. 108 The fag loathed his master.
1864 Eton School Days iv. 42 College rolls..were never so tempting to me when I had been to get them for my ‘master’.
d. A person, usually a man, who plays the dominant role in sadomasochistic sexual activity. Cf. mistress n. 2g, slave n.1 and adj.1
ΚΠ
1901 Suburban Souls I. vi. 129 You can hurt me if you like, master. I love when you are just a little rough; but what have I done to displease?
1907 J. P. Kirkwood Sadopaideia I. 52 The fascination of domination held me, and though, of course, I had both Muriel and Juliette as my mistresses, that was more for their pleasure than my own. For myself I was their master, they were my slaves.
1965 ‘S. d'Estrée’ tr. ‘P. Réage’ Story of O (1973) i. 15 You are here to serve your masters... Your hands are not your own, nor are your breasts, nor, most especially, any of your bodily orifices, which we may explore or penetrate at will.
1995 Independent 22 Mar. 23/3 It is hard to imagine him as a stereotypical leather-clad, whip-wielding ‘master’ disciplining his ‘slave’.
e. A component of a system which controls or regulates the operation of one or more of the system's other components. Cf. slave n.1 5.See also master–slave adj. (b) at Compounds 6.
ΚΠ
1959 K. Henney Radio Engin. Handbk. xxvi. 29 The chain may consist of four [transmitting] stations of which two are masters and two are slaves.
1978 W. S. Davis Information Processing Syst. xvi. 363 The designers of this system placed another computer, a smaller machine (the master)..in front of the larger one (the slave).
1995 Camcorder User Apr. 31/1 When one or more machines (player or recorder) are controlled by a master machine, such as an edit controller, they are said to be slaves to that master.
3.
a. The owner of an animal; the person whom an animal is accustomed to obey. Also figurative.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > [noun] > those in authority > person in authority > master of living creature
masterlOE
misterc1620
lOE King Ælfred tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. (Bodl.) xxv. 57 Seo leo, þeah hio wel tam se..& hire magister swiðe lufige.., gif hit æfre gebyreð þæt heo blodes onbirigð,..abit ærest hire ladteow.
a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) i. 1260 The yonge whelp which is affaited Hath noght his Maister betre awaited, To couche, whan he seith ‘go lowe’.
c1450 Alphabet of Tales (1904) I. 188 Þe hunde..gruchid not to be burnyd with his maister bodie.
a1500 (?c1300) Bevis of Hampton (Chetham) l. 3758 Stedis..With oute maisters.
1535 Bible (Coverdale) Isa. i. A An oxe knoweth his Lorde, and an Asse his masters stall.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Winter's Tale (1623) i. ii. 159 My Dagger muzzel[']d, Least it should bite it's Master . View more context for this quotation
1718 M. Prior Solomon on Vanity ii, in Poems Several Occasions (new ed.) 447 Till the lov'd dog declare his master near.
1748 B. Robins & R. Walter Voy. round World by Anson ii. xii. 263 His horse..turning round suddenly ran off with his master.
1816 W. Scott Old Mortality iii, in Tales of my Landlord 1st Ser. II. 53 The animal swerved at the moment his master fired.
1884 ‘Rita’ My Lord Conceit I. iii. iii. 297 The little dog..sat..looking as if he were holding a court-martial upon the proceedings of his two little masters.
1976 A. Price War Game (1979) i. v. 104 The setter's master was a tall, thin man with an all-weather face.
1997 N.Y. Rev. Bks. 29 May 22/1 The performing bears and their masters who were persistently condemned by the clergy for over eight hundred years.
†b. Proverb. the master's eye makes the horse fat and variants. Obsolete.
ΚΠ
1530 R. Whitford tr. B. Silvestris Breue, or Shorte Monicyon in Werke for Housholders (new ed.) sig. H1 The slepe [read step] of the housbande maketh a fatte donghyll. And the eye of the mayster a fast [sic] hors. That is to meane that the presence of the mayster in euery corner is moche profytable.
1614 W. Camden Remaines (rev. ed.) 313 The Maisters eye maketh the horse fat.
1686 J. Dunton Lett. from New Eng. (1867) 177 Yet I remembered that..the Masters Eye makes the Horse fat.
1799 A. Young Agric. Lincoln 253 It is oft the master's eye that makes the sow fat!
1869 J. E. A. Leigh Mem. Jane Austen 35 Two homely proverbs were held in higher estimation in my early days than they are now—‘The master's eye makes the horse fat,’ and [etc.].
c. Frequently ironic. his (also her, my, etc.) master's voice n. [ < the title of a picture by Francis Barraud (1856–1924) in which a fox terrier is depicted listening attentively to a gramophone (in an earlier version submitted for copyright by Barraud in 1899 under the title ‘Dog Looking at and Listening to a Phonograph’); registered as a trademark in 1910] the voice of authority.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > [noun] > those in authority > person in authority > voice of
his (also her, my, etc.) master's voice1922
1910 Trade Marks Jrnl. 5 Oct. 1604 His Master's Voice... Talking machines, talking machine needles, talking machine records and other talking machine accessories... The Gramophone Company, Limited,..London.]
1922 E. von Arnim Enchanted April xviii. 297 ‘Francesca!’ shouted Briggs. She came running... ‘Her Master's Voice,’ remarked Mr. Wilkins.
1922 J. Joyce Ulysses ii. xv. [Circe] 448 Paddy Dignam [reincarnated as a dog]. My master's voice!
1969 ‘H. Pentecost’ Girl with Six Fingers (1970) i. iv. 68 ‘He—he'd hesitate to do anything that would displease Angela.’ ‘Not when he hears his master's voice,’ said Jericho.
1990 R. Doyle Snapper (1993) 16 Turn on the Sky there, he barked at Darren,—for the wrestlin'.—His master's voice, said Veronica.
†4. A person who is stronger than or who overcomes another, esp. in combat; a victor. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > warrior > victor or conqueror > [noun]
masterc1230
conqueror1307
victora1340
overcomerc1350
scomfitera1400
vanquisher1474
vainquer1481
conquestora1513
dauntera1522
overwhelmera1522
discomfiter1528
overwinner1535
cock1542
victorer1553
triumphant1562
triumphera1569
vanquer1570
Tamerlane?1572
defeater1582
vanqueror1583
triumphator1611
conquesor1641
conquestora1670
debellator1713
reconqueror1777
subjugator1795
conquistador1830
the world > action or operation > prosperity > success > mastery or superiority > [noun] > prevailing or mastering > overcoming or overwhelming > one who
masterc1230
overcomerc1350
conquerorc1374
victora1400
overbearera1425
overgangerc1440
vanquisher1474
usurper1509
subduer1516
overthrower1548
defeater1582
prevailer1596
masterer1600
queller1613
conquerant1655
dompter1672
c1230 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Corpus Cambr.) (1962) 102 Contentio. þet is strif to ouercumen þet te oþer þunche underneoðen awarpen..ant heo meistre of þe mot.
c1300 Holy Cross (Laud) 342 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 11 (MED) With þis signe þou schalt maister beo.
c1440 (c1350) Octovian (Thornton) 119 (MED) His fadir Clement, fulle sory was he, To þat he wyste wheþer mayster solde be.
?1520 A. Barclay tr. Sallust Cron. Warre agaynst Iugurth xlviii. f. 66 Him which is strongest, and is maister hauyng the vpper hande.
?1565 Smyth that forged New Dame sig. A.iv v Than our lorde gan say..Smyth..Thy mayster thou me call.
1864 Ld. Tennyson Enoch Arden in Enoch Arden, etc. 3 If they quarrell'd, Enoch stronger-made Was master.
5.
a. A person who has the power to control, use, or dispose of something at will. Usually with of.
ΚΠ
c1300 St. Thomas Becket (Laud) 317 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 115 (MED) Þe here he dude on next is liche is flesches maister to beo.
c1410 (c1350) Gamelyn (Harl. 7334) 314 We wiln be maistres heer.
a1450 (c1412) T. Hoccleve De Regimine Principum (Harl. 4866) (1897) 687 (MED) O wher is now al þe wantoun moneye That I was maister of..Whan I knewe nat what pouert was to sey?
1488 (c1478) Hary Actis & Deidis Schir William Wallace (Adv.) (1968–9) i. l. 131 Quhar that stayne is Scottis suld mastir be.
a1500 (c1340) R. Rolle Psalter (Univ. Oxf. 64) (1884) xvii. 47 God makis vs maysters of vices.
a1513 W. Dunbar Poems (1998) I. 63 Be now and ay the maistir of ȝour will.
1601 R. Johnson tr. G. Botero Trauellers Breuiat 40 No man is master of himselfe.
1609 W. Shakespeare Troilus & Cressida v. xi. 1 Yet are we masters of the field. View more context for this quotation
a1616 W. Shakespeare Julius Caesar (1623) i. ii. 140 Men at sometime, are Masters of their Fates. View more context for this quotation
1677 J. Crowne Destr. Jerusalem i. iv. 38 My heart and person both are free, And I am Master of my destiny.
1693 Humours & Conversat. Town 39 Ev'ry Woman that will make a Man Master of her Person..makes him Master of her Purse.
1707 E. Ward Wooden World Dissected 102 It would be a..Scandal to him to go off Master of his Legs.
1769 Ann. Reg. 1768 Characters 29/1 Master of the Queen's soul, which he guided as he pleased.
1782 J. Priestley Hist. Corruptions Christianity II. x. 262 The bishops were almost masters..of France and Germany.
1790 E. Burke Refl. Revol. in France 318 The person who really commands the army is your master; the master (that is little) of your king, the master of your assembly, the master of your whole republic. View more context for this quotation
1816 J. B. Burges Dragon Knight vi. 156 Thou art master of my destiny.
1872 J. Yeats Growth Commerce 100 You will become masters of all the gold in Christendom.
1874 J. R. Green Short Hist. Eng. People vii. §6. 410 To secure a landing at all, the Spaniards had to be masters of the Channel.
1904 People 4 Dec. 17/7 Two..cart horses; suitable for coal or timber merchants; master of two tons.
1928 D. H. Lawrence Lady Chatterley's Lover i. 7 She was so much more mistress of herself in that outer world of chaos than he was master of himself.
1951 S. Spender World within World ii. 53 He was so confident and conscious a master of his situation.
1986 N.Y. Times 28 Apr. a11/3 Mr. Reagan added, ‘We believe that Asian nations are the masters of their own fate.’
b. In extended use: something (more or less personified) with power over a person or people.
ΚΠ
a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) i. 35 (MED) Love is maister wher he wile.
c1400 (a1376) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Trin. Cambr. R.3.14) (1960) A. iii. 162 (MED) Such a Mayster is Meede A-Mong Men of goode.
1568 (a1500) Colkelbie Sow ii. 226 in W. T. Ritchie Bannatyne MS (1930) IV. 303 Lat nevir thy penny be..mastir of the.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Two Gentlemen of Verona (1623) i. i. 39 Loue is your master . View more context for this quotation
1631 Bp. J. Hall Occas. Medit. (ed. 2) (2nd state) §c An honest mans word must be his maister.
1679 J. Dryden & N. Lee Oedipus i. 9 But it's a hard World Neighbours, If a mans Oath must be his master.
1738 J. Swift Compl. Coll. Genteel Conversat. 59 I want that Diamond-Ring of yours... Why, then, Want's like to be your Master.
1797 W. Godwin Enquirer i. vi. 44 Language is not his master, but he is the master of language.
1828 J. P. Collier Punch & Judy 80 Punch. Come up stairs: I want you. Judy. Then want must be your master. I'm busy.
1879 ‘G. Eliot’ Theophrastus Such vii. 139 The Possible is always the ultimate master of our efforts and desires.
1911 S. J. Weyman Starvecrow Farm xiv. 126 ‘Well you'll please to tell her I must see here [sic].’ ‘I fancy must will be your master.’
1986 B. Gilroy Frangipani House xii. 58 In the end..the heat became her master. She leaned against a tree.
c. to be one's own master: to be independent or free to do as one pleases.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > lack of subjection > freedom or liberty > independence > be independent [verb (intransitive)]
to have one's own rulea1393
to be one's own man (also woman, person)a1425
to be one's own master?1510
to stand on one's own bottom1564
to sit loose1591
independa1657
to paddle one's own canoe1828
to go it alone1842
to run one's own show1892
to go one's (own) gait1922
?1510 T. More tr. G. F. Pico della Mirandola Lyfe I. Picus sig. b.iiv He was his owne maister.
1542 N. Udall tr. Erasmus Apophthegmes f. 290v To be myne owne maister.
1675 J. Crowne Andromache iv. 36 Defer your Marriage but one day,—to morrow, You shall be your own Master.
a1714 M. Henry Ordination Serm. in Misc. Wks. (1853) ii. 505/2 We are most our own possessors, when we are least our own masters.
1743 J. Bulkeley & J. Cummins Voy. to South-seas Pref. 13 When they were out of Pay, they look'd upon themselves as their own Masters.
1813 J. Austen Pride & Prejudice I. xxi. 274 He is his own master . View more context for this quotation
1859 C. Dickens Tale of Two Cities ii. iv. 53 We men of business, who serve a House, are not our own masters. We have to think of the House more than ourselves.
1915 W. S. Maugham Of Human Bondage xxi. 84 He wished immensely to be his own master.
1990 B. Swain Roses, Questions & Answers 13 Understand why something happens as it does and you are your own master, able to use your common sense and logic to make judgements and decisions.
†d. to be master [after French être maître de + infinitive ‘to be at liberty to, have the power to’] : to be free to do as one pleases (in a specified matter). Obsolete. rare.
ΚΠ
1752 Ld. Chesterfield Let. 21 July (1932) (modernized text) V. 1912 Would you saunter at some of the small Courts, as Brunswick?.. You are master.
6. Chiefly with possessive. A woman's husband. Also: †a woman's lover (obsolete). Now English regional or merged in senses A. 1d and A. 2. Surv. Eng. Dial. records the master and our master in this sense from many localities.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > marriage or wedlock > married person > married man > [noun] > husband
churla800
lordeOE
werec893
husbanda1275
mana1325
masterc1325
sovereign1390
maritea1398
husbandman?a1439
goodman?1507
baron1595
spouse1604
husband of one's bosom1611
old man1673
hubby1682
sposo1741
hub1809
master-man1825
pot and pan1900
mister1931
DH1993
c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) 10207 (MED) Alle clerkene lefmen in prisoun þe king brouȝte, Vort at is owe wille hor maistres hom out bouȝte.
1459 E. Poynings in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) I. 206 As for my mayster, my bestbeloved that ye call.
c1540 (?a1400) Gest Historiale Destr. Troy 8430 Sho was affrayet..with a fuerse dreme, That she met of hir maister.
1792 M. Wollstonecraft Vindic. Rights Woman v He [sc. Rousseau]..proceeds to prove that woman ought to be weak and passive..and hence infers that..it is her duty to render herself agreeable to her master.
1853 C. Dickens Bleak House viii. 78 I'm a watching for my master.
1879 J. Fothergill Probation i. xix A rough ‘measter’ to make and mend and ‘do’ for.
1995 J. M. Sims-Kimbrey Wodds & Doggerybaw: Lincs. Dial. Dict. 191/1 Is the Meyster in? Can I 'ev a quick wodd wiyim?
7. Nautical.
a. (a) [Compare post-classical Latin magister denoting the captain of a vessel (from early 13th cent. in British sources); compare also master mariner n. at Compounds 6.] The captain of a merchant vessel (since the mid 19th cent. qualified to command by possession of a Master's ticket or an Extra Master's ticket); (originally also in plural) †the officers or the crew of a merchant vessel (obsolete); (b) a naval officer ranking next below a lieutenant, responsible for the navigation of a ship during naval operations (subsequently called navigating officer: see navigating n. Compounds) (now historical).master mariner, master's mate: see Compounds 6.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > one who travels by water or sea > sailor > [noun] > captain or master > of a merchant vessel
mastera1375
padrone1804
master mariner1838
society > armed hostility > hostilities at sea > seafaring warrior or naval man > leader or commander > officer with specific duty > [noun] > master
master1594
a1375 (c1350) William of Palerne (1867) 2744 Þe maistres, whan þe mone a-ros manli in come &..ferden to sayle.
?a1400 (a1338) R. Mannyng Chron. (Petyt) (1996) i. 11793 Þo maistres [a1450 Lamb. mariners] þat were slie.
1450 W. Lomnor in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) II. 35 The maister of the Nicolas.
1553 S. Cabot in R. Hakluyt Princ. Navigations (1589) i. 259 The Master and pilot of euery ship.
1594 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 2 sig. Fv, (stage direct.) And then enter the Captaine of the ship and the Maister, and the Maisters Mate.
1626 J. Smith Accidence Young Sea-men 1 The Maister is to see to the cunning the Ship, and trimming the sailes.
1725 D. Defoe New Voy. round World i. 19 Our Pilot, or Master, as we call'd him.
1748 J. Lind Lett. Navy (1757) ii. 76 The master, and some other gentlemen of the Essex.
1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. iii. 303 The captain..treated the master with lordly contempt.
1859 Reed's Guide Bk. Local Marine Board Exam. 11 A Master must be twenty-one years of age.
1902 Encycl. Brit. XXXI. 775/1 Pilotage certificates may also be granted..to masters and mates of ships.
1953 P. Gallico Foolish Immortals iii. 22 I can get aboard a ship only when the master needs a hand and doesn't ask questions.
1980 Daily Tel. 21 Nov. 3/6 Miss Sheila Edmundson, 31, yesterday became the first British woman to qualify as a master of a foreign-going ship and can now take command of any vessel including the QE-2 or a super-tanker.
b. master and commander n. now historical the title of an officer ranking below a captain (used in the Royal Navy until 1814). Cf. commander n. 2b.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > hostilities at sea > seafaring warrior or naval man > leader or commander > [noun] > naval officer > commander
master and commander1757
first officer1758
commander1804
1757 J. Lind Lett. Navy i. 21 Both post captains and masters and commanders share alike.
1801 Ld. Nelson in A. Duncan Life (1806) 198 Captain Bedford,..with Captain Gore,..offered their services to serve under a master and commander.
1867 W. H. Smyth & E. Belcher Sailor's Word-bk. 203 Commander, an officer in the royal navy, commanding a ship of war under twenty guns, a sloop of war, armed ship, or bomb-vessel. He was entitled master and commander, and ranked with a major of the army: now simply termed commander, and ranking with lieutenant-colonel, but junior of that rank.
1969 P. O'Brian (title) Master and Commander.
†c. master of voyage n. Newfoundland (Obsolete) the man in charge of a fishing crew.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > one who travels by water or sea > sailor > sailors involved in specific duties or activities > [noun] > sailors with other specific duties on ship
sounder1575
carpenter1626
marshal1626
mastman1649
master of voyage1771
tierer1825
legger1831
call boy1835
bellboy1851
paymaster1852
snubber1853
leadsman1857
lamps1866
berther1867
bailer1883
waistboater1891
tanky1909
planesman1945
1771 G. Cartwright Jrnl. (1792) I. 160 Having sent the skiff home with my baggage, Macgraith, our master of voyage, and I, walked over the hills and met the boat at Bare Point.
1902 Christmas Bells 19 The only occupants then of the servants quarters were the chiefs of the room, that is to say, the ‘master-of-voyage’, cooper, splitter, salter, gardener, and cook.
d. Master of the Fleet n. now historical (in the Royal Navy) a flagship's navigational officer.
ΚΠ
1825 Navy List 149 Physicians... The same as Master of the Fleet, except that..the device on the buttons is to be an anchor with a snake twined round the shank.
1939 M. Lewis England's Sea-officers xiii. 229 In 1832, the few very senior Masters, who were employed in flagships, and called ‘Masters of the Fleet’, were given Commanders' uniforms and rank.
1943 King's Regulations & Admiralty Instr. 183 When it may be deemed expedient to do so, the Admiralty may appoint an officer to do duty as a Master of the Fleet in the ship on which the flag of the Commander-in-Chief or Senior Officer of the station or squadron may fly.
1948 R. Grenfell Bismark Episode ii. 24 The Admiral's navigating officer, known as the ‘Master of the Fleet’, was soon there with charts of the North Atlantic.
8. The possessor or owner of something.When used with reference to virtue, vice, etc., as in some early quots., perhaps a figurative application of sense A. 1. Cf. also senses A. 5a and A. 16.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > possessor > [noun]
havereOE
holderc1350
possessionerc1384
mastera1393
possessorc1425
possessiantc1540
possident1610
havea1739
tenanter1798
have-got1897
a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) vii. 3261 (MED) Pite is thilke vertu blessed Which nevere let his Maister falle.
?c1450 tr. Bk. Knight of La Tour Landry (1906) 58 (MED) Whanne that two vices be sette one euell delite, gladly they bringe her maister into temptacion.
1484 W. Caxton tr. Subtyl Historyes & Fables Esope iii. vi Synne retorneth euer vpon his mayster.
c1485 ( G. Hay Bk. Law of Armys (2005) 167 How suld thai be callit sauf condytis, bot gif thai condyte thair maisteris saufly?
1563 B. Googe Eglogs Epytaphes & Sonettes sig. G.vii Eche Torment..Lyght here vpon this cursed hand,..And plague the part, that durst presume His Mayster to disgrace.
1607 T. Dekker & J. Webster North-ward Hoe iv. sig. E2v Clothes sometimes are better Gentlemen than their Maisters.
1655 Ld. Orrery Parthenissa III. ii. ii. 125 Bidding his Threasurer give him higher Rewards, than the Prisoner could be Master of.
1726 J. Swift Gulliver I. ii. vi. 107 Those..Qualities of the Mind he was Master of.
1785 J. Trusler Mod. Times III. 29 I was master of more than twenty pounds.
1787 ‘G. Gambado’ Acad. Horsemen 4 Scarce one of them [sc. dray-horses] but is master of thirty stone or upwards.
1804 W. Cruise Digest Laws Eng. Real Prop. III. 29 Judgment and discretion, which an infant was not master of.
1853 ‘C. Bede’ Adventures Mr. Verdant Green iv. 30 Mr. Filcher was laden with coats and boots that had just been brushed and blacked for their respective masters.
1986 B. Jagger Song Twice Over (BNC) 174 Ben Braithwaite, lusty, thirty years old, his own master and master of a sizeable fortune since his father died two years ago.
9.
†a. Bowls. Short for master-bowl n. at Compounds 6. Cf. mistress n. 13. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > bowls or bowling > [noun] > jack
master-bowl1530
master1579
mistressa1586
block1598
mistress bowl1598
Jacka1616
mark1630
jack bowl1653
tee1789
kitty1898
1579 S. Gosson Schoole of Abuse f. 43v At Bowles euery one craues to kisse the maister.
1599 T. Heywood 2nd Pt. King Edward IV sig. X3 This cheese shall be the measter.
b. Bridge. Short for master card n. 1.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > card game > bridge > [noun] > types of card
card of re-entry1870
master card1872
singleton1876
entry1884
control1892
stopper1900
raiser1912
long card1913
loser1917
X1920
minor1927
top1929
side entry1937
penalty card1958
master1962
1962 Listener 15 Nov. 836/1 After three rounds of trumps had left North with the master, he led a diamond.
1998 Sunday Tel. 25 Jan. (Review section) 2/6 10 [of hearts] would be a master, and a diamond would allow dummy two tricks in the suit.
10. In technical uses.
†a. An original disc or (formerly) a cylinder with grooves cut by a stylus during sound recording. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > record > recording or reproducing sound or visual material > sound recording and reproduction > a sound recording > [noun] > record or disc > original
master1904
lacquer disc1945
lacquer1946
master disc1951
society > communication > record > recording or reproducing sound or visual material > sound recording and reproduction > a sound recording > [noun] > record or disc > matrix or negative
master1904
matrix1904
master matrix1918
mother1918
negative1918
stamper1918
1904 S. R. Bottone Talking Machines & Records 69 With the master running in the phonograph, the trained ears of the specialists enable them to detect the most minute imperfections.
1908 Daily Chron. 29 Oct. 7/1 A special room is devoted to recording, or making the master from which copies are to be taken.
b. Originally (also master matrix): a disc with ridges in place of grooves which is used to press gramophone records or to make a mother (mother n.1 20). Now more widely: an original (of a sound recording, film, data file, etc.) from which copies may be made.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > record > recording or reproducing sound or visual material > sound recording and reproduction > a sound recording > [noun] > record or disc > matrix or negative
master1904
matrix1904
master matrix1918
mother1918
negative1918
stamper1918
1918 H. Seymour Reprod. Sound 68 The original master is recorded by means of a feed thread... This is thereupon electro-typed—that is, a metallic negative is grown upon it, and this is called the master matrix. A small number of casts in wax are made from this... These are similarly electro-typed, and become the working matrices.
1935 H. C. Bryson Gramophone Rec. vi. 130 (caption) Stripping copper masters from the wax.
1935 H. C. Bryson Gramophone Rec. vi. 142 The wax is positive, the copper master is negative, the mother is positive, the stamper is negative, and the record produced from it is therefore positive and will play on a gramophone.
1957 IRE Trans. Audio 5 5/1 Both single-track and dual-track duplicates may be made to play back at the same speed as the master.
1962 A. Nisbett Technique Sound Studio 259 The master has ridges instead of grooves. In half processing (when only a small run is required) the master is also used as a stamper.
1989 Cineaste Sept. 22/1 Color film is protected archivally by the production of three black and white (silver) masters. Each master (cyan, magenta, and yellow) carries a portion of the spectrum.
1993 OR/MS Today Aug. 57/1 Hierarchical blocks can have a unique existence such that changes to the master or to the copy do not affect each other.
c. A plate, stencil, or negative used in any of various reprographic processes to produce copies of a document, etc.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > relationship > imitation > [noun] > action of repeating in a copy or making a copy > master copy
master1930
master copy1960
1930 W. Desborough Duplicating & Copying Processes iii. 21 The master is produced in negative or mirror form by placing the face of a special hekto carbon at the back of the sheet of paper on which the master is to be made.
1957 G. W. W. Stevens Microphotogr. xi. 213 The time and care expended on a master negative give it considerable value..therefore..it is advisable to make at least two masters, once the camera has been set up.
1958 T. Landau Encycl. Librarianship 204/2 Master, the original plate or stencil in duplicating processes from which copies are made. In photocopying, the negative from which a positive print is made.
1971 R. Busby Deadlock iv. 39 Could you make that four copies?.. You'll need two for the index apart from this master.
II. A teacher; a person qualified to teach.
11. A man to whose care a child or children are committed for instruction, esp. in a school; a male teacher or tutor; a schoolmaster. Also: a male teacher of a particular subject; chiefly with distinguishing word, as dancing, French master, etc. (see also the first elements).
ΘΚΠ
society > education > teaching > teacher > [noun]
larewc900
mastereOE
lorthewc1160
lore-fatherc1175
lerera1340
lister1377
loresman1377
doctora1382
learner1382
teacherc1384
readera1387
lore-mastera1400
former1401
informer?c1422
preceptorc1450
instructora1464
informator1483
doctrinal?1504
lear-father1533
usher1533
instructer1534
trainer1543
educator1609
instituter1670
institutorc1675
subpreceptor1696
Barbe1710
pundit1816
umfundisi1825
preception1882
guru1884
mwalimu1884
rabbi1917
society > education > teaching > teacher > [noun] > professional teacher
mastereOE
schoolmistress1335
mistress1340
sophistera1387
sophist1542
schoolman1712
eOE King Ælfred tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. (Otho) xxix. 66 Se unrihtwisa Neron wolde hatan his agenne magister [L. præceptoremque suum]..acwellan.
lOE St. Giles (Corpus Cambr. 303) (1980) 96 Þa befæsten hi hine to boclicere lare, and he wearð þa swiðe næmel þurh þæs halgan gastes gife, þæt on litle firste he oferþeah his mægster on wisdome.
c1175 (?OE) Writ of Brother Edwin (Sawyer 1428) in S. Miller Charters of New Minster, Winchester (2001) 164 Ic Eadwine munuk cilda mæstere an niwan mynstre.
a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1876) VI. 435 Þe childes maister siȝ þat, and slow þe sewere anon.
c1400 (?a1300) Kyng Alisaunder (Laud) (1952) 665 Þe seuenþe maister techeþ his pars.
a1500 (?a1410) J. Lydgate Churl & Bird (Lansd.) 166 in Minor Poems (1934) ii. 475 It sitt a mayster..at large to have his lessoun.
a1522 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid (1960) Direct. 47 Thank me tharfor, masteris of grammar sculys.
a1540 (c1460) G. Hay tr. Bk. King Alexander 276 Alexander haid maisteris of science.
1596 J. Dalrymple tr. J. Leslie Hist. Scotl. (1895) II. 126 He..was elected maister to the prince.
1599 W. Shakespeare et al. Passionate Pilgrime (new ed.) sig. C4 It was a Lordings daughter..That liked of her maister, as well as well might be.
1621 in R. M. Fergusson Alex. Hume (1899) 220 Seattis..meit for the maister of the sang schooll and his bairnis to sit on.
1694 A. Boyer (title) The compleat French-master for ladies and gentlemen.
1711 R. Steele Spectator No. 168. ⁋3 I was bred myself, Sir, in a very great School, of which the Master was a Welchman.
1751 B. Franklin Idea of Eng. School in Papers (1961) IV. 106 'Tis the Writing-Master's Business to take Care that the Boys make fair Characters..But to form their Stile..is the Part of the English Master.
1770 O. Goldsmith Deserted Village 196 The village master taught his little school.
1856 (title) French in a fortnight without a Master.
1867 C. S. Parker in Quest. Reformed Parl. 164 Without consulting the vicar, he dismisses the certificated master.
1881 A. Trollope Dr. Wortle's School I. iv. 62 There was a French master, a German master, a master for arithmetic..besides Mr. Peacocke, as assistant classical master.
1912 J. L. Waugh Robbie Doo 69 I was sent to be under ‘the Maister’ at the public schule through the Gill.
1955 E. Blishen Roaring Boys ii. 108 Mr Oakes, the P.T. master, was our captain.
1991 B. Bandele-Thomas Man who came in from Back of Beyond (1992) ii. 39 When he entered high school..he was adored by very few of the masters.
12.
a. A man or (occasionally) woman of whom a person is a disciple; the teacher or practitioner (of religion, philosophy, art, etc.) from whom a person has chiefly learned, or whose doctrines or example a person follows. Also more generally: a religious leader; a teacher of religion or philosophy (cf. sense A. 13a).Often applied (frequently as the Master, or with possessive adjective) to Jesus and other founders of religions and systems of belief (cf. sense A. 2).
ΘΚΠ
society > education > teaching > teacher > [noun] > Master of disciples
mastereOE
the world > the supernatural > deity > Christian God > the Trinity > the Son or Christ > [noun] > as prince or ruler
Prince of Peacea1375
master1548
archemaster1570
fifth monarch1660
hierarch1855
eOE tr. Bede Eccl. Hist. (Tanner) iv. ii. 258 Swa hwelce men swa swa wilnadon þæt heo in halgum leorningum tyde wæron, heo hæfdon gearwe magistras, þa ðe heo lærdon & tydon.
eOE tr. Bede Eccl. Hist. (Tanner) iii. xviii. 238 Ðær heo mynster getimbrode, in þæm seo gemyngade cyninges dohtor ærest wæs discipula & leornungmon regollices lifes, ond eft æfter þon wæs magister & lareow þæs mynstres, oð þæt heora daga rim gefylled wæs.
lOE King Ælfred tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. (Bodl.) xxxi. 70 Min mægister Eurupides.
c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 12898 Ta twa lerninngcnihhtess. Herrdenn whatt teȝȝre maȝȝstre spacc. Off christ.
c1230 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Corpus Cambr.) (1962) 33 Nulle ich þet nan iseo ow bute he habbe of ower meistre spetiale leaue.
c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) Matt. xxvi. 18 And Jhesus seith, Go ȝee in to the citee to sum man, and seie to hym, The maister seith, My tyme is niȝ.
c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) Mark v. 35 Ȝit him spekynge, messageris camen..seyinge, For thi douȝtir is deed; what traueilist thou the maistir ferthere?
c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) John iii. 10 Art thou a maistir in Israel, and knowist not thes thingis?
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) 20915 His maister..And he aght noght haf al a dome, For he was noght worþi þer-till.
a1450 (?c1421) J. Lydgate Siege Thebes (Arun.) (1911) 4501 My mayster Chaucer.
1529 T. More Dialogue Heresyes ii, in Wks. 179/2 Yet bee there not onely as many sectes almoste as men, but also the maisters them selfe chaunge theyr mindes and theyr oppynions euery daye.
1548 Order of Communion sig. B.iiv The excedynge loue of our Mayster and onlye sauyour Jesus Christ.
1603 P. Holland tr. Plutarch Morals 34 Those disciples who counterfeited to be..buncht backe like their master Plato.
1629 W. Mure True Crucifixe 3125 in Wks. (1898) I. 294 With hearts right set, their Maister's will to know.
1693 W. Penn Some Fruits of Solitude §419. 119 To alter our Course and mend our Manners; that we may be for the future more worthy Communicants at our Master's good and great Table.
1748 J. Thomson Castle of Indolence ii. lii Ne had my master Spenser charmed his Mulla's plains.
1771 E. Burke Corr. (1844) I. 284 The advice of one of our great masters in the science of life and morals.
1827 N. P. Willis Healing Daughter Jairus 57 Closer drew The twelve disciples to their Master's side.
1843 G. Borrow Bible in Spain III. i. 4 Why should I be ashamed of their company when my Master mingled with publicans and thieves?
1892 R. Kipling in Times 2 July 12/3 Every tale Ananda heard..While yet in life the Master stirred, The warm wind brings Kamakura.
1904 G. Saintsbury Hist. Crit. III. 427 John Keats..and his master Leigh Hunt.
1933 H. H. Henson Oxf. Groups 7 Religion—unless all the masters of the spiritual life throughout Christian history are mistaken—is not quite so cheerful a matter.
1972 F. Fitzgerald Fire in Lake i. 12 Formal education consisted of the study of the Confucian texts—the works of the Master and the later commentaries.
1990 B. Bettelheim Recoll. & Refl. i. 42 The picture a disciple gives of his master tells more about the disciple than the master.
b. In extended use as the Master, with reference to a revered artist, writer, etc.
ΚΠ
1855 R. Browning Old Pictures in Florence viii, in Men & Women II. 34 You style them..Old Master this and Early the other, Not dreaming that Old and New are fellows.
1870 B. Harte Dickens in Camp in Overland Monthly July 90 He read aloud the book wherein the Master Had writ of ‘Little Nell’.
1889 G. B. Shaw in Hawk 13 Aug. 172/2 Behind the Master's house is the Master's grave; for Wagner..is ‘buried in the back garden, sir, like a Newfoundland dog’.
1937 H. G. Wells Camford Visitation v. 58 All his fancied novelties of criticism were fully foreseen by the Master [sc. Karl Marx].
1962 Listener 14 June 1043/3 The style, a pastiche of Nabokov's..is a style less functional, more baroque, than the Master's.
1989 Movie Winter 53/2 So many other directors have thrown in their own gratuitous hommages to the Master with a nod and a wink to the knowing critics.
13.
a. A person of approved learning, a respected scholar; an authority in (also of) a particular subject; †a magician (obsolete). Cf. sense A. 16.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > scholarly knowledge, erudition > learned person, scholar > [noun]
uþwitec888
larewc900
learnerc900
witec900
wise manOE
leredc1154
masterc1225
readera1387
artificer1449
man of science1482
rabbi1527
rabbin1531
worthy1567
artsmanc1574
philologer1588
artist1592
virtuoso1613
sophist1614
fulla1616
scholastica1633
philologist1638
gnostic1641
scholarian1647
pundit1661
scientman1661
savant1719
ollamh1723
maulvi1776
pandect1791
Sabora1797
erudit1800
mallam1829
Gelehrter1836
erudite1865
walking encyclopaedia1868
Einstein1942
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > scholarly knowledge, erudition > learned person, scholar > [noun] > expert, specialist, authority
masterc1225
historian?a1439
authentic1613
scientiate1647
supernaturalist1659
authority1665
connoisseur1732
pundit1816
expert1825
specialist1839
past master1840
sharp1840
professional1846
beggar1859
specializer1868
passed master1882
buff1903
man1921
sharpshooter1942
sharpie1949
watcher1966
meister1975
c1225 (?c1200) St. Katherine (1973) 120 Modi meistres & fele fondeden hire ofte o swiðe fele halue, for to undernimen hire.
c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) 2777 (MED) Þe maistres sete stille ynou riȝt as hii doumbe were.
1340 Ayenbite (1866) 200 Þes yefþe..of onderstondinge ne is oþer þing be þe halȝen and bi þe maistres bote a lyȝt.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) 11462 (MED) Did he suith to samen call Þe maisters of his kingrik all.
c1485 ( G. Hay Bk. Law of Armys (2005) 168 And as for me, and othir maisteris and doctouris, me think this the rycht oppin[ion].
?1541 R. Copland tr. Galen Terapeutyke sig. Eiij In this thynge almost all the maysters of medycyne do agre, albeit that in sondry thynges they iarre.
1597 R. Hooker Of Lawes Eccl. Politie v. lxxviii. 235 Terming..Scribes and interpretors of the law, Masters.
1690 J. Locke Ess. Humane Understanding iv. xii. 328 It was not the influence of those Maxims, which are taken for Principles in Mathematicks, that hath led the Masters of that Science into those wonderful Discoveries they have made.
1710 M. Henry Expos. Poet. Bks. Old Test. (Song of Sol. iv. 14) sig. Zzz4/2 Solomon was a great Master in Botany.
1749 H. Fielding Tom Jones III. vii. vi. 42 There were few Occurrences in Life on which he could not draw Advantage from the Precepts of one or other of those great Masters [sc. philosophers] . View more context for this quotation
1818 M. W. Shelley Frankenstein I. ii. 71 I had a contempt for..modern natural philosophy. It was very different when the masters of the science sought immortality and power.
1844 W. E. Gladstone in Q. Rev. Dec. 158 A diligent student, and a master of patristic learning.
1881 R. L. Stevenson Virginibus Puerisque 120 That mighty place of education, which..turns out yearly many inglorious masters in the Science of the Aspects of Life.
1915 E. S. J. Van der Straeten Hist. Violoncello iii. 32 He was..a very learned master of musical theory.
1991 Classical Rev. 41 505 S.'s elegant study will certainly provoke further such conjectures; and adds to his reputation as a master of Roman onomastics.
b. Master of (the) Sentence(s) n. [after post-classical Latin magister sententiarum (from c1343 in British sources), from the title of his theological collection Sententiarum Libri Quatuor: see sentence n. 2b] Peter Lombard, Bishop of Paris (d. 1160); also in extended use. Master of (the) Stories n. [after post-classical Latin magister in historiis (from 1267 in British sources), magister historiarum (from 1420 in British sources), from the title of his history of the world, founded on the Bible, Historia Scholastica] Peter Comestor, Chancellor of the University of Paris (d. c1179); cf. Clerk of the Stories at story n. Phrases 1.
ΚΠ
a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1882) VIII. 43 He wroot aȝenst þe maister of þe sentence [?a1475 anon. tr. maister of sentencez; L. magistrum sententiarum].
a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1865) I. 65 Þe Maister [MS maistres] of þe stories [a1475 anon. tr. Maister in storyes; L. magistrum in historiis; vr. magistrum historiarum] [Caxton adds sayth].
c1400 J. Wyclif Eng. Wks. (1880) 2 (MED) Þe maister of stories.
1563 J. Man tr. W. Musculus Common Places Christian Relig. 273 The Master of the Sentences did but gather together the opinions and Sentences of the Fathers.
1582 S. Batman Vppon Bartholome, De Proprietatibus Rerum xi. v. f. 161/2 And therefore (as Beda sayth and the Maister of Storyes)..the Rainebowe shall not bee seene.
a1600 R. Hooker Of Lawes Eccl. Politie (1648) vi. 96 By the opinion of the Master of sentences;..God alone doth remit and retain sins.
1605 F. Bacon Of Aduancem. Learning ii. sig. Fff4 The first writings of the fathers, whence the Maister of the sentences made his summe. View more context for this quotation
1682 N. O. tr. N. Boileau-Despréaux Lutrin ii. 10 This Baggage once in her mad Moods and Tenses Had Lombard read, the Master o' th' Sentences.
1885 Dict. National Biogr. I. 79/2 There are attributed to him four books of commentaries upon the Master of the Sentences.
1966 Jrnl. Hist. Ideas 27 185 The Master of Sentences..illustrated his own view with a discussion of the faith of Cornelius the Centurion.
1973 Stud. in Renaissance 20 125 When we read the Master of the Stories (i.e., the twelfth-century writer Peter Comestor) we discover that [etc.].
14. A skilled workman or craftsman; a workman who is in business on his own account, as distinguished from a journeyman (now merged with sense A. 2). Originally: a workman qualified by training and experience to teach apprentices (chiefly in appositive compounds, as master carpenter, etc.: see Compounds 1d). Now chiefly historical.Also in extended use, merging with sense A. 16.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > worker > workers according to type of work > manual or industrial worker > [noun] > manual worker > skilled worker or craftsman > expert
masterc1300
workmanc1300
master workmanc1475
master-worker1483
craftsmaster1548
craftmaster1557
arts-master1607
trades master1611
master hand1711
maistry1798
master craftsman1865
society > occupation and work > worker > workers according to type of work > manual or industrial worker > [noun] > manual worker > skilled worker or craftsman > expert > working on own account or employing others
masterc1300
upsetter1518
craftsmaster1579
master workman1670
garret-master1851
master craftsman1865
c1300 Childhood Jesus (Laud) 1196 in C. Horstmann Altengl. Legenden (1875) 1st Ser. 41 Ȝwan þe maister was i go, Jhus tok alle þe cloþes þo.
1417 in M. Sellers York Memorandum Bk. (1912) I. 182 (MED) If any man..will occupy here in this cite in girdelercrafte als a maister, he sall pay..x s.
1490 W. Caxton tr. Foure Sonnes of Aymon (1885) x. 265 I sholde goo gyve you suche a stroke..that ye sholde saye it is a stroke of a maister.
c1540 (?a1400) Gest Historiale Destr. Troy 8733 Þo maisturs gert make a meruelous toumbe.
1585 T. Washington tr. N. de Nicolay Nauigations Turkie iv. xxiv. 140 An ingenious maister..proposed vnto him [sc. Alexander] that..he would make to be cut in humain figure, the mount of Athos.
1693 Humours & Conversat. Town 35 Masters in their Profession.
1707 E. Ward Wooden World Dissected 27 In this kind of..Billingsgate Clashing, he's a much greater Master, than [etc.].
1759 S. Johnson Prince of Abissinia I. vi. 35 He..found the master busy in building a sailing chariot.
1829 R. Southey Sir Thomas More II. 174 A craft in which any one may commence master, without having served an apprenticeship.
1840 R. H. Dana Two Years before Mast 470 A parent may correct moderately his child, and the master his apprentice.
1991 Dance Res. 9 15 Whether a master ‘found’ for his apprentices or expected them to house, feed, and clothe themselves varied from man to man.
15.
a. A holder of a senior degree from a university or other academic institution, the degree being originally of a status which conveyed authority to teach at a university. Now usually: the holder of a postgraduate degree below the level of a doctorate.In English use before the 19th cent. largely confined to the Faculty of Arts, the corresponding title in the other faculties being generally doctor. The full designation of the graduate is Master of Arts (formerly † Master of (also in) Art) (in Latin artium magister, magister artium), denoted by the abbreviation M.A. or (now only in the United States) A.M. The subject may also be specified, as Master of (also in) Medicine, †Master of Physic, Master of Divinity, Master of Theology, etc.; in more recent times the degrees of Master of Philosophy (M. Phil.), Master of Science (M.Sc.), Master in (also of) Surgery (Magister Chirurgiae, M.Ch.), etc., have also been awarded.
ΘΚΠ
society > education > educational administration > university administration > taking degree or graduation > [noun] > degree holder
master1380
bachelorc1386
doctorc1400
magister1459
sir1557
Dra1593
doctorate1651
baccalaur1661
baccalaureate1696
formed bachelor1738
middle bachelor1759
Mus.B.1801
PhD1839
diplomate1879
maid1881
Mus. Bac.1889
postdoctoral1962
postdoc1964
B.A.-
B.L.-
1380 in Proc. Soc. Antiquaries Scotl. (1896) 30 42 Heyr lyis Ingram of Kethenys prist maystr in arit.
c1400 (?c1384) J. Wyclif Sel. Eng. Wks. (1871) III. 376 Capped freris, þat ben calde maystres of dyvynite.
a1425 (?a1400) G. Chaucer Romaunt Rose (Hunterian) 6553 The maistres of divinite Somtyme in Parys.
?a1425 tr. Guy de Chauliac Grande Chirurgie (N.Y. Acad. Med.) f. 0 (MED) Gy de Caulhiaco Cyrurgien, maister in medicene, i. doctor of phisic.
?c1430 J. Lydgate Daunce Machabree (Huntington) 417 Maister of phisik..Ȝowre lyues cours..ys I-runne.
1484 W. Caxton tr. Subtyl Historyes & Fables Esope (ad fin.) There were duellynge in Oxenford two prestes bothe maystres of arte.
1573 G. Harvey Let.-bk. (1884) 2 This is mi year to commens master in.
1604 W. Tooker Of Fabrique of Church 120 Congregations of the Masters or convocation of Regents, and not Regents, is a needlesse thing.
a1661 T. Fuller Worthies (1662) Cambr. 150 A Boisten horse and a Cambridge Master of Art, are a couple of Creatures that will give way to nobody.
1709 R. Steele Tatler No. 39. ⁋4 Being a Master of Arts of Oxford.
1765 R. Rogers Conc. Acct. N. Amer. 45 At Cambridge..are annually graduated, batchelors and masters, from fifty to sixty young gentlemen.
1847 W. H. Prescott Hist. Conquest Peru II. v. i. 337 He [sc. Pedro de la Gasca]..received the degree of Master of Theology.
1888 Encycl. Brit. XXIII. 835/1 It is in this licence [L. licentia docendi] that the whole significance of the master of arts degree is contained.
1888 Encycl. Brit. XXIII. 835/2 ‘Regents’, that is, masters actively engaged in teaching.
1900 Oxf. Univ. Cal. 71 Fees... Before the Examination for the Degree of Master of Surgery, £5.
1992 N.Y. Times Bk. Rev. 26 July 20/2 My wife..pursued a Master of Fine Arts degree, and was soon rocketing down the Pontiac Trail to Ann Arbor.
b. Originally U.S. In the genitive, used absol. A master's degree.
ΘΚΠ
society > education > educational administration > university administration > taking degree or graduation > [noun] > a degree > specific
masterdomc1400
doctorship1533
doctorate?1577
mastership1583
baccalaureate1625
bachelorshipa1656
doctorhood1683
LL.D.1763
master's degree1774
LL.B.1796
Mus.B.1801
PhD1839
Lambeth degree1859
baccalaureate degree1864
LL.M.1874
(Lady) Literate in Arts1877
Sc.D.1885
Mus. Bac.1889
post-graduation1889
B.Lit.1895
masterate1902
B.Phil.1923
B. Ed.1941
ABD1954
Dip. Tech.1957
master1960
B.Sc.-
1960 B. Berelson Graduate Educ. in U.S. 4 I concentrate somewhat more on the arts and sciences than on the professional field and much more on the doctorate than the Master's.
1975 ‘W. Allen’ Without Feathers (1976) 33 She's a madam, with a master's in comparative lit.
1998 Independent 14 May (Fast Track section) 3/2 I..was almost seduced into doing a masters and then a PhD.
16. gen.
a. Any person who possesses a particular talent or has mastered a particular skill; a person pre-eminent in a particular field; an expert. Usually with of.master of defence: see defence n. 4. master of fence: see fence n. 2a. See also passed master n., past master n. 2.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > ability > skill or skilfulness > [noun] > skilful person > a master or mistress
masterc1430
mistressc1440
doctor1548
archemaster1570
graduate1582
pass-master1599
possessor1713
past master1840
past mistress1868
passed master1882
ustad1903
maestro1938
c1430 N. Love Mirror Blessed Life (Brasenose e.9) (1908) 59 (MED) The mayster of mekenes and louer of sympilnesse lafte not to fulfille the perfeccioun therof.
a1450 (?c1421) J. Lydgate Siege Thebes (Arun.) (1911) 2623 (MED) Tideus..was of worthynesse flour, Maister and myrour by prouesse of his hond.
c1475 (?c1400) Apol. Lollard Doctr. (1842) 55 (MED) Þei are opunly maistris of alle iuelis; how are þey not heretyks?
1533 N. Udall Floures for Latine Spekynge (1560) 133 Disciplina gladiatoria, is..the waie of trainyng men in..the schooles that maisters of fence keepe.
1581 J. Bell tr. W. Haddon & J. Foxe Against Jerome Osorius 496 b Loe here a very pleasaunt panion and Maister of his Arte.
1611 B. Jonson Catiline iii. sig. E4v Thou must render, now, thy selfe a Man, and Master of thy art. View more context for this quotation
1624 H. Wotton Elements Archit. in Reliquiæ Wottonianæ (1654) 306 He who lives some space among the assiduous advantages and helps of Knowledg..cannot chuse but receive so much upon ordinary observation, as may make him Master of some Art.
1659 Quæries Proposalls Armie to Parl. 7 Seeing that Government is an art supream..And that the Prime Master of that science Politicall, doth reprove the best policies in all Greece..as not having [etc.].
1698 J. Fryer New Acct. E.-India & Persia xiv. 389 The Droger being Master of his Science, persists.
1713 J. Addison in Guardian 23 July 1/2 No Critick has ever..been looked upon as an Authentick, who did not show by his Practice, that he was a Master of the Theory.
1747 J. Godfrey Treat. Useful Sci. Def. 18 I have now done with the Small-Sword, and shall only do Justice to the Merits of two or three Masters.
1782 J. H. St. J. de Crèvecoeur Lett. from Amer. Farmer iii. 109 Raise this crop of corn with attention and care, and then you will be master of the art.
1820 W. Irving Legend Sleepy Hollow in Sketch Bk. vi. 96 An old gentleman who.., being an excellent master of defence, parried a musket ball with a small sword.
1881 H. James Portrait of Lady III. x. 155 What expression must they have found on the part of such a master of irony?
1937 J. Agate Diary 19 June in Ego 3 (1938) 161 Barrie was a master of plot and invention, though the informing spirit was always the same.
1974 E. Bowen Henry & Other Heroes viii. 158 My four uncles..college lettermen and masters of both the surf-rod and the twelve-gauge shotgun.
1990 Savvy Woman May 21/1 She is a master of disguise in a bewildering array of roles.
b. As the second element in compounds forming nouns (mostly brand names) designating articles, appliances, etc., that are held to be supreme or superior in the specified operation or field.The name Mixmaster (see mixmaster n. 1a) probably established the pattern on which other nouns were formed, from the mid 1930s onwards.
ΚΠ
1935 Vogue (U.S. ed.) 1 Dec. 110/1 (advt.) The Rainbow Matchmaster: Gaily colored tips; scratch paper in back.
1947 J. Bertram Shadow of War 334 I glanced across the lighted interior of the big Skymaster.
1972 M. Crichton Terminal Man i. v. 41 Robert Morris was sitting in the hospital cafeteria..when his pagemaster went off... He..went to the wall phone to answer his page.
1995 Farmers Weekly 31 Mar. 74/2 The Clamp-Master is specifically designed for the livestock farming/contractor market.
17.
a. An artist, musician, writer, etc., possessing great skill, or regarded as a model of excellence. See also maestro n. 1, old master n.In art history some anonymous artists of earlier periods have been given names of the form Master of ——, or compound names with Master as the second element, associating them with a particular work, place, etc. This usage appears to have originated in German.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > artist > [noun] > excellent
master1504
1504 Treat. Enformacione & Musyke in Archiv f. das Studium der Neueren Sprachen (1908) 120 424 I callde mastyrs of musyke, connyng and dyscrete, And the fyrst pryncypall whos name was Tuballe Guyde, Boyce,..and them all.
1598 R. Haydocke tr. G. P. Lomazzo Tracte Artes Paintinge i. 23 Raphaell, Perino del Vaga,..and all other famous Maisters.
1622 H. Peacham Compl. Gentleman xi. 102 Peter Phillips,..now one of the greatest Masters of Musicke in Europe.
1662 J. Evelyn Sculptura iv. 36 Albert Durer [at the age of 10–14] performing such things as might shame most of the best Masters.
1703 N. Rowe Fair Penitent ii. i. 16 Let the Master touch The sprightly String.
1757 T. Gray Ode II i. ii, in Odes 14 With a Master's hand, and Prophet's fire.
1797 Encycl. Brit. XIII. 609/1 The observations of ancient authors on the best paintings of the ancient masters.
1841 R. W. Emerson Ess. 1st Ser. (Boston ed.) xii. 295 The pictures of the Tuscan and Venetian masters.
1897 E. Lynn Linton George Eliot in Women Novelists 101 A task beyond the power of any but the few Masters of our literature.
1910 Encycl. Brit. I. 122/1 ‘Additional’ accompaniments have been written for the works of the older masters.
1932 Speculum 7 294 In the National Gallery and the Musée des Beaux-Arts of Brussels these pictures of the Master of Flémalle are confidently ascribed to Robert Campin.
1988 Antique Winter 50/3 Ellis Waterhouse, author of many books on Reynolds, Gainsborough et al, used to be the long stop on old English masters.
1997 J. Backhouse Illuminated Page 146 The principal illuminator of this manuscript is the Master of the Brussels Initials.
b. A work of painting or sculpture produced by a master. Now usually with distinguishing word, as old (modern, etc.) master.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > work of art > [noun] > types of
chimney-piecea1616
master1694
study1722
studio1785
old master1824
homage1901
art mobilier1921
multimedia1962
multiple1968
installation1969
corporate art1971
1694 J. Dryden To Sir G. Kneller in Ann. Miscellany 96 Those Masters then but seen, not understood, With generous Emulation fir'd thy Blood.
1752 S. Foote Taste ii. 20 'Tis a thousand Pities that any of these Masters should quit England.
1903 H. James Ambassadors iii. vii. 94 They were charming to Strether through the hour spent at the Louvre, where indeed they figured for him as an unseparated part of the charged, iridescent air, the glamour of the name..the colour of the masters.
1991 Oxf. Art Jrnl. 14 11/1 Art dealers priced out of the ‘modern masters’ market.
18.
a. Chess and Bridge. A player of proven ability at national or international level, esp. (often with distinguishing word) one rated at a particular level of ability by one of the organizing bodies of the game. Cf. grand master n. 5.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > board game > chess > [noun] > player > expert
grand master1841
master1852
chess-master1886
master1894
1852 H. Staunton Chess Tournament p. l To reward the ability of first-rate masters throughout the world, they offered..prizes.
1910 Encycl. Brit. VI. 104/1 The terms master and amateur are not used in any invidious sense, but simply as designating, in the former case, first-class players, and in the latter, those just on the borderland of highest excellence.
1969 Times 25 Jan. 17/7 There are three types of F.I.D.E. master title: international grand~master, international master, and international woman master.
1973 Sci. Amer. June 93/2 Kalme is a senior master with a rating of 2,455 on the International Chess Federation scale, on which 2,200 denotes a master and Fischer's rating is 2,785.
1978 Nature 24 Aug. 746/1 The international rating system sets Grandmasters at the highest level, followed by International Masters, National Masters, Experts, Class A, Class B and so on.
b. In plural. In the names of competitions held in various sports for invited competitors. the (U.S.) Masters(') (Golf): a prestigious international golf tournament held annually since 1934 in Augusta, Georgia, in which golfers compete only by invitation on the basis of their past achievements.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > match or competition > [noun] > types of
all comersc1450
after-gamea1500
fore-game1594
revenge1616
plate1639
set-to1743
return match1753
bye1754
scrub-race1791
anybody's game (also race, match)1826
return1834
barney1843
bonspiel1858
handicap1861
pennant1865
home-and-home1868
benefit match1871
run-off1873
international1877
American tournament1878
Grand Prix1879
single1884
friendly1885
all-comers1889
pair1890
championship1893
round robin1894
replay1895
Olympiad1896
junior varsity1902
lightning tournament1903
rematch1903
road trip1903
pickup1905
freestyle1906
marathon1908
test1908
Derby1909
scrimmage1910
eliminator1911
twosome1911
triala1914
quadrangular1916
slug-fest1916
varsity match1921
needle contest1922
curtain jerker1923
needle match1923
open1926
needle fight1927
knock-out1928
shirt1930
masters1933
pro-amateur1934
tune-up1934
World Cup1934
pro-am1937
state1941
sizzler1942
runathon1943
mismatch1954
run-out1955
match-up1959
squeaker1961
triple-header1961
Super Bowl1967
invitational1968
needle game1970
major1976
slobberknocker1986
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > golf > [noun] > specific tournament
the (U.S.) Masters(')1933
1933 Augusta (Georgia) Chron. 17 Oct. 9/8 Mr. Whitman believes that the Masters Golf tournament to be played here will attract visitors from all sections of the United States.
1948 H. Cotton This Game of Golf v. 220/2 I had only played on one occasion with him until my visit to his club at Augusta for the Master's [sic] in 1948.
1955 Britannica Bk. of Year 424/1 Principal United States Events [in golf]. Open championship, E. Furgol; Amateur championship, A. Palmer;..Masters, S. J. Snead.
1979 Whitaker's Almanack 1007/1 Benson and Hedges Masters Snooker Tournament.—P. Mans (S. Africa) beat A. Higgins by 8–4 frames.
1996 Independent 19 Aug. s20/6 Ali Raza..made hockey history in the final of the Volvo Masters Four Nations Junior Tournament in Vught.
c. In plural. In sports: a class for competitors over the usual age for open competition. Chiefly attributive.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > athletics > [adjective] > relating to specific class for competitors
masters1972
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > racing or race > swimming race > [adjective] > type of race
freestyle1906
masters1972
1972 N.Y. Times 9 Apr. 96/4 The first Masters Swimming Meet in New Jersey, for competitive swimmers over 25 years old—some of them well over 25—is being held this week-end.
1974 Sunday Times 18 Aug. 25/5 ‘Masters’ athletics..known less graciously [in Britain] as Veteran athletics, is for the more mature athletes. You have to be at least 40-years-old to compete.
1986 Runner Mar. 12/1 I'd like to get back into my old sport, with the hope of becoming a serious masters runner in a few years.
1994 Runner's World Feb. 31/1 I am 39 years old and hope to compete in some masters track meets after I turn 40.
III. As a title of rank or compliment.
19. A title of rank or respect prefixed to a personal name or designation.
a. Prefixed to a man's surname or first name. Originally used only in speaking of or to a man of high social rank (predominantly a gentleman or an esquire), or a man of learning (e.g. (esp. in Scotland) a Master of Arts, (in Scotland and Ireland) a schoolmaster, etc.); later applied much more widely. Now superseded by Mr. and Mister except in some regional, archaic, and historical contexts.In early use sometimes prefixed to the name of a figure from ancient history; sometimes also, until the 16th cent., prefixed to the names of knights or bishops. For the distinction between Master and Mr. in some modern dialects, see Eng. Dial. Dict. (1905) at Master.In the Inns of Court Master is formally used before the names of benchers, irrespective of sex.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > social class > nobility > title > title or form of address for persons of rank > [noun] > for gentleman
masterlOE
Danc1330
gentleman1416
denc1425
mastership1438
mister1523
maship1526
mast?1548
esquire1552
masterdom1575
squire1645
gentlemanship1653
Mus'1875
lOE Manumission, Exeter (Exeter 3501) in J. Earle Hand-bk. Land-charters (1888) 258 On Viuienes gewitnisse, & mestre Odo, & mestre Leowines, & Godwines p[reost], & Edwakeres, & his sune, & agealra þara hadeda & leweda þe þar igge were.
c1275 (?c1250) Owl & Nightingale (Calig.) (1935) 191 (MED) Maister nichole of guldeforde, He is wis and war of worde.
c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) 8722 (MED) Maister willam gyffard he ȝef þe bissopriche Of winchestere, & maister anselin þe erchebissopriche.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) 6936 (MED) Iosue..fosterd he wes And lered wit maister moyses.
?a1400 (a1338) R. Mannyng Chron. (Petyt) (1996) i. 57 One mayster Wace þe ffrankes telles þe Brute, alle þat þe Latyn spelles.
1425 W. Paston in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) I. 3 Maister John Ixworth told me þat he hadde lettres fro a frend of yowres.
1532 R. Lyst Let. 7 Nov. in H. Ellis Orig. Lett. Eng. Hist. (1846) 3rd Ser. II. 252 I have harde hym soo often breke Master Precyens hede.
1563 J. Foxe Actes & Monuments xi. 1377/1 Maister Latimer saide: beginne you firste, I praye you. I wyll, saide maister Ridley.
1570 in J. Cranstoun Satirical Poems Reformation (1891) I. x. 82 Schir Morpheus..led me captiue vnto Maister Slumber.
1603 T. Dekker et al. Patient Grissill sig. C4v Master Farneze, sweet virginitie is that inuisible God-head that turns into Angells, that makes vs saints on earth and starres in heauen.
1650 N. Ward Discolliminium 33 I could wish we might be allow'd to call him Master Charles, for most men thinke He is a Gentleman borne.
1696 in W. Macgill Old Ross-shire & Scotl. (1909) I. 43 [Address of letter dated 2 Feb.] Master Simon Mackenzie.
1766 O. Goldsmith Vicar of Wakefield II. xii. 190 To tell you a truth, Master Thornhill, I never either loved you or liked you.
1796 T. Morton Way to get Married ii. ii. 30 It be maister Dashall fra Lunnon.
1861 M. Pattison in Westm. Rev. Apr. 413 Two allegorical pieces by Master Hans Holbein.
1880 T. Hardy Trumpet-major I. vi. 111 Cripplestraw..moved a lock of his hair and replaced it, and said, ‘Yes, Maister Derriman.’
1900 ‘S. Tytler’ Jean Keir of Craigneil xx It's wha but Maister Lumsden that has been a' but killed.
1920 R. Juta Tavern 109 Is it true, then, Master Dirk—true all the stories told of Sana.
1965 B. Friel Philadelphia, here I Come! i. 43 Oh, good night, Master Boyle. How are you doing?
1982 J. Arnold in H. Willis Middle Temple Bench Bk. II. p. i It is now 45 years since Master Bruce Williamson compiled his Bench Book.
1991 T. Hayden Killing Frost (BNC) 161 ‘A soft day, Master Carew.’ Carew grunted. Master Carew. Even after all those years, he thought, it's still Master Carew.
b. Prefixed to a title of office or occupation. Now archaic and English regional.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > behaviour > good behaviour > courtesy > courteous forms of address or title > [noun] > title > for a man > used with profession
sirec1290
sir1297
mastera1470
goodman1484
goody1582
a1470 T. Malory Morte Darthur (Winch. Coll. 13) (1990) II. 701 ‘Now, maystir marynars,’ seyde sir Trystram, ‘what meanyth this lettir?’
1523 in State Papers Henry VIII (1849) VI. 122 The Popis Holynes, informed by Maister Doctor Hanibal of my commyng, sent word that I shulde tary a day.
a1525 Coventry Leet Bk. 575 Maister Meir, I haue brought you a byll here, I pray you it may be redde openly in this Court.
1531 in N. H. Nicolas Privy Purse Expences Henry VIII (1827) 181 The same daye paied to a servant of maister treasurer in Rewarde for bringing a wylde bores hed to the king..iiij s. viij d.
?1550 J. Bale Apol. agaynste Papyst 42 But tell me maistre person, who hath taught yow to playe so wycked partes as these are.
1600 W. Shakespeare Much Ado about Nothing iii. iii. 16 Maister Constable. View more context for this quotation
1625 J. Hart Anat. Urines ii. ix. 116 And yet master Parson must not be called couetous.
1640 in J. Rushworth Hist. Coll.: Third Pt. (1692) I. 125 Master Speaker, the first Writs that were sent out..I..was as ignorant of, as any one Member of this House.
1662 Duchess of Newcastle Matrimonial Trouble i. i. v, in Playes Written 426 My Wife, Master Doctor, is very ill.
1736 H. Fielding Pasquin i. i. 9 Hark, honest Ned, good Morrow to you; how dost, Master Mayor?
1878 T. Hardy Return of Native II. iii. vii. 198 ‘Take it, sir; the article is yours.’..‘Mine?’ asked Christian... ‘I'm afeard it will make me laughed at to hae it, Master Traveller.’
1992 P. C. Doherty Prince of Darkness (BNC) 140 She gestured to Corbett to sit. ‘Master Clerk,’ she began.
20. Used vocatively as a term of respect or politeness, or in substitution for the name of a man usually addressed as ‘master’.
a. In singular. Sir, Mister.In Ireland (as in quot. 1965) still used to address a schoolmaster; cf. the similar use described at sense A. 19a.In South African usage formerly frequently used deferentially by black people to white males in general.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > behaviour > good behaviour > courtesy > courteous forms of address or title > [noun] > for a man
liefc907
goodmanOE
beausirec1300
sir1320
lede1377
fatherhood1461
gallant1488
fatherhead?a1500
Mr?a1640
gallantissimoa1681
mister1734
massa1766
sieur1772
stira1796
master1798
zurr1803
sieur1812
squire1828
guv'nor1843
Mistah1853
sor1891
suh1894
c1300 Havelok (Laud) (1868) 1135 After hauelok sente þat ivdas..And seide, ‘maister, wilte wif?’
c1400 (?a1300) Kyng Alisaunder (Laud) (1952) 253 (MED) ‘Me þinkeþ,’ she seide, ‘maister, jwys, Þat in þe sterren þou art wys.’
?c1500 Bk. Marchalsi (Douce) f. 136 (MED) Maister, how schall a man knowe an hors of gode entaill?
?a1525 (?a1475) Play Sacrament l. 598 in N. Davis Non-Cycle Plays & Fragm. (1970) 76 Here master, master, ware how ye tugg. The devyll I trowe within shrugge.
c1600 Alisaunder 587 Þe queene..quikly saide, ‘Maister, welcome! ywis, will yee sitte?’
1798 W. Wordsworth We are Seven in W. Wordsworth & S. T. Coleridge Lyrical Ballads 114 O Master! we are seven.
1841 B. Shaw Memorials Southern Afr. (rev. ed.) 95 Boor: ‘What kind of singing and praying is this you have had?..’ Jacob Links: ‘I think master, you only come to mock at us, as many of the farmers say we ought not have the gospel.’
1843 W. M. Thackeray Ravenswing v, in Fraser's Mag. Aug. 190/1 The sugar-loaf page asked whether master was coming home early.
1863 T. Taylor Ticket-of-Leave Man iv. i. 66 Assuming a country dialect, calls swaggeringly..gallon o' beer, measter.
1903 Eng. Dial. Dict. Master, a term of address to a superior or stranger; Sir.
1915 A. Conan Doyle Valley of Fear i. iii. 50 The butler..was pointing at the dead man's outstretched hand. ‘They've taken his wedding-ring!.. Master always wore his..wedding-ring on the little finger of his left hand.’
1965 B. Friel Philadelphia, here I Come! i. 45 Boyle A—little something to remind you of your old teacher—my poems—... I had them printed privately... Public I'm very grateful, Master.
1989 J. Hobbs Thoughts in Makeshift Mortuary 277 ‘Get down man! Show me your ID.’ ‘I'm coming, Master, Don't make me fall, Master. Please, Master, I'm coming.’
b. In plural. Sirs, Gentlemen. In later use usually my masters. Now archaic or rhetorical, chiefly in ironic or derisive contexts.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > behaviour > good behaviour > courtesy > courteous forms of address or title > [noun] > for a man > for men
sirea1375
sirs1459
my masters?a1500
gentleman1578
c1400 Bk. to Mother (Bodl.) 36 Ȝe louen þe furste place in sopers..and be cleped of men maistres and madames.]
a1500 R. Henryson in tr. Æsop Fables Prol. l. 29 in Poems (1981) 4 Of this poete, my maisteris, with ȝour leif [etc.].
a1530 (c1425) Andrew of Wyntoun Oryg. Cron. Scotl. (Royal) viii. 2562 Lordis, falowys and maystris now Wyth stowt hart ilkane off yhow Set[tis] agayne this ane assay.
1563 in J. H. Burton Reg. Privy Council Scotl. (1877) 1st Ser. I. 244 Sa hes it plesit the Quenis Majestie, my maisters, to grant the lik commissioun.
c1600 Wriothesley's Chron. Eng. (1875) I. 39 The Lord of Rochford..sayde these wordes..on the scaffolde..Maisters all, I am come hither not to preach and make a sermon.
1603 W. Shakespeare Hamlet ii. ii. 424 Welcome maisters, welcome all.
1655 I. Walton Compl. Angler (ed. 2) v. 117 Come on my masters, who begins?
1773 O. Goldsmith She stoops to Conquer i. 14 Lock-a-daisy, my masters, you're come a deadly deal wrong!
1843 G. Borrow Bible in Spain II. xiii. 286 Many is the wetting that you will get, my masters, before you reach Oviedo.
1900 J. Conrad Lord Jim xxxiii. 340 You require for such a desperate encounter an enchanted and poisoned shaft dipped in a lie too subtle to be found on earth. An enterprise for a dream, my masters!
1954 J. R. R. Tolkien Fellowship of Ring i. ix. 166 ‘Will you be wanting anything to drink, masters?’ he asked.
21. Used as a title by the male heir apparent or presumptive to a Scottish peerage; usually with of and the specific title of the family. Similarly used by the son and heir of an heir apparent to a Scottish peerage.For precise details of current usage see Debrett's Correct Form (rev. ed. 1992).
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > social class > nobility > title > [noun] > courtesy title
honourablea1440
master1489
Hon'ble?1541
monsieur1598
curiality1641
courtesy title1840
1439–40 in Sc. Hist. Rev. (1937) 24 289 Dominus Robertus de Keth magister eiusdem.]
1489 in T. Dickson Accts. Treasurer Scotl. (1877) I. 107 The Maister of Crafurde.
1530 in J. Stuart Extracts Council Reg. Aberdeen (1844) I. 139 I Johne Lord Forbes..becummiss souerte..for myself, Johne Maister of Forbes, my sone [etc.].
1548 W. Patten Exped. Scotl. B vii Anderwyke perteined to the lorde of Hambleton, and was kept by hys sonne & heyre (whom, of custume they call the Master of Hambleton).
1584 in D. Masson Reg. Privy Council Scotl. (1880) 1st Ser. III. 644 Mr. Thomas Lyoun, Master of Glammis.
1641 R. Baillie Let. 25 Aug. (1841) I. 379 Before King James went to England, noblemens eldest sonnes were bot Masters, and their younger brethren pretended not to take place of Barrons.
1798 Monthly Mag. 6 437 The Viscount of Arbuthnott's eldest son is stiled Master of Arbuthnott.
1819 W. Scott Bride of Lammermoor viii, in Tales of my Landlord 3rd Ser. I. 246 The Master of Ravenswood led the way.
1924 R. S. Rait Parl. Scotl. 286 The eldest sons of Scottish peers..were known as ‘Masters’, a courtesy description still in use where a Scottish peerage has no second title.
1951 V. Heywood Brit. Titles 105 The grandson of the Earl of Strathmore is known as the Master of Glamis.
1962 D. Dunnett Game of Kings 18 When her husband died..the elder boy..became third Baron Culter, and..his brother received the heir's title of Master of Culter.
22.
a. With reference to a boy or a young man. (a) Applied [subsequent to the phonetic separation of mister n.2] as a prefix to the name of a boy or young man not considered old enough to be called ‘Mr.’; (b) applied, esp. by servants, to the sons of noble families or of the gentry (usually in little master, young master (young master n.); sometimes without modifier as a form of address) (now archaic); (c) a person addressed as ‘master’ in this sense; a boy, a young man (now rare).
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > social class > nobility > title > title or form of address for persons of rank > [noun] > for gentleman > for young men
masterc1533
young master1533
society > society and the community > social class > nobility > aristocracy or upper class > gentry > [noun] > gentleman > young gentleman
gentleboy1685
master1728
buckeen1793
c1533–4 H. Dowes Let. in H. Ellis Orig. Lett. Eng. Hist. (1846) 3rd Ser. I. 343 It pleased your Maistershipp to give me in charge not onlie to give diligent attendaunce uppon Maister Gregory, but also [etc.].
1600 W. Shakespeare Merchant of Venice ii. ii. 44 Talke you of young Maister Launcelet. View more context for this quotation
1710 J. Swift Jrnl. to Stella 13 Dec. (1948) I. 122 Maids and misses, and little master (lord Shelburn's children) in a third [coach].
1726 C. Chaloner Let. 30 Oct. in M. M. Verney Verney Lett. (1930) II. xxiv. 98 The great dog has killed the spaniell dog Master Verney left at Claydon.
1728 J. Swift Intelligencer (1729) ix. 89 These wretched Pedagogues are enjoyned..that Master must not walk till he is hot.
1753 S. Richardson Hist. Sir Charles Grandison II. xxix. 280 Miss Cantillon, Miss Barnevelt, and half a dozen more Misses and Masters.
1766 H. Brooke Fool of Quality I. 67 Lord Richard and some other masters of quality, about his age.
1775 in J. L. Chester Westm. Abbey Reg. (1876) 419 May 12, Master Frederick Gell; aged 12 days.
1824 S. E. Ferrier Inheritance xxxii Well-dressed, talking, smiling, flirting masters and misses.
1849 C. Dickens David Copperfield (1850) iii. 31 Wait a bit, Master Davy, and I'll—I'll tell you something.
1960 C. Day Lewis Buried Day i. 22 All would rebuke my naughtiness with a mild ‘Ah, don't be so bold, Master Cecil!’
b. Prefixed, with disparaging implication, to a man's first name or surname.
ΚΠ
1885 C. M. Yonge Nuttie's Father II. ix. 105 I'm not going to have a tête-à-tête with Master Mark.
1959 Listener 22 Jan. 155/2 I never liked Jinnah... I thought a great deal of his ambition was for Master Jinnah rather than anything else.
1975 T. Heald Deadline vii. 151 I think you'll find Master Wimbledon will do very well at anything if he thinks it will further his career.
IV. As a specific title of office. See also sense A. 7.
23.
a. An official having duties of the nature of control, superintendence, or safe keeping.See also Master of Misrule at misrule n. 4; Master of (the) Revels n. at revel n.1 1b.
†(a) Master of Assay n. Obsolete = assay-master n.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > worker > workers according to type of work > manual or industrial worker > workers with specific materials > metalworker > [noun] > assayer
say master1548
assayer1618
touch warden1644
assay-master1647
prover1683
Master of Assay1706
essayer1870
1706 Phillips's New World of Words (new ed.) Master of Assay.
(b) Master of the Barge n. now historical a bargemaster, esp. (in Britain) one in charge of the British royal barge (formerly called Master of the King's (also Queen's) Barge).
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > one who travels by water or sea > sailor > [noun] > captain or master > of specific type of vessel
shouterc1325
patron?a1425
trowman1429
balinger-master1463
Master of the Barge1480
wafter1482
bargemaster1648
trierarch1656
hoyman1666
collier-master1723
country captain1769
slave-captain1808
grocery-captain1816
hide-drogher1841
pentecontarch1851
collier-man1881
1480 in N. H. Nicolas Privy Purse Expenses Elizabeth of York (1830) 159 Unto the Maister off the Kinges Barge ayenst the commyng of the righte high and right noble Princesse.., a gowne of blac chamelet.
1661 S. Pepys Diary 9 May (1970) II. 96 Payne..is now to go Master-of-the-Barge to my Lord.
1830 N. H. Nicolas Privy Purse Expenses Elizabeth of York p. ciii The Master of her barge received 1s. 4d. a day, and the rowers 8d.
2007 M. Hayward Dress at Court King Henry VIII xvi. 283/1 On 5 November 1514 two tilts, one for the barge and one for the boat, were delivered to John Thurston, master of the barge.
(c) Master of (the) Ceremonies n. (a) an officer of the British royal household in the 17th cent., who superintended state ceremonies and was responsible for the enforcement of court etiquette (now historical); (b) (also master of ceremonies) a person who presides over a ball, formal dinner, or other entertainment, or who introduces speakers, players, or entertainers in the course of such an occasion; abbreviated M.C.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > pride > ostentation > ceremony or formality > [noun] > state ceremony or formality > person superintending
master of the ceremonies1662
MC1790
Master of (the) Ceremonies1888
femcee1940
c1610 Index to Warrant Bk. 1605–10 (P.R.O. S.P. 14/60) 43 Lewes Lewkenor..the office of maister of the ceremonies..for terme of life.
1662 B. Gerbier Brief Disc. Princ. Building (1665) Ded. My place of Master of the Ceremonies, which the King confirmed unto me during my life.
1748 T. Smollett Roderick Random II. lv. 204 Mr. N—h,..commonly attends in this place, as master of the ceremonies.
a1817 J. Austen Northanger Abbey (1818) I. iii. 29 The master of the ceremonies introduced to her a very gentlemanlike young man as a partner. View more context for this quotation
1888 Court Guide H. M. Household, Master of Ceremonies. General Sir F. Seymour.
1919 Whitaker's Almanack 115/1 The Lord Chamberlain's Department... Master of the Ceremonies, Hon. Sir A. Walsh, K.C.V.O.
1994 Wedding & Home June 86/2 The toastmaster, master of ceremonies or best man will announce the cake cutting.
(d) Master of the Coin n. now historical and rare an official in charge of coinage; cf. Master of the Mint n. at sense A. 23a(i).
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > money > coining > [noun] > coiner > officers of the mint
Master of the Coin1423
Master of the Mint1423
Warden of the Mint1463
Usher of the Coins, Change, or Exchange1485
melter1511
mint master1528
Surveyor of the Melting (also Meltings)1556
clerk of the irons1566
master-worker1622
1423 Rolls of Parl. IV. 256/2 The forsaid Maistre of the koyne.
1819 R. Ruding Ann. Coinage of Brit. & Dependencies II. 366 I have not discovered that any punishment was inflicted upon Keyn, nor do I exactly understand what the office of Master of the Coin was, which Crump enjoyed, for Germyn Lynch was still Master of the Mint.
2016 H. F. Klemme & M. Kuehn Bloomsbury Dict. 18th-Cent. German Philos. 261/1 His father was master of the coin and later the general director and master of the coin in Berlin.
(e) master of the feast n. now historical a person who presides over or hosts a feast.
ΚΠ
1532 R. Whittington tr. Erasmus De Ciuilitate Morun Puerilium sig. Bvi Comaunded to saye grace apply thy coutenaunce and thy handes to deuoute maner beholdynge eyther the mayster of the feest or the ymage of Christ or of our lady.
1631 tr. J. Ghesel Rule of Health sig. A5 A stately banquet was made in the Palace of one of the Nobles of Omodei; the Master of the feast being about thirty yeares of age, then lusty and of good health, dyed vpon a suddaine sitting at the table with his Guests vpon his chaire.
1861 L. C. Shore Hannibal II. iii. i. (stage direct.) A public banqueting-hall. Citizens assembled, drinking after the banquet. Hannibal..and other Carthaginians, as guests of the Greek Citizens, the Master of the Feast presiding.
1992 A. Bell tr. M. Toussaint-Samat Hist. Food ix. 270 The magister cenae, master of the feast, gave each guest a loaf, four sardines and a small amphora of warm wine.
(f) Master of the Great Wardrobe n. now historical an officer of the British royal household having charge of the Great Wardrobe (see Great Wardrobe n. at great adj., n., adv., and int. Compounds 1e) (the office was abolished in 1782).
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > office > holder of office > official of royal or great household > [noun] > chief > in royal household > department of
green cloth1449
Master of the Great Wardrobe1704
1704 in Buccleuch MSS (Hist. MSS Comm.) (1899) I. 352 Your son shall have the reversion of the Master of the Great Wardrobe for life.
1888 Dict. National Biogr. at Cure, William In 1613 Cure signed an agreement to erect a monument..to Sir Roger Aston, master of the great wardrobe to James I, his two wives, and his children.
1988 J. Arnold Queen Elizabeth's Wardrobe Unlock'd vii. 163/2 The post of Master, or Keeper of the Great Wardrobe, formerly held by Sir Ralph Sadler and Sir Edward Waldegrave, was granted to John Fortescue for life in 1559.
(g) Master of the (King's, also Queen's) Household n. (originally) an administrative officer within the department of the Lord Steward in the British royal household; (from 1782) the officer in charge of the management of the establishment of the Lord Steward's department; (from 1848) the officer in charge of the sovereign's entire domestic establishment (cf. the earlier Scottish title Master Household n. at Compounds 3).
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > office > holder of office > official of royal or great household > [noun] > chief > in royal household > specific officer under
Master Household1548
Master of the (King's, also Queen's) Household1554
1554 Act 1 Mary c. 4 It hathe now pleased the Quenes Majestie to..chaunge the name of the Greate Maister of her Highnes most honourable Houshold..into the name of the sayd Lorde Stuarde.
1607 J. Cowell Interpreter sig. Vv3 Master of the Kings houshould, (magister hospitii) is in his iust title called grand Master of the Kings houshould, and beareth the same office that he did, that was wont to be called Lord Steward of the kings most honorable houshould.
1696 E. Phillips New World of Words (new ed.) Master of the King's Houshold.
1974 Encycl. Brit. Micropædia VIII. 700/3 The administrative duties of the lord steward are now carried out by the master of the household.
(h) Master of the Jewel House n. now historical the keeper of the Crown Jewels in the Tower of London (at various times also known as Keeper of the Jewel House, etc.), formerly also with wider responsibility, e.g. for the supply, issue, and repair of the royal plate, and for the guardianship of the royal regalia.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > office > holder of office > public officials > [noun] > other English officials
wicknerc1000
purveyorc1425
remembrancer1431
Clerk of the Market1451
secondary1461
water bailiff1590
Master of the Jewel House1597
clerk of the remembrance1607
well-reeve?1648
stairer1695
bar-keeper1818
waste-inspector1898
1597–8 Act 39 Eliz. c. 7 §12 Maister of the Juell House.
1602 W. S. True Chron. Hist. Ld. Cromwell sig. D4v Cromwell the Maiestie of England, For the good liking he conceiues of thee: Makes thee Maister of the iewell house, Chiefe Secretarie to himselfe, and with all, Creates thee one of his highnesse priuie Counsell.
1760 Acct. Ceremonies observed in Coronations Kings & Queens Eng. 29/1 Dean of Westminster, in a rich Cope; the Master of the Jewel-house, in a Scarlet Robe; Privy Counsellors of England, not Peers, in their usual Habits; two Pursuivants of Arms.
1885 Dict. National Biogr. at Astley, John In December 1558 [he] was appointed master of the jewel house and treasurer of her majesty's jewels and plate.
1982 S. T. Bindoff House of Commons, 1509-1558 511/1 How or when he [sc. Sir Richard Lee] met Cromwell is not known, or whether his father was still alive in 1532, when Cromwell became master of the jewel house.
2014 F. Heal Power of Gifts v. 143 The post-Restoration complaint came from the Master of the Jewel House, Sir Gilbert Talbot, alleging that the Master of Ceremonies now carried the departure presents, and therefore had two gifts from the ambassadors.
(i) Master of the Mint n. [compare post-classical Latin magister mintae (1418 in a British source)] now historical the chief officer and custodian of the British Royal Mint (since 1869 the offices of Master and Worker of the Mint have been nominally held by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, who has direct control of the establishment).
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > money > coining > [noun] > coiner > officers of the mint
Master of the Coin1423
Master of the Mint1423
Warden of the Mint1463
Usher of the Coins, Change, or Exchange1485
melter1511
mint master1528
Surveyor of the Melting (also Meltings)1556
clerk of the irons1566
master-worker1622
1423 Rolls of Parl. IV. 256/2 The forsaid Maistre of the mynte.
1479 W. Paston in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) I. 184 A broder in the Towre [who] is master of the mynt vnder Brice.
1675 R. Vaughan Disc. Coin & Coinage x. 91 The Remedies allowed..have been heretofore very variable according to the favour or the skill which the Masters of the Mint did use to make their own Advantage.
1836 in Rep. Committee Royal Mint (1837) App. 28 The Cash Account of the Master of the Mint.
1984 Coin Monthly Jan. 84/1 The Deputy Master of the Mint..prefaced his remarks about 1914 Mint activity [etc.].
2012 D. T. Larose Disoveries Fundamentals Stats. (ed. 2) vii. 337 If the mean weight was much less than 128 grams, the jury concluded that the Master of the Mint was cheating the crown by pocketing the excess gold, and he was severely punished.
(j) Master of the (King's, also Queen's) Music n. an officer of the British royal household, formerly the director of the royal musicians, now a composer holding the office in an honorary capacity.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > music > musician > conductor or leader > [noun] > conductor > of royal music
Master of the (King's, also Queen's) Music1886
1886 Dict. National Biogr. at Burney, Charles In May 1786..Burney applied for the post of master of the royal music.
1901 London Gaz. 8 Oct. 6569 Sir Walter Parratt, M.V.O., to be Master of The King's Music in Ordinary to His Majesty.
1979 Conc. Oxf. Hist. Music xiv. 308 Nicholas Lanier (1588–1666), composer, singer, lutenist, Master of the King's Music, and deviser of masques at the court of Charles I.
(k) Master of the Posts n. [compare Middle French, French maître de poste (see postmaster n.1)] now historical an officer of the British royal household responsible for the post-horse system (from the 17th cent. known as postmaster general n.).
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > transport > transport or conveyance in a vehicle > transport by relays of horses or vehicles > [noun] > travelling by means of post-horses > officials
Master of the Posts1528
postmaster1581
horser1851
1528 in State Papers Henry VIII (1849) VII. 61 The Maister of the Postes shall gyve horses to noo man, oonles [etc.].
1572 Patent Eliz. in Rep. Secret Comm. P.O. (1844) . 34 Thomas Randolphe esquier, Maister of the Postes.
1591 Proclam. in Rep. Secret Comm. on Post Office (1844) 36 Our Master of the Postes, or the Masters of the Postes Generall of those countreys.
1706 Phillips's New World of Words (new ed.) Master of the Posts, was an Officer of the King's Court, who had the appointing of all such throughout England as provided Post-horses for the speedy passing of the King's Messages, &c.
1978 Jrnl. Industr. Econ. 27 98 The Post Office was until 1969 a Government department, with its own Minister, the Postmaster-General (the successor to the King's Master of the Posts).
(l) Master of the Robes n. an official with responsibility for the robes of the King, Queen, or other member of the British royal family or nobility (cf. yeoman of the robes n. at yeoman n. Compounds 3a; see also Master of the Great Wardrobe n. at sense A. 23a(f)).
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > office > holder of office > official of royal or great household > [noun] > in charge of clothes
wardrober?a1439
Master of the Robes1552
Master of the Wardrobe1597
1552 R. Huloet Abcedarium Anglico Latinum Yoman or master of the robes, vestiarius.
1677 in 12th Rep. Royal Comm. Hist. MSS (1890) App. v. 42 Master of the Robes to the Duke.
1993 Hist. Today (Nexis) Aug. 49 There were to be cuts at the highest level, involving the Vice Chamberlain of His Majesty's Household, four Gentlemen of the Bedchamber, four Grooms of the Bedchamber and the Master of the Robes.
(m) Master of the Wardrobe n. now historical = Master of the Great Wardrobe n. at sense A. 23a(f).
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > office > holder of office > official of royal or great household > [noun] > in charge of clothes
wardrober?a1439
Master of the Robes1552
Master of the Wardrobe1597
1597–8 Act 39 Eliz. c. 7 §12 Master of the Warderobe.
1620 Jrnls. House of Lords 1620–28 III. 345/2 There was no Accompt made by the said Master of the Wardrobe (which should have been done).
1776 W. J. Mickle in tr. L. de Camoens Lusiad 138 (note) He solemnly swore on the holy Gospels, that..he had secretly, at Braganza, espoused the Lady Inez de Castro, in the presence of the Bishop of Guarda, and of his master of the wardrobe.
1876 Lit. World 28 July 55/1 Next, comes the ‘grande entrée’ which comprises the grand-chamberlain, the grand-master and master of the wardrobe, the first gentlemen of the bedchamber, [etc.].
1928 T. F. Tout Chapters Admin. Hist. Mediaeval Eng. IV. xiv. 409 In Stow's time a master of the wardrobe was also chancellor of the exchequer.
2014 C. Skidmore Rise of Tudors xii. 340 Piers Curteys, Richard's Master of the Wardrobe who had fled into sanctuary in the summer, was rewarded with the office of keeper of the king's privy palace and wardrobe.
(n) Master of (the) Works n. (also, chiefly Scottish,Master of Work) [compare post-classical Latin magister operum (c1200 in a British source), magister operis (1402 in a British source); Middle French, French maître de l'œuvre (1538; 1350 as maistre de l'euvre), also Middle French maistre d'œuvres (16th cent.), maistre des ouvrages (1501)] an official who superintends building operations (esp. in Scotland, where from the 16th cent. the designation was equivalent to the English Surveyor of Works).
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > worker > workers according to type of work > manual or industrial worker > builder > [noun] > employer or supervisor
Master of (the) Worksa1382
Clerk of the Works1663
master builder1714
general contractor1841
site manager1878
OE Old Eng. Hexateuch: Exod. (Claud.) i. 11 Witodlice he sette him weorca mægstras [L. magistros operum], þæt hy gehyndon hi mid hefigum byrþenum.]
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1959) Exod. i. 1 He..putte to hem maysters of werkis [L. magistros operum] þat þey schulden ouertrauailen hem.
1447–8 in R. Willis & J. W. Clark Archit. Hist. Univ. Cambr. (1886) I. 379 For the Maister of the werkes l. li.
1529 in Proc. Soc. Antiquaries Scotl. (1896) 30 53 Ane lettre..makand hym maister of wark within the castell of Striveling.
1792 C. Powys Passages from Diaries Mrs. Powys (1899) 267 Lady Parker..sent her compliments to Mr. White, Master of the Works.
1822 J. Galt Provost ix. 71 A scaffold was erected..by Thomas Gimblet, the Master-of-work.
1992 J. Torrington Swing Hammer Swing! viii. 63 A notice board which bore the legend: ‘Dept of Housing. Warning! Proceed no further—property dangerous beyond this point: Master of Works.’
b. Military. The commander or controller of a particular part of a country's forces or military operations.Also in unofficial titles translated from Latin or Middle French, as Master of the Artillery, Master of (the) Chivalry.
(a) Master of the Armoury n. (also Master of the Armouries) now historical the controller of the supply, storage, and issue of armour to the British sovereign's troops (the title survived until 1671, when it was subsumed into that of Master General of the Ordnance; it was revived in 1935 as an honorary title for the curator of the Armouries).
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > warrior > soldier > leader or commander > officer by rank > [noun] > specific rank of artillery officer
Master (General) of the Ordnance1458
master gunner?c1475
Master of the Armoury1485
rotmaster1523
Mr1669
artillery officer1707
bombardier1844
lance-bombardier1935
1485 Rolls of Parl. VI. 354/2 The Offices of Maister of oure Ordinaunces and Maister of oure Armery.
1597–8 Act 39 Eliz. c. 7 §12 The Maister and Leiftenaunte of the Ordynance,..Maister of the Armory, [and others].
1607 J. Cowell Interpreter sig. Vv3 Master of the armorie, is he that hath the care and ouersight of his Maiesties armour for his person or horses.
1981 Dict. National Biogr. 1961–70 at Mann, Sir James Gow Both his proven organizing ability and his wide knowledge of arms and armour made him an ideal choice for the post of master of the Armouries at the Tower of London.
(b) Master of the Artillery n. [compare Middle French maistre de l'artillerie (a1483)] now historical and rare the officer in charge of the artillery section of an army.Originally Scottish; later chiefly with reference to the French army.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > warrior > soldier > leader or commander > officer according to function > [noun] > officers with other specific functions
Master of the Artillery1512
trench-master1577
supernumerary1644
trench-sergeanta1753
beach-master1874
observation officer1904
censor1914
cipher officer1915
range safety officer1942
1512 in J. Stuart Extracts Council Reg. Aberdeen (1844) I. 83 Maisteris of the said artailȝerie.
1760 G. Sale et al. Mod. Part of Universal Hist.: Hist. France XXIV. xix. iv. x. 384/1 This lady..was the daughter of Anthony d'Estrees, Seigneur de Cœuvres lez Soissons, master of the artillery (or, as we stile them, master of the ordnance).
1809 L. de Tousard Amer. Artillerists Compan. I. Introd. p. iv Jean du Lion, in 1334, who was in 1358 called sovereign master of the Artillery under king John, surnamed the good.
1997 J. A. Lynn Giant of Grand Siècle 99 So Guillaume de Dourdan took the title of master of the artillery of the Louvre in 1291, and the grand masters evolved from this office.
†(c) master of (the) chivalry [in quot. a1382 for Master of (the) Works n. at sense A. 23a(n) translating post-classical Latin magister militum; in quot. 1489 translating Middle French maistre de la chevallerie; in quot. 1533 translating classical Latin magister equitum.] Obsolete the officer in charge of a body of soldiers (sometimes, horsemen).
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > warrior > soldier > leader or commander > [noun]
heretogac900
marshal1258
chevetaine1297
chieftainc1330
arrayerc1370
governora1382
master of (the) chivalrya1382
leadera1387
war-headlinga1400
emperorc1400
captain1450
conductor1483
grand captain1531
commendador1580
lodesman1581
conducta1592
commander1598
induperator1599
war-captain1610
war-chief1610
war-leader1610
most mastera1616
commandant1687
commandant-general1827
baron1919
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1959) Gen. xxxvii. 36 Putiphar, þe geldyng of pharao, þe mayster of þe chyualrye.
1489 W. Caxton tr. C. de Pisan Bk. Fayttes of Armes i. vii The souerayn maystre of the chyualrye of the prynce.
1533 J. Bellenden tr. Livy Hist. Rome (1901) I. ii. xviii. 159 Spurius cassius [was] þe first maister of cheuelrie.
(d) Master (General) of the Ordnance n. (in the British Army) an officer with overall responsibility for the provision of military stores, artillery, and small arms, and for the maintenance of fortifications and coastal defences (from 1597 to 1600, the title was Great Master of the Ordnance).
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > warrior > soldier > leader or commander > officer by rank > [noun] > specific rank of artillery officer
Master (General) of the Ordnance1458
master gunner?c1475
Master of the Armoury1485
rotmaster1523
Mr1669
artillery officer1707
bombardier1844
lance-bombardier1935
1458 in R. C. Anderson Lett. 15th & 16th Cent. (Southampton Rec. Soc.) (1921) 12 We haue writen..to the maistre of the kings ordinance for stuffe to be hadde in to the castell of hampton for keping therof.
1485 Rolls of Parl. VI. 354/2 The Offices of Maister of oure Ordinaunces and Maister of oure Armery.
1548 W. Patten Exped. Scotl. A i b Syr Fraunces Flemmynge knight, master of the ordinaunce.
1597–8 Act 39 Eliz. c. 7 §12 The Maister and Leiftenaunte of the Ordynance,..Maister of the Armory, [and others].
1695 London Gaz. No. 3131/3 The Earl of Romney Master-General of the Ordnance.
1863 H. Cox Inst. Eng. Govt. iii. viii. 708 The Master-General of the Ordnance.
1938 W. S. Churchill Into Battle (1941) 27 The old Department of Master-General of the Ordnance.
1980 Daily Tel. 16 Dec. 7/3 Lt-Gen. Sir Peter Leng..is to become Master General of the Ordnance, Ministry of Defence, in March next year.
†c. In the titles of various former officers of the English court having charge of animals kept for sport or pleasure, as Master of the Cocks, Master of the Hawks, Master of the King's Bears, Master of the Swans, etc. Master of (the) Game n. the officer entrusted with the preservation of game in certain royal forests; (occasionally humorously) a gamekeeper. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > keeping or breeding other animals > [noun] > keeper or tamer of wild beasts
bearward1179
leopard-man1390
masterc1425
bear-leader1503
bearherd1590
bear warden1740
lion-tamer1798
lion-keepera1843
c1425 Edward, Duke of York Master of Game (Vesp. B.xii) (1904) 3 The which book shal..be named..Mayster of Game.
1485 Rolls of Parl. VI. 360/2 The Office of Maister of oure Swannes.
1485 Rolls of Parl. VI. 365/2 Maister and Rueler of the Kings Beres.
1529 in N. H. Nicolas Privy Purse Expences Henry VIII (1827) 14 Item to the Maister of the kinges beres by waye of Rewarde..xl. s.
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 916/1 The master of hawkes, le grant faulconner.
1593 in A. J. Kempe Losely MSS (1836) 308 All straie swans, all swans unmarked, all wild swans, all tame swans that fly, all swans of felons..are the master of the swans right.
1671 F. Philipps Regale Necessarium 132 Mr. Pitcarnes (the Master of the Hawkes) Man.
1711 R. Steele Spectator No. 118. ⁋2 Sir Roger's Master of the Game.
1811 J. Cottle Fall of Cambria (ed. 2) II. xviii. 119 (note) The Master of the Hawks..was permitted to sit at the King's table, but..entered into a stipulation that he would drink no more than three times, lest he should become intoxicated and neglect his birds.
1860 J. Forster Deb. Grand Remonstr. 104 The fee of the Master of the Cocks [under James I] exceeded the united salaries of two Secretaries of State.
1900 Dict. National Biogr. at Wriothesley, Henry On 10 Oct. [1603] he was made her [sc. Queen Elizabeth I's] master of the game.
d. In the title of a person who owns or controls a pack of hounds, esp. the member of a hunt who is designated to supervise the kennels and hunting arrangements, as master of beagles, master of buckhounds, master of foxhounds, master of harriers, etc., or with the designation of a particular pack of hounds. Also simply as master (when the role may be understood from the context). Occasionally in extended use.The Master of the Buckhounds was formerly accounted one of the four great offices of the British royal household, but by the mid 19th cent. the post had become largely ceremonial, and it was abolished in 1901.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > hunting > hunter > [noun] > master of hounds
huntsman1600
field master1648
huntsmaster1691
Common Hunt1700
master1781
skirter1827
1449 Rolls of Parl. V. 167/2 William Brocas Squyer, Maister of your Bukhounds.
1485 Rolls of Parl. VI. 354/1 The Office of Maister of the Herthunds.
a1652 R. Brome Queen & Concubine ii. iii. 31 in Five New Playes (1659) What for him? my Ladies Game-keeper, that understands nothing but Monkeyes, Parrots, short-nos'd Dogs and Starlings; Master of her Majesties Foisting-hounds.
1660 R. Wild Iter Boreale 6 Let the State-Huntsmen beat again,—So-ho, Cries Lambert, Master of the Hounds.
1742 H. Fielding Joseph Andrews II. iii. v. 97 The Master of the Pack was just arrived, or, as the Sportsmen call it, Come in, when Adams set out. View more context for this quotation
1781 W. Cowper Progress of Error 114 He takes the field, the master of the pack Cries—‘Well done, saint!’ and claps him on the back.
1845 S. Terry Diaries of Dummer (1934) v. 195 It was remarked that some Masters of Hounds might say that they had previously known of donkeys in the hunting-field!
1856 ‘Stonehenge’ Man. Brit. Rural Sports 101 The master of a pack of foxhounds, staghounds, or even of harriers, ought [etc.].
1868 ‘H. Lee’ Basil Godfrey's Caprice xxviii. 147 Sir Ralph has the hounds, and is a very good master.
1881 Encycl. Brit. XII. 394/2 It is the master's duty to say what covers are to be drawn.
1886 Encycl. Brit. XXI. 38/1 The master of the buckhounds, who is also one of the ministry, ranks next to him [sc. the master of the horse].
1899 T. M. Ellis Three Cat's-eye Rings 29 The master of the Storr-hinton beagles.
1930 C. Frederick et al. Fox-hunting vii. 96 When a Master of Foxhounds starts to breed a pack [etc.].
1955 Times 5 Aug. 10/4 His hounds were..well thought of, and..much used, by contemporary Masters of Hounds.
1996 R. Drewe Drowner (1998) 218 As a boy he'd ridden to hounds with his uncle, the master of the Meath hunt.
e. master of the horse n. (also †master of the horses) [originally with unchanged plural of horse : see horse n. 1b] (a) an officer in charge of the horses belonging to a sovereign, etc.; (also) an official of the British royal household who attends the monarch on state occasions and who has titular responsibility for matters of royal transport, etc. (also Master of the King's (also Queen's) Horse(s), formerly sometimes †master of horses); (b) Roman History. [after classical Latin magister equitum master of the ‘knights’ or horsemen (compare horse n. 3b); compare master of (the) chivalry at sense A. 23b(c)] , a commander of the cavalry appointed by a dictator of the Roman Republic; (c) humorously a head groom or stableman.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > office > holder of office > official of royal or great household > [noun] > in charge of horses or stables
master of the horse1449
yeoman of the horse1455
yeoman of the stable1455
equerry1526
yeoman of the stirrup1526
stall-master1659
Crown Equerry1814
1449 Rolls of Parl. V. 154/1 By the avys of the Maister of the Kyngs Hors.
a1475 Bk. Curtasye (Sloane 1986) l. 611 in Babees Bk. (2002) i. 319 A maystur of horsys a squyer þer is.
1546 in Acts Privy Council (1890) I. 495 Letters were addressed to the Lord Deputie of Boloyne for the placing of Mr. Arnold at the Master of thorses Campe according to the Kinges Majestes former determynacion.
1569 R. Grafton Chron. II. 735 Sir John Cheiney, maister of the Kinges horses.
1570–81 in D. Digges Compl. Ambassador (1655) 303 The Emperors Ambassador, who is Master of the horse.
1621 R. R. Hastings Jrnl. in Camden Misc. (1946) XX. 29 I desire you not to looke on him as adorned with theise honours as..Admirall of England, Master of my Horse, Gentleman of my Bed Chamber [etc.].
1753 S. Richardson Hist. Sir Charles Grandison I. xxxv. 238 I was to be this gentleman's master of the horse abroad.
1781 E. Gibbon Decline & Fall II. xvii. 33 (note) The masters of the horse of the ancient dictators.
1831 W. Youatt Horse iv. 29 Charles II. sent his master of the horse to the Levant, to purchase brood mares and stallions. These were principally Barbs and Turks.
1886 Encycl. Brit. XXI. 37/2 The master of the horse is the third dignitary of the court.
1886 Encycl. Brit. XXI. 37/2 The stables and coachhouses, the stud, mews, and kennels, are in the master of the horse's department.
1974 Encycl. Brit. Micropædia VIII. 700/3 The administrative duties..of the master of the horse are carried out by the crown equerry, responsible for all aspects of royal travel.
1990 Punch 27 July 46/3 If the Master of the Horse arrives unexpectedly, though, the bishop must do the decent thing, pick up his cutlery, and move everybody down a place.
24. The head or presiding officer of a society, institution, etc., e.g. of certain colleges (in Oxford, Cambridge, Yale, and elsewhere), guilds, corporations, livery companies, masonic lodges, etc.; (occasionally) a member of the administrative body of such an organization (now historical). Formerly also: the head or regional governor of a military order or knighthood (cf. grand master n., Great Master n. 1) (now historical). † Master of Pruce n. [see pruce adj.] Obsolete the Grand Master of the Teutonic Order; also †Master of Pruceland. Master of the Temple n. (a) now historical, the governor of the Knights Templars in England; (b) the principal clergyman of the Temple Church, London, appointed by royal letters patent.Also with postmodifier in the titles of dignitaries of monastic and other religious organizations, as master-general, master provincial [compare e.g. post-classical Latin generalis magister (11th cent.), magister generalis (c1332)] .
ΘΚΠ
society > education > educational administration > university administration > [noun] > head of college
master1389
rector1434
provost1442
president1448
head1550
head of house1570
sub-rector1629
skull1721
prex1828
prexy1871
society > society and the community > social relations > an association, society, or organization > [noun] > member > official
master1389
pass-master1762
past master1762
steward1831
society > authority > control > person in control > [noun] > one who presides > over an institution or society
governora1325
principalc1325
master1389
warden1575
president1664
prime minister1694
premier1784
society > society and the community > social relations > an association, society, or organization > types of association, society, or organization > [noun] > guild of medieval origin > a member > official
steward10..
aldermanc1316
dean of guild1389
master1389
skevin1389
warden1389
searcher1417
quartermaster1556
grand master1615
jurat1714
society > armed hostility > warrior > member of order of knights, etc. > [noun] > master of
Master of Pruce1442
Great Masterc1480
grand master1563
marshal1615
master1654
Master of the Temple1706
society > society and the community > social relations > an association, society, or organization > secret society > [noun] > the Freemasons > member > type of member or official
fellow-craft1696
master mason1696
grand master1722
master1722
wardena1723
pass-master1762
mark (master) mason1769
superexcellent1796
markman1853
Templar1859
1389 in J. T. Smith & L. T. Smith Eng. Gilds (1870) 14 (MED) Thys ben þe names of þe men þat ben maystres and kepers of þe gyld.
a1400 (c1303) R. Mannyng Handlyng Synne (Harl.) 73 (MED) Dane Felyp was mayster þat tyme Þat y began þys englyssh ryme.
1427 in J. B. Heath Some Acct. Worshipful Company of Grocers (1869) 4 John Melborne, John Olyve, Maistres.
1431 Rolls of Parl. IV. 370/2 Master and Prestes of the Chapell.
1442 Rolls of Parl. V. 65/2 The Kyng..is disposed to sende his Letters to the Maistr of Pruce.
1463–4 Rolls of Parl. V. 502/2 Every Mayer, where Mayer is; every Maister, where Maister is, where noo Mayer is.
1550 R. Crowley Way to Wealth sig. Bi A maister of an house in Oxforde or Cambridge.
1560 J. Daus tr. J. Sleidane Commentaries f. xlviijv Albert of Brandenburge, master of Pruselande [L. Prussiæ Magister].
a1568 R. Ascham Scholemaster (1570) ii. f. 59 Pelting matters, soch as in London commonlie cum to the hearing of the Masters of Bridewell.
1586 in D. Masson Reg. Privy Council Scotl. (1881) 1st Ser. IV. 74 Maisteris Andro and James Melvillis, maisteris of the New College.
1603 P. Stringer in C. Plummer Elizabethan Oxf. (1887) 253 Mr. [Henry] Savile, the Master of Martine Colledge.
1642–6 in J. Quincy Hist. Harvard Univ. (1840) I. 517 The Overseers and Master of the College.
1648 T. Gage Eng.-Amer. 210 Fryer Nicholus Rodulfius of the same whole Order [of Preachers] Master Generall... Fryer Nicholas Master of the Order... Fryer Ignatius Ciantes Master Provinciall of England.
1654 T. Gataker Disc. Apol. 36 Mr. Masters Master of the Temple.
1706 Phillips's New World of Words (new ed.) at Templars A Religious Order, which..had a Governour..in England, who was styled Master of the Temple..: Whence the chief Minister of the Temple-Church in London..is still dignify'd with that Title.
1722 in J. E. Cox Old Constit. Masons (1871) 23 A Lodge of five Free-Masons, at the least, whereof one to be a Master or Warden of that Limit or Division where such Lodge shall be kept.
1762 P. Murdoch tr. A. F. Büsching New Syst. Geogr. V. 450 Master of the Teutonick order in Germany.
1825 W. Scott Talisman ix, in Tales Crusaders III. 222 The celebrated Master of the Templars.
1853 ‘C. Bede’ Adventures Mr. Verdant Green iv. 27 Mr. Verdant Green..proceeded with his father to Brazenface College to call upon the Master.
1876 J. F. B. Firth Municipal London 50 The name of ‘Livery Company’ has remained... The control by Master or Wardens of the dress of members has ceased.
1925 A. Quiller-Couch Charles Dickens 71 A lost child, mooning incuriously along the hedgerows with an impercipience rivalling that of a famous Master of Trinity.
1951 C. P. Snow Masters xlvi. 369 ‘Will you dine with us tomorrow’—Jago paused, and then brought out the word—‘Master?’
1964 H. S. Eeles & Earl Spencer Brooks's xv. 118 Banderet was the last master [of Brooks's], and on his death in 1880 it was decided by the Managers to take over the entire administration of the Club.
1992 Daily Tel. 16 Dec. 8/6 Lady Blackstone, Master of Birkbeck College, speaks on foreign affairs, education.
25. Law. In the titles of various legal functionaries in English courts and elsewhere.
a. Master in Chancery n. [compare post-classical Latin magister cancellarie (from 1375 in British sources)] now historical a senior assistant of the judge or chancellor in a court of chancery; esp. (in English law) each of the twelve assistants of the Lord Chancellor, the chief of whom was Master of the Rolls (the office of Master in Chancery was abolished in English law in 1852); formerly also †Master of (the) Chancery.
ΘΚΠ
society > law > administration of justice > one who administers justice > an officer of the court > [noun] > registrar or clerk > assistant to Lord Chancellor
Master of (the) Chancery1425
1425 Rolls of Parl. IV. 306/1 Maistres of ye Chauncerie beyng occupied in ye Chauncerie.
1583 Sir T. Smith's De Republica Anglorum ii. x. 52 And on the left hand [in Westminster Hall] sitteth the Chauncelor accompanyed with the master of the Roules..and certaine men learned in the ciuill lawe called Masters of the chauncerie.
1679 T. Shadwell True Widow iii. 39 You are my main Witness, and (when we are married) you can be none; therefore if you will go to a Master in Chancery, and swear to all my Deeds, and make Affidavit to my false Estate, the next hour shall [etc.].
1684 Minutes Hudson's Bay Co. (1946) II. 247 Ordered that these things following be put into the Iron Chest... Oath before a Master of Chancery 2d May 84 About the Interloper Jenings.
1797 Encycl. Brit. XIII. 763/1 On the other wool-sacks are seated the judges, masters in chancery, and king's council.
1846 Act 9 & 10 Vict. c. 95 §62 A Master Extraordinary in Chancery.
1853 C. Dickens Bleak House i. 3 Every master in Chancery has had a reference out of it [sc. Jarndyce and Jarndyce].
1897 Overland Monthly Feb. 177/1 When subpenaed by Bowers to testify before the Master in Chancery concerning this infringement, he refused to answer.
1950 Times 21 Oct. 3/5 Before 1855..messages were always carried..from the Lords to the Commons by Masters in Chancery or judges.
1993 Dict. National Biogr.: Missing Persons at Bubwith, Nicholas Early in 1399 he was promoted master in Chancery.
b. Law. Master of (the) Request(s) n. [compare post-classical Latin magister Requisitionum (1573 in a British source), magister Requestarum (1389, 1515 in Scottish sources, 1586 in an English source), and, in sense A. 25b(b), Middle French maistre des requestes (dans les conseils du roi) (1424).]
(a) One of the leading officers of the English Court of Requests. Now historical.
ΘΚΠ
society > law > administration of justice > one who administers justice > an officer of the court > [noun] > other court officials
Master of Request1548
Master of Request1560
doomster1609
seal1658
taxing-master1848
1548 in State Papers: Domest. (P.R.O. S.P. 10/4) f. 56v To the ryght worshypfull Mr Cecill master of the requestes.
1553 in State Papers: Domest. (P.R.O. S.P. 10/18) f. 21 All such pryvate suites as customably be brought to the King or his counsell at the table and be delyuered to the Masters of Requests.
1625 F. Bacon Apophthegmes §84. 110 Sackford, Master of the Requests to Queen Elizabeth, had diuerse times moued for audience, & been put off.
1675 London Gaz. No. 977/4 This day His Majesty was graciously pleased..to cause him [sc. Thomas Povey, Esq.] to be Sworn one of the Masters of Request.
1716 M. Davies Athenæ Britannicæ II. 316 Nothing but a great Pension for Life and a Master of Requests place, were thought encouragement enough for it.
1898 I. S. Leadam Select Cases Court of Requests (1898) p. xix Two permanent judges, or, as they were called, ‘Masters of Requests ordinary’, began towards the end of Henry VIII's reign to control the work of the court.
1949 Speculum 22 20 Fortescue had been Chief Justice under Henry IV, and Smith had been Master of Requests in the reign of Edward VI.
(b) In France: one of a number of officials forming an advisory and judicial body with a variety of functions.In the modern Conseil d'État they are responsible for preparing cases for trial.
ΘΚΠ
society > law > administration of justice > one who administers justice > an officer of the court > [noun] > other court officials
Master of Request1548
Master of Request1560
doomster1609
seal1658
taxing-master1848
1560 J. Daus tr. J. Sleidane Commentaries f. clxxiiij In the moneth of August, ended his lyfe at Paris William Budey, maister of the requestes.
1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues at Requeste Maistres des requestes, the Masters of Requests; at first there were but two,..afterwards they came to be fiue [etc.].
1727–38 E. Chambers Cycl. at Request In France..they have eighty masters of requests to take cognizance of causes between the officers of the crown, the servants of the houshold, &c.
1960 R. E. Giesey Royal Funerary Ceremony Renaissance France i. 10 When..the whole group of Masters of Requests..were given an unfavorable Seating arrangement at Notre-Dame de Paris, they left in a huff.
†(c) In Scotland: a member of the Privy Council responsible for dealing with petitions, etc., submitted to the King or the Privy Council. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > rule or government > ruler or governor > deliberative, legislative, or administrative assembly > council of state > [noun] > member of council of state > in Britain or England > office of
Master of Request1561
privy counsellorship1852
Privy Councilship1910
1561 in J. H. Burton Reg. Privy Council Scotl. (1877) 1st Ser. I. 159 Gif ony letter..be direct fra the Quenis Grace to the Lordis of Counsale, that the maister of Requeistis present and deliver the samyn to the Chancellar.
1633 in P. H. Brown Reg. Privy Council Scotl. (1904) 2nd Ser. V. 107 Sir James Galloway, Maister of Requeists.
1754 W. Goodal in J. Scot Staggering State Sc. Statesmen p. xxviii We have no Master of Requests now, that charge being swallowed up by the secretary's office.
c. In the titles (many now historical) of the chief officers and presiding judges of various other courts in England and other English-speaking countries (with of followed by the designation of the court in question: see court n.1 11b), as Master of the Faculties, Master of the Queen's (also King's) Bench, Master of the Supreme Court, Master of the (Court of) Wards (and Liveries), etc. Master in Lunacy n. now historical a legal officer with the duty of investigating the mental condition of people alleged to be insane.Sometimes with the designation of the court omitted, especially where this is contextually implied.
ΘΚΠ
society > law > administration of justice > one who administers justice > an officer of the court > [noun] > registrar or clerk
Justice Clerk1424
master1561
actuary1570
Lord Justice Clerka1572
registrar1851
society > law > administration of justice > one who administers justice > an officer of the court > [noun] > registrar or clerk > chief clerk or registrar > of Chancery division
master1561
1561 B. Googe tr. ‘M. Palingenius’ Zodiake of Life (new ed.) Ded. sig. a5 To..Sir William Cecill, Knight..Master of the Wardes, and Liueries.
1598 J. Chamberlain Let. 3 Oct. (1861) 20 All men give him theire voices to be Master of the Wardes, and it is thought that, serius ocius, it will light upon him.
a1601 W. Lambarde Archion (1635) 232 The Court of Wards began in our minority, about 32. yeare of the Reigne of King Hen. 8. who also in the next yeare after, added thereunto the office of the Master of the Liveries,..ordayning that it should bee called the Court of Wards and Liveries.
1607 J. Cowell Interpreter sig. Dd4/2 An especiall officer..called..the Master of the faculties.
1702 Clarendon's Hist. Rebellion I. iii. 167 The Lord Say was to be Master of the Wards.
1804 W. Cruise Digest Laws Eng. Real Prop. IV. 277 The usual decree was made, referring it to the Master to enquire whether a good title could be made.
1837 Act 7 William IV & 1 Victoria c. 30 §3 There shall be in each of the said Courts..Five Principal Officers, and no more, to be called respectively the Masters of each of the said Courts.
1843 Act 6 & 7 Vict. c. 90 §8 The Master of the Faculties..is hereby..empowered to issue Commissions [etc.].
1880 Libr. Universal Knowl. IX. 198 Declared a lunatic..by the certificate of a master in lunacy.
1886 Encycl. Brit. XX. 342/1 In the Queen's Bench Division..the duty of registrars is performed by the masters.
1888 Dict. National Biogr. at Dwarris, Sir Fortunatus William Lilley He was a member of the commission for examining into the municipal corporations, a master of the queen's bench, recorder of Newcastle-under-Lyme, and counsel to the board of health.
1927 Dict. National Biogr. 1912–21 at Macdonell, Sir John In 1889 he was made a master of the Supreme Court, and in 1912 he became senior master and King's Remembrancer.
1958 B. Bennett This was a Man 119 A man was charged with defamatory libel on the Master of the Cape Supreme Court by publishing a scurrilous letter about him.
1986 M. Berlins Law & You (1988) 476/1 In London each division has its own officers, known as masters in the Queen's Bench and Chancery Divisions.
2000 Dominion (Wellington) 12–13 July 8 Master Anne Gambrill was told yesterday that the creditor that had petitioned for bankruptcy..had withdrawn its opposition... The master reserved her decision after hearing from lawyers for the bank.
†B. adj.
In predicative use, with infinitive: consummately suited or supremely equipped (to perform a specified action). Also (occasionally) with in and noun phrase, or without postmodifier after more, most. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > ability > skill or skilfulness > [adjective] > masterly > predicatively
masterc1325
c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) 9325 Þe erl of meles..fol is of luþerhede; maister he is to bi traye.
c1480 (a1400) St. Christopher 90 in W. M. Metcalfe Legends Saints Sc. Dial. (1896) I. 342 I come..trowand..þat þu the maste master [L. majorem et potentiorem] had bene; bot now, me think, þe dewil mare master is þane þu.
1490 W. Caxton tr. Foure Sonnes of Aymon (1885) xxiv. 499 I am mayster for to begge brede.
a1500 Wisdom of Solomon (Cambr. Kk.1.5) in R. Girvan Ratis Raving & Other Early Scots Poems (1939) 185 It is nocht to a man to strif agane mar mastir than hyme-self in Iugment.
1642 T. Fuller Holy State v. vii. 387 He was a man master in the art of dissembling.
1722 A. Ramsay Monk & Miller's Wife 137 Think ye..his gentle stamock's master To worry up a pint of plaister.

Compounds

C1. Used appositively in the sense ‘that is a master’.
a. Prefixed to the designation of a person, with the sense ‘chief’, ‘leading’, ‘commanding’. Now rare in general sense, except in master-spirit (somewhat poetic, perhaps echoing quots. 1607 or a1616).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > esteem > reputation > fame or renown > famous or eminent person > [noun]
kingeOE
master-spiritc1175
douzepersc1330
sire1362
worthya1375
lantern1382
sira1400
greatc1400
noblec1400
persona1425
lightc1425
magnate?a1439
worthyman1439
personagec1460
giant1535
honourablec1540
triedc1540
magnifico1573
ornament1573
signor1583
hero1592
grandee1604
prominent1608
name1611
magnificent1612
choice spirita1616
illustricity1637
luminary1692
lion1715
swell1786
notable1796
top-sawyer1826
star1829
celebrity1831
notability1832
notoriety1841
mighty1853
tycoon1861
reputation1870
public figure1871
star turn1885
headliner1896
front-pager1899
legend1899
celeb1907
big name1909
big-timer1917
Hall of Famer1948
megastar1969
c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 7454 Wass maȝȝstre dwale. an defless þeww Þatt arriuss wass nemmnedd.
a1225 (?OE) MS Lamb. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 41 (MED) Þa welle bi-wisten xii meister deoflen swilc ha weren kinges.
c1300 (?c1225) King Horn (Cambr.) (1901) 642 (MED) Þat heued i þe bringe Of þe maister kinge.
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(1)) (1850) Jer. li. 23 I shal hurtle in thee dukes and the maister ȝugis [L. magistratus].
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) 13594 Þe maisters Iuus þan bigan To mistru o þis sinful seli man.
c1440 (c1350) Octovian (Thornton) 559 Þe mayster owtlawe spake þene.
c1449 R. Pecock Repressor (1860) 478 In ȝou schulen be maistris liers.
c1480 (a1400) St. Margaret 502 in W. M. Metcalfe Legends Saints Sc. Dial. (1896) II. 61 Scho ourcumyne had þe maister feynd.
a1500 (?c1450) Merlin 436 (MED) Merlin is maister counseller to kynge Arthur.
1575 W. Stevenson Gammer Gurtons Nedle iv. ii. sig. Diiv The master deuil Belsabub.
1590 J. Stockwood Eng. Accidence sig. Aiijv My master schollers of the higher forms.
1607 B. Jonson Volpone Ep. Ded. sig. ¶4 The great and Maister Spirits of our World. View more context for this quotation
a1616 W. Shakespeare Julius Caesar (1623) iii. i. 164 The Choice and Master Spirits of this Age. View more context for this quotation
1616 B. Jonson Epicœne iii. vi, in Wks. I. 562 That falls out often, madame, that he that thinkes himselfe the master-wit, is the master -foole. View more context for this quotation
1617 Janua Linguarum To Prince Whose but yours, that are a maister-prince.
1644 J. Milton Areopagitica 4 A good Booke is the pretious life-blood of a master spirit.
1701 N. Rowe Ambitious Step-mother iii. iii See where the Master Villain stands!
1726 A. Pope tr. Homer Odyssey V. xxiv. 26 Yet still a master ghost, the rest he aw'd.
1759 W. Mason Caractacus 84 The master-mover in this business.
1776 H. More Let. (1925) 30 Oh, that thy master-spirit..could recall the blushes..of female modesty!
1849 A. Alison Hist. Europe from French Revol. (new ed.) VIII. xlix. 101 The master-spirit had fled from the helm, when Lord Wellesley embarked for England.
1849 W. E. Aytoun Execution Montrose vii The master-fiend Argyle!
1866 C. Kingsley Hereward the Wake II. vi. 83 One of those unfathomable master-personages.
1877 J. A. Symonds Renaissance in Italy vi. 323 How those mighty master spirits watched the sphering of new planets in the spiritual skies.
1970 R. Davies Fifth Business ii. vii. 114 At that moment Deptford was the whole world—we were the master-spirits of the evening.
1993 Conjunctions (Credos Issue) 357 I keep a revenge diary..in which I honor master-spirits and flay dolts.
b. Prefixed to designations of office or employment, to denote an official with authority over others similarly employed. Hence also in derivatives denoting particular offices. Now chiefly historical or merged in Compounds 1d.More established compounds of this type are given separately, at Compounds 6 or as main entries (as master builder n., etc.).
ΚΠ
a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 3412 Ilc ðhusent adde a meister wold, And vnder ðis tgen steres ben.
a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 3886 Eleazar..Was mad bissop and meister prest.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) 4435 (MED) Son was ioseph halden dere Wit þe maister jailere.
1450 Rolls of Parl. V. 192/1 Oure Maister Foster of the said Forest.
c1450 Alphabet of Tales (1905) II. 514 Þer was a kyng þat had a wardrop[er] þat was maister-shaper of his clothyng.
1455 Rolls of Parl. V. 312/2 The Maister Fostershipps of the Forestes of Macclesfeld, Mare and Moudreme.
1464 Rolls of Parl. V. 545/1 Offices of Maister Carpenter of oure Castell of Lancastre.
a1483 Liber Niger in Coll. Ordinances Royal Househ. (1790) 36 The clerk of Kychyn, and the master cooke for the mouthe, shall go see the King's servyse.
1485 Rolls of Parl. VI. 369/1 The Office of Maister Sergeauntship of the Vale of Monmouth.
c1500 (?a1437) Kingis Quair (1939) cxxv (MED) I fand..at the yate, The maister portare, callit Pacience.
1508 W. Kennedy Flyting (Chepman & Myllar) in Poems W. Dunbar (1998) I. 214 In Parise wyth the maister buriawe Abyde, and be his prentice.
1527 in J. S. Brewer Lett. & Papers Reign Henry VIII (1872) (modernized text) IV. ii. 1604 Paid to Rob. Hoggen, master cook with the King's grace.
1553–4 in J. H. Burton Reg. Privy Council Scotl. (1877) 1st Ser. I. 152 Ordanis my Lord Thesaurar to deliver furth the prenting irnis..to the Maister Cunyear.
1565 in J. H. Burton Reg. Privy Council Scotl. (1877) 1st Ser. I. 347 The offices of Chalmerlanerie and Maistir Ischearie.
1604 E. Grimeston tr. J. de Acosta Nat. & Morall Hist. Indies iii. x. 154 The report which the master Pilot that passed it made, seemeth notable vnto me.
1676 London Gaz. No. 1127/4 Mr. Chiffinch Master Falconer to His Majesty.
1682 G. Rose (title) A perfect school of instructions For the officers of the mouth. Shewing the whole art of..a master carver, a master butler, a master confectioner, a master cook, a master pastryman.
1702 London Gaz. No. 3822/4 Her Majesty has been pleased to constitute..William Bridges Esq.; Master Surveyor..of the Ordnance.
1862 J. Grant Capt. of Guard i. 7 The king's master butcher.
1888 Times 20 Sept. 7/4 The master sweater gets hold of a new hand..and pays him a shilling a day.
c. Prefixed to designations of occupation, activity, etc., to denote a person highly accomplished, skilled, or pre-eminent in the specified activity. Cf. senses A. 16, B.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > ability > skill or skilfulness > [adjective] > masterly
master1340
magistral1889
1340 Ayenbite (1866) 35 Þise byeþ þe mayster gaueleres.
c1450 Jacob's Well (1900) 123 (MED) Whanne þou hast a seruaunt þat takyth gouyll to þin vse..þou art mayster vsurere.
c1450 Alphabet of Tales (1904) I. 6 Þis Abbott said vnto þis maister thieff [etc.].
1565 T. Cooper Thesaurus Autolicus, a maister thiefe.
1601 P. Holland tr. Pliny Hist. World II. 515 That great architect and master deuiser, of Alexandria..Dinocrates.
1677 R. Gilpin Dæmonol. Sacra iii. ii. 11 We may rely upon the great Master-contriver, for relief..or deliverance; as there is need.
1736 R. Ainsworth Thes. Linguæ Latinæ Athleta, a master-wrestler, a champion.
1751 J. Harris Hermes i. vii. 111 The character of a Master-Artist, or Man of practical Wisdom.
1823 P. Egan Grose's Classical Dict. Vulgar Tongue (rev. ed.) Top-sawyer, signifies a man that is a master genius in any profession.
1850 Ld. Tennyson In Memoriam lxxxv. 126 And last the master-bowman, he Would cleave the mark. View more context for this quotation
1900 Westm. Gaz. 4 Jan. 1/3 The French consider the English the master-colonists of the world.
1930 Eng. Jrnl. 19 628 The Minnesota Quarterly is at present running a series of tales about a master criminal.
1939 E. Ambler Mask of Dimitrios ix. 162 Did you ever believe in the existence of the ‘master’ spy?.. Now I do.
1975 L. Deighton Yesterday's Spy vi. 54 Champion was some kind of master spy.
1990 Brit. Jrnl. Photogr. 19 July 4/1 The darkroom established..by master black and white printer Gene Nocon.
d. Prefixed to designations of trade, to denote a craftsman or workman who is a master as distinguished from an apprentice or journeyman, or who employs others.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > worker > workers according to type of work > manual or industrial worker > [adjective] > expert or on own account
mastera1400
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) 1666 Þi self sal be þe maister wright.
1444 Rolls of Parl. V. 112/2 Ye wages of eny..maister Carpenter excede not by the day iiiid.
1444 Rolls of Parl. V. 112/2 A maister Tyler or Sclatter.
1484 W. Caxton tr. G. de la Tour-Landry Bk. Knight of Tower (1971) viii. 21 It cam from the handes of the maystre goldsmythe.
1496 in M. Oppenheim Naval Accts. & Inventories Henry VII (1896) 180 iiij Smythes..iij of theym takyng..xvd by the weke... And the iiijth as Maister Smyth viijs vjd.
a1555 D. Lindsay Tragedie in Dialog Experience & Courteour (1559) sig. Svijv Ane Baxster, Browster, or ane maister Cuke.
1647 R. Stapleton tr. Juvenal Sixteen Satyrs 81 The master-barber now Trimms thee.
1661 S. Pepys Diary 11 Feb. (1970) II. 35 Mr. Kennard the Maister-Joyner at White-hall.
1683 J. Moxon Mech. Exercises II. 9 I Shall begin with the Office of a Master-Printer.
1739 C. Labelye Short Acct. Piers Westm. Bridge Pref. 4 I consulted the respective Master-Artificers.
1769 W. Falconer Universal Dict. Marine Transl. French Terms at Commissaire général de la marine To observe that the master-shipwrights do in nowise depart from the draught.
1776 A. Smith Inq. Wealth of Nations II. v. ii. 476 The rise which such a tax might occasion in the wages of manufacturing labour would be advanced by the master manufacturer. View more context for this quotation
1791 in Catal. Prints: Polit. & Personal Satires (Brit. Mus.) (1938) VI. 795 Afterwards worked Four Years as a Journeyman to a Master Taylor.
1804 M. Edgeworth Murad i, in Pop. Tales II. 212 In these disturbances, the master bakers frequently lose their lives.
1837 J. G. Lockhart Mem. Life Scott lxiv The master printer is entitled to an equal sum.
1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. II. viii. 274 The hold which master bakers and master tailors have on their journeymen.
1863 C. Kingsley Water-babies i. 5 He would be a man, and a master sweep.
1897 Daily News 8 Mar. 3/1 Mr. George Holder, master sinker, who had charge of the pit.
1933 Burlington Mag. Nov. 239/2 A master-clockmaker of the class of Thomas Tompion.
1964 W. L. Goodman Hist. Woodworking Tools ii. vii. 78 The wide-ranging migrations of the master-masons and master-carpenters of the Middle-Ages.
1987 K. Vonnegut Bluebeard (1988) xiii. 105 Dan..easily became a journeyman under another master engraver.
e. Prefixed to the name of an animal, to denote the leader of a herd, etc., or one of superior size or strength to the rest. Cf. senses A. 1b, A. 22a.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > animals collectively > [noun] > herd or flock > superior member of herd
master?a1500
a1500 R. Henryson tr. Æsop Fables: Lion & Mouse l. 1418 in Poems (1981) 57 The nobill lyoun..with his pow the maister mous he tuke.
1589 A. Fleming tr. Virgil Eclogs ix. 27 in A. Fleming tr. Virgil Bucoliks Take heed to meet the maistergote.
1680 W. Temple Ess. Orig. & Nature of Govt. in Miscellanea 56 This makes the Authority..of a Master-Buck in a numerous herd.
1692 R. L'Estrange Fables cccxxxiv. 292 A Master-Pike, that for his Bulk, Beauty, and Strength, was look'd upon to be the Prince of the River.
1725 A. Pope tr. Homer Odyssey II. ix. 523 The master Ram at last approach'd the gate.
1764 Museum Rusticum (1765) 3 xxxix. 175 A master hog deters a weaker from approaching.
1812 J. Sinclair Acct. Syst. Husbandry Scotl. i. 21 The cattle must often be injured..by master cattle preventing the others from feeding.
1850 R. Gordon-Cumming Five Years Hunter's Life S. Afr. I. i. 17 A princely master-stag.
1856 E. K. Kane Arctic Explor. II. xxii. 222 Toodla, our master-dog, was seized with a violent fit.
1886 R. Holland Gloss. Words County of Chester 220 Master cow, in most herds of cattle there is generally one cow to which all the others give way. She is called the ‘master cow’.
1907 J. G. Millais Newfoundland xv. 288 Three large companies of caribou, each governed by a master-stag.
1948 J. Taylor Afr. Rifles & Cartridges xiii. 307 Having shot three or four, including the Master Bull, he came to a solitary bull and killed him.
1985 Sci. Amer. Feb. 68/1 The challenger moves closer to the harem and the master stag moves out to meet him.
f. Chess and Bridge. Designating a player or play of the highest class at national or international level. Cf. sense A. 18a.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > board game > chess > [noun] > player > expert
grand master1841
master1852
chess-master1886
master1894
1894 J. Mason Princ. Chess 186 In the case of master players, a slight initial error..will permeate the remainder of the game.
1938 P. W. Sergeant Championship Chess 191 The Benoni Counter-Gambit had for years been out of favour in master-play.
1958 Listener 13 Nov. 803/1 It is really only in master chess..that knowledge of the latest variations and finesses becomes important.
1959 Listener 5 Nov. 794/1 You need not go as slow as the sixteen moves an hour customary in master practice.
1964 R. L. Frey & A. F. Truscott Official Encycl. Bridge 346/2 The American Contract Bridge League has developed a standard method of awarding points and fractional master points in all games under its auspices.
g. R.A.F. Prefixed to the designations of any of a number of posts, denoting a rank equivalent to that of warrant officer.
master aircrew n. the holders of this rank collectively.
ΚΠ
1946 Times 11 Sept. 8/4 The king has approved the designs for the new rank badges which will be worn by aircrew of the Royal Air Force below officer rank... Master aircrew will wear their badges on the lower sleeves, in the same position as the warrant officer's badge is worn.
1968 Air Force List 399/3 (heading) Master Air Electronic operators.
1976 Oxf. Times 3 Sept. 5/8 Master Engineer Richard Lewis Williams, formerly of RAF Brize Norton..has now moved to RAF Lossiemouth in Scotland.
C2. Applied in extended use to things, with the sense ‘main’, ‘principal’, ‘controlling’, ‘originating’.In such compounds master is generally construed as a noun, but in some cases the grammatical character of the compound is uncertain or fluctuating, and master may be considered to be functioning as an adjective.
a. Of material things. Esp. frequent in terms relating to building and the human body (in non-technical use), and later to machinery, electronics, etc.
master-altar n.
ΚΠ
1833 L. Ritchie Wanderings by Loire 116 The master-altar.
1876 Ferguson's Anecdotical Guide Mexico iv. 60/1 The one [sc. balustrade] which is around the master altar is of the same material, as well as the 62 statues which serve as chandeliers.
1985 J. Guillaud & M. Guillaud Altdorfer & Fantastic Realism in German Art 454/1 The sculptor, Hans Leinberger, was probably born towards 1480/1485 at Landshut in Bavaria, where he lived from 1513 to 1530. But, as his master altar in the collegiate church of Moosburg testifies, he seems to have worked there at a prior date.
master bathroom n.
ΚΠ
1921 Country Life (U.S.) Mar. 17/1 (advt.) Located near Country Club, a modern Colonial house containing four master bedrooms, two master bathrooms, three maids' rooms.
1991 House Beautiful Kitchens/Baths Winter 96/2 The modern master bathroom has come a long way from the 5′ × 7′ ‘necessary room’ carved from a corner of the master bedroom.
2011 S. Vanze in Bathroom Remodelling (rev. ed.) 20/2 A luxuriously appointed large master bathroom, built in an existing space, will end up costing $25,000 to $40,000.
master-beam n. also figurative
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > parts of building > framework of building > [noun] > members of
pan1284
balka1300
lacec1330
pautre1360
dorman1374
rib1378
montant1438
dormant?1454
transom1487
ground-pillar?a1500
barge-couple1562
spar foot1579
frankpost1587
tracing1601
sleeper1607
bressumer1611
master-beam1611
muntin1611
discharge1620
dormer1623
mounting post1629
tassel1632
baufrey1640
pier1663
storey post1663
breastplate?1667
mudsill1685
template1700
brow-post1706
brow-stone1761
runner1772
stretching beam1776
pole plate1787
sabliere1800
frame stud1803
bent1815
mounting1819
bond-timber1823
storey rod1823
wall-hold1833
wall-strap1833
truss-block1883
sleeper-beam1937
shell1952
1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Architrave,..the reason peece, or master beame (in buildings of timber).
a1649 W. Drummond Irene in Wks. (1711) 170 The Props, Stays, Master-beams of Religion, being Faith, Hope and Charity.
1923 C. M. Doughty Mansoul (rev. ed.) iii. 73 Crumble the hills, each master-beam shall break.
1995 R. Houk & S. Scott Tuzigoot Nat. Monument 5 Master beams held up the roofs. Resting on them were rafters of pinyon, juniper, cottonwood, sycamore and an occasional pine.
master bedroom n.
ΚΠ
1926 New Republic 7 Apr. p. iii (advt.) Large living-room and dining-room opening on court, four master bedrooms.
1945 G. Nelson & H. N. Wright Tomorrow's House ii. 12/2 The discussion continued in the privacy of the master bedroom.
1991 House Flair Mar.–Apr. 52/1 As in the master bedroom, Admiral has included a storage cupboard under the eaves.
† master-bone n. Obsolete
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > structural parts > bone or bones > types of bones > [noun]
ossicle1578
ossiculum1578
sucking-bone1648
master-bone1677
key-bone1791
bonelet1833
bladelet1859
interhaemal1880
1677 W. Vincent in Harleian Misc. (1809) II. 328 One hand being rotted from the wrist, that you may not only see through the master-bones, but also [etc.].
1800 C. Winter in W. Jay Wks. (1843) V. 157 The master-bone of my leg was broken.
† master-borough n. Obsolete rare
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > district in relation to human occupation > town as opposed to country > town or city > [noun] > chief town or capital city
headeOE
mother-boroughc1225
master-borougha1325
sedea1387
chief1393
master-townc1400
metropolitan?a1439
capital city1439
master citya1450
stade1481
metropolea1500
capital1525
seatc1540
head-place1546
chamber1555
mother city1570
metropolis1584
metropolite1591
madam-town1593
capital town1601
seat-town1601
metropolie1633
megapolis1638
county seat1803
Queen City1807
metrop1888
Metroland1951
a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 3881 Forð bi archim, ðat meister burg. Ðe desert aren he walkeden ðurg.
† master-bough n. Obsolete rare
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > part of plant > part of tree or woody plant > [noun] > bough or branch > main branch or bough
master-bough1615
master branch1667
tang1886
1615 W. Lawson Country Housewifes Garden (1626) 35 Let him spread as far as he list without any master-bough.
master branch n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > part of plant > part of tree or woody plant > [noun] > bough or branch > main branch or bough
master-bough1615
master branch1667
tang1886
1642 D. Rogers Naaman To Rdr. sig. A4 Yet they [sc. trees] have some Master and chiefe ones [sc. branches], into which the maine sap..is carried.]
1667 E. Waterhouse Short Narr. Fire London 131 A main Pillar and Master-branch in Englands Grandeur.
a1807 W. Wordsworth Prelude (1959) vi. 178 The trunk and master branches everywhere Were green with clustering ivy.
1973 N. Loftis Black Anima 105 What spiritual man..frolicking To and fro, cut off from Nature And her master branch, Needs to make him grow.
† master city n. Obsolete
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > district in relation to human occupation > town as opposed to country > town or city > [noun] > chief town or capital city
headeOE
mother-boroughc1225
master-borougha1325
sedea1387
chief1393
master-townc1400
metropolitan?a1439
capital city1439
master citya1450
stade1481
metropolea1500
capital1525
seatc1540
head-place1546
chamber1555
mother city1570
metropolis1584
metropolite1591
madam-town1593
capital town1601
seat-town1601
metropolie1633
megapolis1638
county seat1803
Queen City1807
metrop1888
Metroland1951
a1450 (c1410) H. Lovelich Hist. Holy Grail xxxviii. 72 (MED) I am he Of whom that thow In thy Maister Cyte A Chirche..dost Make.
c1485 ( G. Hay Bk. Law of Armys (2005) 44 Thair maister citee was als mekle as Rome.
master clock n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > instruments for measuring time > clock > [noun] > other types of clock
watch-clock1592
German clock1598
quarter clocka1631
wheel-clock1671
table clocka1684
month clock1712
astronomical clock1719
musical clock1721
repeater1725
Tompion1727
pulling clock1733
regulator1735
eight-day clock1741
regulator clock1750
French clock1757
repetition clock1765
day clock1766
striker1778
chiming clock1789
cuckoo-clock1789
night clock1823
telltale1827
carriage clock1828
fly-clock1830
steeple clock1830
telltale clock1832
skeleton clock1842
telegraph clock1842
star clock1850
weight-clock1850
prison clock1853
crystal clock1854
pillar scroll top clock1860
sheep's-head clock1872
presentation clock1875
pillar clock1880
stop-clock1881
Waterbury1882
calendar-clock1884
ting-tang clock1884
birdcage clock1886
sheep's head1887
perpetual calendar1892
bracket clock1894
Act of Parliament clock1899
cartel clock1899
banjo-clock1903
master clock1904
lantern clock1913
time clock1919
evolutionary clock1922
lancet clock1922
atomic clock1927
quartz clock1934
clock radio1946
real-time clock1953
organ clock1956
molecular clock1974
travelling clock2014
1904 G. F. Goodchild & C. F. Tweney Technol. & Sci. Dict. 384/1 Master clock, the timepiece controlling and actuating by electricity a series of dial works.
1951 S. J. Wise Electr. Clocks (ed. 2) iv. 67 An impulse clock or repeater clock is a device which receives the timed electrical impulses transmitted by a master clock.
1982 Giant Bk. Electronics Projects x. 463 Synchronized dividers inside A1..divide the 2 MHz master clock.
master computer n.
ΚΠ
1966 C. J. Sippl Computer Dict. & Handbk. 295/2 Stand-alone capability, a multiplexor designed to function independently of a host or master computer, either some of the time or all of the time.
1995 Atlantic Dec. 96/2 They give access to a master computer holding every telephone number in France.
master controller n.
ΚΠ
1908 V. Karapetoff Exper. Electr. Engin. xxxi. 723 The contactors..on all cars of a train are operated from two train wires, either of which may be energized from the master controller, operated by the motorman.
1958 I. C. F. Statham Coal Mining Pract. II. iv. 347 The overwind switches are connected through directional contacts in the master controller for the motor.
1996 C. Jenkins in P. Trynka Rock Hardware 62/1 The basic function of MIDI is to allow one instrument to be played from another..but it's commonly used to connect a master controller to an arsenal of instruments.
master-cord n.
ΚΠ
1623 W. Shakespeare & J. Fletcher Henry VIII iii. ii. 107 I would 'twer somthing yt would fret the string, The Master-cord on's heart. View more context for this quotation
1794 W. J. Mickle Siege of Marseilles ii. 257 An old hag once told me, That my friend's hands should tear my heart..and while it wrung the master-cord, With sleek adulterous smiles, should mock my woes.
1829 E. Griffith et al. Cuvier's Animal Kingdom VI. 520 For hoisting and adjusting the net there are two little cords, called master-cords.
1923 Trans. Soc. Motion Picture & Television Engin. 15 144 A cord attaching to the master cord in such a way that if the master cord be slacked the damper will drop open.
1996 R. Mancini et al. in T. S. Golosinski & G. Yuguang Mining Sci. & Technol. 681/2 Holes charging: single strand of 12 g/m cord, water stemmed (simultaneous detonation by means of a master cord, primed by blasting cap + safety fuse).
master-current n.
ΚΠ
1817 S. T. Coleridge Biogr. Lit. 120 It is connected with master-currents below the surface.
1870 J. B. L. Warren Rehearsals 130 As a feather teased by some side-breeze Athwart the master-current of the wind.
1996 D. Rajagopalan et al. Modeling & Dynamic Anal. Paralleled Dc/dc Converters 5/1 While the Master converter current signal is used to regulate the output current of the slave converter, the master current is affected by response of the slave converter.
2014 S.-C. Liu et al. Event-based Neuromorphic Syst. xi. 267 This master current is a single reference current generated in a single circuit block in a specific location of a chip.
master cylinder n.
ΚΠ
a1929 H. T. Rutter Motors Today II. 643 Whenever any part of the system has been disconnected, with the exception of the supply tank and tube leading from it to the master cylinder, it is necessary to ‘bleed’ the system.
1998 Automotive Engineer June 37/1 The master cylinder has likewise been designed to deform according to a predetermined pattern.
master-dish n.
ΚΠ
1960 W. H. Auden Homage to Clio 26 Doomed to observe Beauty peck at a master-dish.
master drain n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > preparation of land or soil > ditching or drainage > [noun] > ditch
dikec893
gripa1000
ditch1045
fosselOE
water-furrowlOE
sow1316
furrowc1330
rick1332
sewer1402
gripplec1440
soughc1440
grindle1463
sheugh1513
syre1513
rain?1523
trench1523
slough1532
drain1552
fowsie?1553
thorougha1555
rean1591
potting1592
trink1592
syver1606
graft1644
work1649
by-ditch1650
water fence1651
master drain1652
rode1662
pudge1671
gripe1673
sulcus1676
rhine1698
rilling1725
mine1743
foot trench1765
through1777
trench drain1779
trenchlet1782
sunk fence1786
float1790
foot drain1795
tail-drain1805
flow-dike1812
groopa1825
holla1825
thorough drain1824
yawner1832
acequia madre1835
drove1844
leader1844
furrow-drain1858
1652 W. Blith Eng. Improver Improved ix. 56 Thither draw a good substantial Master-drain through all thy Lands.
1797 A. Young Gen. View Agric. Suffolk 157 A carrier or master drain, into which all the single drains empty themselves.
2000 Re: Pump Problem in alt.firefighters (Usenet newsgroup) 22 Mar. Before you start spinning wrenches, check the master drain.
master-feeder n.
ΚΠ
1790 T. Wright Advantages & Method Watering Meadows (ed. 2) 19 The bottom of the first work, or master-feeder, ought to be as deep as the bottom of the river.
1996 Okay, I don't get It in news.software.nntp (Usenet newsgroup) 10 Oct. System A shares a wire with the master feeder, while System B is several hops away.
† master fortress n. Obsolete rare
ΚΠ
a1500 (?c1450) Merlin 110 (MED) Bretell com to the maister forteresse.
master furrow n. Attested earliest as a field name.
ΚΠ
1370 in Cal. Fine Rolls (1924) VIII. 80 [2 acres and 3 roods in] Maystreffure [sown with barley and twice ploughed].
1649 W. Blith Eng. Improver xviii. 109 A good Drayne or Master Furrow.
1808 J. Walker Econ. Hist. Hebrides I. 168 The master-furrow at the head of the field..should be led in a very gentle slope, that the water may no where run with rapidity.
1870 Eng. Mech. 28 Jan. 485/2 Cutting all the short furrows into the master furrow [on a millstone].
1921 A. Millar Wheat & its Products x. 117 The face of the stone has two or three short furrows parallel to each master furrow, forming a ‘harp’.
2008 D. C. McVarish Amer. Industr. Archaeol. xi. 241/2 The furrows in the stone were arranged in groups known as harps or quarters, each group consisting of a ‘master furrow’ running from the eye of the stone to the outer edge.
master-gate n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > condition of being open or not closed > an opening or aperture > [noun] > opening which may be passed through > gate or gateway > principal gate
master-gate1340
foregate1503
1340 Ayenbite (1866) 249 (MED) Þe mouþ..is þe mayster gate of þe castele of þe herte.
a1500 (?c1450) Merlin 422 He com to the maister yate of the paleys.
c1720 N. Dubois & G. Leoni tr. A. Palladio Architecture II. iii. 7 The chief Entry, or Master gate.
1998 Re: Sad Sight on Test Center in rec.games.computer.ultima.online (Usenet newsgroup) 8 Feb. I created a new character and walked through a Master Gate to do exactly what you do.
† master gonfanon n. Obsolete rare
ΚΠ
c1330 (?a1300) Arthour & Merlin (Auch.) (1973) 5638 (MED) Her maister gomfainoun so bar Þe kinges steward.
master line n.
ΚΠ
1603 A. Top Oliue Leafe sig. D2 The first is discerned by exalting the line Constant and transparence of the leafe. The second, by raysing of the line Constant, and counterpoyse of the stroke Diuers and Maister line. The third, by exalting the stroke Diuers to the head of the line Constant, the Constant and the Maister lines desubtending it.
1772 J. Robertson Elem. of Navigation II. (ed. 2) 6 Parallel to each curtin and face draw lines, within, at the distances from the master-line, of 7 feet, 8 feet, 12 feet, and 18 feet.
1833 H. Straith Treat. Fortif. 3 The measurements..are calculated..from the cordon, which..is called the magistral or master line.
1962 M. Kennedy & T. G. Samworth Checkering & Carving of Gunstocks 22/2 Get yourself and the cradle into a comfortable position, so that when you grasp the spacer and lay one side in a master line, the whole tool and your forearm is in line with the master line.
2001 R. O. Naess Optics for Technol. Students xix. 300 Establishing a master line with the line scope involves the following steps: 1. placing the center of the telescope's objective lens, with its cross line target, on the master line; [etc.].
master-list n.
ΚΠ
1962 Y. Malkiel in F. W. Householder & S. Saporta Probl. Lexicogr. 9 Fragmentary master-lists of the items.
1994 Independent on Sunday 20 Feb. (Business section) 15/1 The task of compiling the masterlist of the country's biggest-selling singles and albums.
master lode n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > minerals > mineral deposits > [noun] > vein > principal
master-vein1670
master lode1671
mother-lode1863
masterly lode1868
1671 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 6 2100 The ancient Tinners..affirm, that 7 Loads may lie parallel to each other in the same Hill, but yet one only Master-Load.
1758 W. Borlase Nat. Hist. Cornwall xiv. 148 That the little collateral veins are oftentimes filled, and at the same depth with like substance to the master-lode, will convince us that they were filled at the same time, by one and the same cause.
1822 Trans. Royal Geol. Soc. Cornwall 2 328 It [sc. the slate floor] is about a foot thick, and occupies the space between a side lode and a neighbouring master- lode, which is from twelve to eighteen feet.
1908 Daily Chron. 23 Dec. 5/7 A fine vein of lead ore..presenting all the characteristics of a master lode.
1987 E. F. Marina Mining Industr. Spain 78/2 The ore deposit consists of a series of hydrothermal quartz lodes,..of varied lengths from tens of metres up to the 1,400 m of the master-lode.
† master-metal n. Obsolete rare
ΚΠ
1813 T. Busby tr. Lucretius Nature of Things vi. Comm. xxiii On account of its exerting its influence upon iron (the master-metal),..the tragedian termed it the Herculean stone.
† master-moulding n. Obsolete rare
ΚΠ
1723 E. Chambers tr. S. Le Clerc Treat. Archit. I. 75 The Corona..is the first Master-Moulding in the Corniche.
master oscillator n.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > telecommunication > radio communications > radio equipment > [noun] > radio set > oscillators
local oscillator1904
squegger1921
master oscillator1928
LO1946
1928 G. E. Sterling & R. S. Kruse Radio Man. viii. 305 The tuning of this type of circuit consists fundamentally of setting the master oscillator at the desired wavelength and then resonating the antenna circuit for maximum antenna current.
1989 IEEE Jrnl. Quantum Electronics 25 1720/1 Injection locking is based on the use of a master oscillator and a slave oscillator. The master oscillator provides high-frequency resolution and mode quality.
† master pillar n. Obsolete
ΚΠ
?c1450 tr. Bk. Knight of La Tour Landry (1906) 93 Sampson..was ladde to..the maister pillour of the halle.
a1500 (?a1400) Firumbras (1935) 792 (MED) Þe mayster pyler of þe tour flamed alle on fyre.
† master-pock n. Obsolete
ΚΠ
1601 A. Dent Plaine Mans Path-way to Heauen 37 It is a maister deuil, and the maister pock of ye soule.
1654 J. Trapp Comm. Job xxxiii. 17 Which else, as a Master-pock, will break out in his forehead.
master post n.
ΚΠ
1570 J. Foxe Actes & Monumentes (rev. ed.) I. 205/2 A certayne great beame or masterpost was losed out of ye place.
2004 Re: Roc Master Posts in uk.rec.subterranea (Usenet newsgroup) 19 Apr. I am reliably informed that Master Posts were chosen by British Telecom who indicated which Post in the Cluster was most ideal from their point of view in relation to land-line length, strength of signal etc. etc.
master river n.
ΚΠ
1677 A. Yarranton England's Improvem. 64 The Thames and Severne are the two great Master Rivers.
2001 Re: Literary Paper Trails in humanities.lit.authors.shakespeare (Usenet newsgroup) 10 Feb. They'll publish maps of new tributaries to known master-rivers but not of new master-rivers, or of tributaries to not-yet-discovered master-rivers.
† master sail n. Obsolete rare
ΚΠ
1555 R. Eden tr. Peter Martyr of Angleria Decades of Newe Worlde f. 195 They..sayle with twoo sayles as with the master sayle and the trinkette.
master-screw n.
ΚΠ
1902 Encycl. Brit. XXXIII. 809/2 The screw is an important productive measuring instrument, whether used as a micrometer-screw of less than an inch in length, or as a master-screw of 20 feet in length.
1966 E. A. Battison in Contrib. from Museum Hist. & Technol. (Smithsonian Instit., Bull. 240) xxxvii. 117/1 We are not told, however, how he originated this master screw which is used to produce the accurately threaded work pieces.
2004 B. Lawton Early Hist. Mech. Engin. II. xix. 970 The work to be screwed protruded from the master screw, to which it was fastened, and was supported in a tailstock.
† master-shoot n. Obsolete
ΚΠ
1651 in S. Hartlib Legacie 131 The second yeare in February you are to prune off all from the Master or Middle shoote.
1712 J. James tr. A.-J. Dézallier d'Argenville Theory & Pract. Gardening 173 Bringing the two Sides as near as possible to the Master-Shoot.
1738 W. Ellis Timber-tree Improved I. i. 16 Then may be drawn all that are superfluous, and only the Master-shoot left.
master-star n. now rare
ΚΠ
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) 527 (MED) Seuen maister sterns er sette in heuen.
1904 W. de la Mare Henry Brocken vi. 62 The master-stars shone earlier here.
2001 S. Miller Planets & Possibilities 131 The Romans felt that Aldebaran was a master star because it was the star that allowed astrologers to measure all longitude.
master stem n.
ΚΠ
1601 P. Holland tr. Pliny Hist. World II. 23 If their leaves bee cropt off before the maister stem or spire be growne big.
2004 www2.woodcraft.com 11 May (O.E.D. Archive) Use a contour gauge copy to copy the gauge of the master stem.
† master street n. Obsolete
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > means of travel > route or way > way, path, or track > street > [noun] > main
master streetc1385
high street1548
town-gate1570
main street1598
master way1726
the main drag1851
main drag1851
main stem1900
c1385 G. Chaucer Knight's Tale 2902 The nobleste..carieden the beere..Thurgh out the citee by the maister strete.
a1522 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid (1957) ii. vi. 115 Amyd the cite we held the master streit.
1700 J. Dryden Chaucer's Palamon & Arcite iii. 942 They..through the Master-Street the Corps convey'd.
1906 C. M. Doughty Dawn in Brit. I. iv. 165 To arms, run Clusians, in their master street.
master-string n.
ΚΠ
1713 N. Rowe Jane Shore iii. i. 34 He touch'd me Ev'n on the tend'rest Point; the Master-string That makes most Harmony or Discord to me.
1768 W. Donaldson Life Sir Bartholomew Sapskull II. 82 Touching the master-string of her genius.
1888 J. Ingelow Poems 88 To teach Mankind..the hidden harmony That underlies God's discords, and to reach And touch the master-string that like a sigh Thrills in their souls.
1953 J. Weaver Mr. O'Hara ii. 18 Hundreds of little strings were tied to objects which in turn had stronger strings that flowed into a master string.
2001 L. Ullman PHP for World Wide Web v. 63 First you must enter in the master string from which your sub-string will be derived.
master suite n.
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > parts of building > room > suite of rooms > [noun] > others
enfilade1727
subhouse1818
showroom1863
master suite1966
1966 R. Standish Widow Hack vi. 71 There is a lovely curved staircase leading from the hall to the two master suites.
1992 Better Homes & Gardens: Building Ideas Spring 27/2 (caption) The 1,000-square-foot master suite ‘is like a cocoon’, a remote and cozy apartment.
master switch n.
ΚΠ
1907 A. Hay Introd. Course Continuous Current Engin. xvi. 284 A small switch which is arranged to control simultaneously a number of larger switches is spoken of as a master switch.
1985 Salter's Catal. 1985–6 199/2 Deluxe pocket memo with four-position masterswitch.
master temple n.
ΚΠ
c1430 (c1386) G. Chaucer Legend Good Women 1016 The mayster temple of al the toun.
1999 Latest from Mendota in alt.native (Usenet newsgroup) 28 July The god who wants a faster road to the master temple, the Mall of America.
master tissue n. now rare
ΚΠ
1894 Internat. Jrnl. Microsc. & Nat. Sci. 13 226 This master-tissue is called the Central Nervous System.
1922 F. P. Millard Appl. Anatomy of Lymphatics vii. 137 The exception..is nervous tissue, which comes directly from the ectodermal layer, but it goes through so much differentiation, this master tissue, that it is hardly just to classify it with epithelium.
1950 Amer. Mercury Feb. 163/1 Please note again that Mathews considers the brain as important as the nerves. Brain and nerves make the master tissue.
master tooth n.
ΚΠ
1601 P. Holland tr. Pliny Hist. World II. 341 The great master teeth and grinders of a wolfe.
1678 E. Phillips New World of Words (new ed.) at Crochet Among Hunters, the chief master Teeth of a Fox, are called Crochets.
1995 Re: Wonderful Skate Shop in rec.sport.skating.ice.recreational (Usenet newsgroup) 19 May The master tooth of a dance blade is rounded.
master tower n.
ΚΠ
c1395 G. Chaucer Squire's Tale 226 The mirour..born was vp vn to the maister tour.
a1500 (?c1450) Merlin 197 Thei lete blowe an horn in the maister toure.
1906 C. M. Doughty Dawn in Brit. I. iii. 121 Set strong guard, Heremod went, Up hastily and Brennus, to their master tower, Builded of great squared stones, with gates of bronze.
1923 Archit. & Building Mar. 23/2 The controlling or master tower is at forty-second street, but the system is such that any tower may be made the master tower.
2006 Broadcasting & Cable 19 June 28/1 The station groups have to decide whether they want to build separate towers, as before, or cooperate on a master tower supporting both stations.
† master-town n. Obsolete
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > district in relation to human occupation > town as opposed to country > town or city > [noun] > chief town or capital city
headeOE
mother-boroughc1225
master-borougha1325
sedea1387
chief1393
master-townc1400
metropolitan?a1439
capital city1439
master citya1450
stade1481
metropolea1500
capital1525
seatc1540
head-place1546
chamber1555
mother city1570
metropolis1584
metropolite1591
madam-town1593
capital town1601
seat-town1601
metropolie1633
megapolis1638
county seat1803
Queen City1807
metrop1888
Metroland1951
c1400 (?a1300) Kyng Alisaunder (Laud) (1952) 7801 (MED) Alisaundre of his regioun Þouȝth þere make þe maister toun.
c1430 (c1386) G. Chaucer Legend Good Women 1591 The cite..That was the mayster-toun of al Colcos.
a1500 (c1400) St. Erkenwald (1977) 26 London..þe metropol and þe mayster-toun.
† master-turnip n. Obsolete rare
ΚΠ
1733 J. Tull Horse-hoing Husbandry x. 46 We contrive to leave the Master-Turneps..and spare such when near one another.
master-wave n.
ΚΠ
a1678 A. Marvell Unfortunate Lover in Misc. Poems (1681) 20 At last master-Wave Upon the Rock his Mother drave.
1840 F. Marryat Poor Jack xlii. 303 A master wave, as it is termed, from being of larger dimensions than its predecessors.
1923 R. Kipling Land & Sea Tales 214 Till the master-wave comes.
2010 A. Ferranté Google Wave iii. 55 When new participants (i.e., participants who are not part of the master wave) are added to a private conversation, they see the private conversation as a new wave, rather than a wavelet within another wave.
† master way n. Obsolete rare
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > means of travel > route or way > way, path, or track > street > [noun] > main
master streetc1385
high street1548
town-gate1570
main street1598
master way1726
the main drag1851
main drag1851
main stem1900
1726 G. Leoni tr. L. B. Alberti Architecture I. 80/1 The Houses of Princes..shou'd have an entrance from the Master Way.
master-wheel n.
ΚΠ
1640 E. Reynolds Treat. Passions x The Master-wheel or first mover in all the regular motions of this passion [sc. Love] is the Love of God.
1777 W. Mason Epist. Dr. Shebbeare 17 One master-wheel directs the whole machine.
1878 H. Bonar My Old Lett. (ed. 2) ii. 54 'Tis the one master-wheel that moves the mill, The rest do only what the master bids them.
1953 Canad. Patent 494,467 20 The coupling wheel is coupled to the master wheel by way of an intermediate gear wheel rotatably mounted on stationary mounting means in the [clutch] mechanism.
2001 T. J. Sergiovanni Leadership i. 5 It follows from this tidy and orderly clockworks view that the task of leadership is to gain control and regulate the master wheel and master pin.
master-wire n.
ΚΠ
1761 C. Churchill Night 12 Let but the puppets move, I've my desire, Unseen the hand which guides the Master-wire.
2003 Re: Parallel Inverters? in rec.outdoors.rv-travel (Usenet newsgroup) 13 Mar. Connect the master wire to the corresponding slave wires.
b. Applied to immaterial things.
master-appetite n.
ΚΠ
1744 E. Young Complaint: Night the Seventh 43 Great Nature's Master-appetite destroy'd!
2004 planet.tvi.cc.nm.us 11 May (O.E.D. Archive) He felt that Aristocracy would likely degenerate into Timocracy (courage is valued above reason), Plutocracy (wealth is valued), Democracy (appetites rule), and then Despotism (a master appetite takes over).
master-argument n.
ΚΠ
1688 J. Bunyan Good News for Vilest of Men 133 This is Satans master Argument.
1997 Re: Q: Smalltalk for Numerical Computations in sci.math.num-analysis (Usenet newsgroup) 12 Oct. It has (say) 10-1,000 actions that operate on arguments from two or more data classes, often where there is no clear ‘master’ argument.
master-bias n.
ΚΠ
1807 W. Wordsworth Poems I. 34 A Soul whose master bias leans To home-felt pleasures.
1977 Audio May 22/1 ATR-100 units are normally shipped from the Ampex factory set for 15/7% ips operation, with a fourspeed master bias.
2014 S.-C. Liu et al. Event-based Neuromorphic Syst. xi. 265 This master bias circuit is often called the constant gm circuit because the gm of a transistor biased with current Im is independent of temperature for both weak and strong inversion operation of the master bias.
master-cause n.
ΚΠ
1677 A. Horneck Great Law Consideration (1704) v. 240 The master-cause [of misery] is the want of consideration.
1999 Re: Maillard Reaction & Aging in sci.life-extension (Usenet newsgroup) 26 Mar. But I have not heard of one even possible ‘master’ cause of the entire aging process.
master conscience n.
ΚΠ
1649 J. Milton Εικονοκλαστης ii. 21 We may consider..what..feeling could be in that conscience, and what fitness to be the maister conscience of three Kingdomes.
1997 Re: Marty & Daniel in alt.fan.dune (Usenet newsgroup) 20 Aug. By ingesting so many beings, they developed a ‘master conscience’ which governs their vast abilities.
master-coup n.
ΚΠ
1939 R. Campbell Flowering Rifle vi. 148 The cynic master-coup of propaganda.
master-dream n.
ΚΠ
1900 F. W. Bourdillon Through Gateway 8 For you I have written; no laboured scheme Of life and dust and duty; But the master dream of a life of dream, And the faith of a flower's beauty.
1928 E. Blunden Japanese Garland 21 Sleep's master-dream there stands alone: The tower of East and West!
1974 A. S. Bernardo Petrarch, Laura, & Triumphs vii. 128 The poet speaks of the end of a dream and the coming of dawn, but all within the continuing master dream that has given the poem its form from its very opening.
2002 J. H. Feldman Driving under Influence of Angels x. 151 Sing a song of attunement with the Master Dream that is within you.
† master-error n. Obsolete rare
ΚΠ
1674 W. Allen Danger of Enthusiasm 96 I deem it a Mother and a Master-Error.
master exercise n.
ΚΠ
a1616 W. Shakespeare Othello (1623) ii. i. 262 Hard at hand comes the Master, and maine exercise.
2004 www.personalitytype.com 11 May (O.E.D. Archive) Reproducible master exercises and profiles for each of the 16 types.
master fact n. now rare
ΚΠ
1819 Antijacobin Rev. & Protestant Advocate Aug. 592 Now..upon a calm review of what we have said, particularly with regard to the master fact..we do, in the sincerest conviction of its truth, re-assert it.
1848 Eclectic Rev. Oct. 503 The master fact can be stated very briefly.
1895 R. W. Church Pascal & Other Serm. xiv. 242 The authority of the Christian Church, the witness of Christendom, however disturbed and impaired by divisions and sins, is yet the master fact of our history and our society, the master fact of all our own lives.
1930 ‘F. Morison’ Who moved Stone? iii. 52 In some ways this is the master fact of the situation. When we know that, we have the key to what is surely the strangest episode in history.
1954 Belfast Tel. 16 July 4 Europeans might comment that China is an instance where the Americans have..not learned from their mistakes. But the master fact is surely that the West's common interests are greater than their differences.
† master-feeling n. Obsolete
ΚΠ
1806 T. S. Surr Winter in London II. ii. 28 This master-feeling of his soul.
1817 Analectic Mag. July 67 It becomes a war of extermination; and some master-feeling, or favourite idea, finally gains and keeps the ascendancy.
1870 Pall Mall Gaz. 27 Sept. 11 Is it that Venice..sympathizes but faintly and half-heartedly with the master feeling of Italian aspirations?
1903 N. Almirall Master-feeling i. 98 ‘Oh, if we only knew that master-feeling.’ A moment's pause. ‘Some of us do’, said the man gravely.
master form n.
ΚΠ
1646 Sir T. Browne Pseudodoxia Epidemica iii. xvii. 147 Other degenerations which come up in unexpected shapes, when they want the support..of the primary and master-formes . View more context for this quotation
1992 R. Weintraub in M. Blonsky Amer. Mythologies p. xi It was the model of the ‘human sciences’, which..dominated thought..by its promotion of linguistics as the master form of decoding.
master-fulcrum n.
ΚΠ
1957 T. Hughes Hawk in Rain 11 And I..strain towards the master-Fulcrum of violence where the hawk hangs still.
master-genius n.
ΚΠ
a1711 T. Ken Hymnotheo x, in Wks. (1721) III. 293 Had Athens..To our great Homer's Master-genius bow'd..They [etc.].
1823 A. T. de Vere Duke of Mercia i. 49 Tis ever thus the master-genius Subdues the meaner slaves of crime.
1909 J. C. Kleber Master Spirit vii. 139 It is thus that the master genius Michael Angelo said that the true work of art is but a shadow of the divine perfection.
2009 E. Showalter Jury of her Peers iv. 54 [Margaret] Fuller herself was an outstanding candidate for the position of American poet-hero and master genius.
master-idea n.
ΚΠ
1818 S. T. Coleridge Friend (new ed.) I. 193 The three Master Ideas, announced in the foregoing pages.
1985 J. M. Roberts Triumph of West ix. 288 Politically speaking, nationalism is the master-idea of the last century and a half.
† master-jest n. Obsolete rare
ΚΠ
1678 S. Butler Hudibras: Third Pt. iii. ii. 148 And who shall break the master-jest, And what, and how, upon the Rest.
master light n.
ΚΠ
1807 W. Wordsworth Ode in Poems II. 155 Those shadowy recollections, Which..Are yet a master light of all our seeing. View more context for this quotation
1915 W. E. Lawson Master Light iv. 98 We feel that the truth..is the ultimate truth of God; the fountain light of all our day, the master light of all our seeing.
1998 P. W. McNamara et al. in W. M. Folkner Laser Interferometer Space Antenna 144 The two beams along the locking path are a) approximately half of the slave laser light, and b) a tiny fraction of the master light.
† master-lust n. Obsolete rare
ΚΠ
1785 W. Cowper Task v. 618 His master-lust Falls first before his resolute rebuke.
† master-miracle n. Obsolete rare
ΚΠ
1647 J. Trapp Comm. Epist. & Rev. (1 Cor. xiii. 2) Removing of mountains is instanced, because noted by our Saviour as a master-miracle.
† master-mischief n. Obsolete rare
ΚΠ
a1709 R. Illidge in M. Henry Life (1710) 65 Atheism..is the Master-mischief of this Age.
master motive n.
ΚΠ
1823 S. J. B. Hale Genius of Oblivion ii. 32 Not that the beauties of the way On his pall'd sense unrelished stole—But one strong purpose will control, One master motive rule the soul!
1860 J. S. Mill Consider. Represent. Govt. (1865) 51/1 The guiding and master motives in the conduct of average human beings.
1999 R. F. Baumeister Self in Social Psychol. 178/2 A more recent work by the same authors..proposes that fear of death and the resulting desire for self-preservation is the ‘master motive’ from which all other motives can be derived.
master-passion n.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > passion > [noun] > controlling passion
master-passion1639
1639 L. Carlell Arviragus & Philicia ii. i. sig. E6 Never can that love grow up to such a pitch, to injure friendship, the master passion.
1733 A. Pope Ess. Man ii. 121 One Master Passion in the Breast, Like Aaron's Serpent, swallows up the rest.
1843 C. Dickens Christmas Carol ii. 65 I have seen your nobler aspirations fall off..until the master-passion, Gain, engrosses you.
1891 E. Arnold Light of World v. 224 Passions o'ercome, when master-passion springs To serve and love and succour.
1904 W. C. Sprague Felice Constant xx. 277 Shall we be cruel—heartless? Ah, let those who have possessed the consuming master passion answer.
1982 B. R. Nelson Western Polit. Thought ii. 44 The despotic ruler eliminates wisdom from the soul entirely and subordinates everything to the satiation of a master passion.
† master-power n. Obsolete
ΚΠ
1806 M. G. Lewis Adelgitha v. 115 Yet that one Master-power produced and governs This universal globe.
1821 W. Hazlitt Table-talk I. v. 96 His mind grappled with that which afforded the best exercise to its master-powers.
1864 E. Cook New Echoes 11 Let us see something of the master-power Which made ‘Da Vinci's’ limning half divine.
master principle n.
ΚΠ
1658 Sir T. Browne Hydriotaphia: Urne-buriall i. 6 Others conceived it most natural to end in fire, as due unto the master principle in the composition, according to the doctrine of Heraclitus.
1794 T. J. Mathias Pursuits of Lit. (1798) 118 A vindication of the great, original, master principles on which they were founded.
1833 T. De Quincey Cæsars in Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Jan. 51/2 The conflict was great between two master principles of his nature.
1996 K. Kress in D. Patterson Compan. Philos. of Law & Legal Theory xxxviii. 544 It is not strict monism, because it allows for disharmony among subprinciples and for subprinciples that do not flow from the master principle.
master programme n.
ΚΠ
1960 M. G. Say et al. Analogue & Digital Computers x. 293 An alternative..approach is to have a master-programme which calls in the subroutines in turn and may in addition perform a few other operations..such as counting and movement of data rather than the arithmetical parts.
1980 R. L. Duncan Brimstone xi. 272 We can't handle the master program..so we'll attack the subroutines.
master-proof n.
ΚΠ
1610 Bp. J. Hall Common Apol. against Brownists v. 14 I finde these as your Master-proofes, set as Challengers in every of your defences.
2000 Re: Are Magnetic Monopoles on our Horizon? in alt.sci.physics.new-theories (Usenet newsgroup) 20 Oct. Let me tell you that nonlocal phenomena are the master proof of the infinite continuum of the fabric of vacuum.
master reason n.
ΚΠ
1609 W. Shakespeare Pericles xix. 17 Her quirks, her reasons, her master reasons . View more context for this quotation
2002 Re: The Aether in sci.physics,alt.sci.physics.new-theories (Usenet newsgroup) 28 Mar. The only real master reason it is not accepted..is that the amateur and other politicians..do not in fact want to live honest or better.
† master-sin n. Obsolete
ΚΠ
1607 S. Hieron Good Fight in Wks. (1620) I. 227 Those master-sinnes, ignorance, contempt of the word and godlinesse.
a1627 T. Middleton & W. Rowley Changeling (1653) v. sig. I3 Here's beauty chang'd To ugly whoredom: here servant obedience To a master-sin.
master spell n.
ΚΠ
1816 Ld. Byron Childe Harold: Canto III cvii. 58 The lord of irony,—that master-spell, Which stung his foes to wrath.
1917 F. W. O. Ward Songs for Sufferers 28 Who shall tell Its power and passion, with the master spell That spurns misgivings under?
2009 C. Penczak Living Temple of Witchcraft II. 24 The master spell is a major working of transformational magick... The master spell represents a major working in your life, to transform yourself.
master-stratagem n.
ΚΠ
1647 J. Trapp Comm. Epist. & Rev. (2 Thess. ii. 7) Themselves will even smile in the triumphs of their own wits..as at a master-stratagem.
1698 E. Ravenscroft Ital. Husband iii. i. 33 That Ambush was my master Stratagem, 'Twas I contriv'd, and dress'd it out.
2004 www.gametalk.com 11 May (O.E.D. Archive) Hello, and welcome to my master stratagem column, where i will frequently post new tried and tested stratagies [sic].
master-tone n.
ΚΠ
1835 N. P. Willis Leper in Melanie 89 The voice was like the master-tone Of a rich instrument.
1857 J. W. Howe Words for Hour 114 We who aspire to harmonies divine, Taxing Creation for its master-tone.
1999 J. Chappell Recording Guitarist i. 23 Pickup controls: master volume vs. individual pickup, master tone vs. individual tone, etc.
† master-vice n. Obsolete
ΚΠ
1630 N. Richards Iesvite in Celestiall Publican sig. H4v That Myne of Murther, Mischiefes Master-vice, Lodg'd in the Politicque skull of Auarice.
1780 E. Burke Speech at Guildhall, Bristol in Wks. (1815) III. 359 That grand foe of the offices of active life, that master-vice in men of business, a degenerate and inglorious sloth.
1847 C. Dickens Dombey & Son (1848) xlvii. 458 Mr. Dombey's master-vice, that ruled him so inexorably.
1906 R. W. Chambers Fighting Chance iii. 56 It is ominous, it is more than ominous—it means that the master-vice has seized on one more Siward.
master virtue n.
ΚΠ
1833 T. Chalmers On Power of God (1835) II. x. 101 The great master and generic virtue.
1987 J. A. Coleman in J. S. Hawley Saints & Virtues Conclusion 219 In classical theories of virtue some master virtue—prudence, justice, or Stoic equanimity—was perceived as giving design to the series of which it was a part.
2003 D. Solomon in M. R. DePaul & L. T. Zagzebski Intellectual Virtue iii. 72 The central idea in master subordination is that there is a state of character, the master virtue, which is specified by the overall orientation of the ethical theory and which..will be the most important state of character for agents to possess.
master-voice n.
ΚΠ
a1843 W. Allston Lect. Art (1850) 325 What master-voice shall from the dim profound Of Thought evoke its fearful, mighty Powers?
1910 W. de la Mare Three Mulla-mulgars xiii. 174 Of its calm authority the master-voice said, ‘So shall it be.’
2004 D. Silsbee Mindful Coach Introd. 7 A master has the capacity to make skillful choices about what to become and how to interact with others. The Master Voice is central to coaching.
master-word n.
ΚΠ
1709 R. Steele Tatler No. 17. ⁋2 He is a Poet, and Merchant, which is seen in Two Master-Words, Credit Blossoms.
1871 M. Arnold in Cornhill Mag. July 32 The word ‘righteousness’ is the master-word of the Old Testament.
1976 G. C. Spivak in J. Derrida Of Grammatology p. lxxi He [sc. Derrida] does not hold on to a single conceptual master-word for very long.
c. Denoting something that serves as the original or pattern from which copies may be made (cf. sense A. 10).
master copy n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > relationship > imitation > [noun] > action of repeating in a copy or making a copy > master copy
master1930
master copy1960
1960 L. C. Nanassy & W. Selden Business Dict. 128 Master copy, the original stencil..from which quantities of copies are made.
1989 Adbusters Q. Winter 18/1 The Media Foundation will provide one-inch video master copies of all the commercials.
master disc n.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > record > recording or reproducing sound or visual material > sound recording and reproduction > a sound recording > [noun] > record or disc > original
master1904
lacquer disc1945
lacquer1946
master disc1951
1951 M. McLuhan Let. 18 June (1987) 225 The master discs were sent to Lib. of Congress from Harvard.
1980 M. Ross-Trevor in P. Gammond & R. Horricks Mus. goes round & Round vi. 117 The relationship between producer and engineer is a close one..right up until the final master-disc is cut.
1992 CU Amiga May 124/1 The installation program, a lengthy process which involves copying and unpacking the Easy AMOS files from the two master disks.
master pattern n. also figurative
ΚΠ
1922 G. T. Turner & B. Wood Man. Up-to-date Organisation 110 Mass Production is a continuous replica of a standardised master-pattern or design.
1948 H. Hall Home Dress-making Simplified xxxiii. 311 The safe plan, when remodeling, is to fit a master pattern in muslin... This pattern is then used as a guide for fitting the section when cutting.
1962 W. Nowottny Lang. Poets Use vi. 138 It is Eliot's peculiar insight..to have..expressed the longing for the master-pattern that will free us from the fret of a world in which there are too many equipollent patterns.
master tape n.
ΚΠ
1951 M. V. Wilkes et al. Prepar. Programs for Electronic Digital Computer i. vi. 43 The master tape is..used to prepare further copies by means of a duplicator.
1973 Daily Tel. 12 Oct. (Colour Suppl.) 29/2 The signals..from the master tape are then fed into the recording head that drives the cutting stylus.
1992 Gramophone Jan. 22/3 He doesn't listen to the finished edited mastertapes.
d. Bridge and Whist. Designating the master card (see master card n. 1) of the specified suit.
ΚΠ
1964 R. L. Frey & A. F. Truscott Official Encycl. Bridge 94/2 If East ruffs with his master trump, the six of spades wins the final trick.
1992 D. Roth Why Women win at Bridge x. 60 Any diamond allows South to complete the drawing of trumps on dummy after which she can enjoy the master spade.
C3. In contracted forms of certain titles of office.
† Master Household n. Obsolete an administrative officer of the Scottish royal household (cf. Master of the Household n. at sense A. 23a(g)).
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > office > holder of office > official of royal or great household > [noun] > chief > in royal household > specific officer under
Master Household1548
Master of the (King's, also Queen's) Household1554
1548 T. Fisher Let. 12 Oct. in H. Ellis Orig. Lett. Eng. Hist. (1846) 3rd Ser. III. 297 The Mr. housholde to the Quene.
a1578 R. Lindsay Hist. & Cron. Scotl. (1899) I. 334 Maister houshald witht mony wther offeceris.
1703 London Gaz. No. 3914/4 His Grace..was served at Table by..the Duke of Argyle, as Master Houshold.
† master-voyage n. Newfoundland Obsolete = master of voyage n. at sense A. 7c.
ΚΠ
1762 Ann. Reg. 1761 188 Every boat-master, splitter, and master voyage, who are the chief people among the [Newfoundland] fishermen and shoremen, being the catchers and curers of fish.
1832 J. McGregor Brit. Amer. I. 228 The splitter is next in rank to the foreman of the fishing-rooms, who is called master-voyage.
1897 Newfoundland Law Rep. 239 It appeared the master-voyage..had weighed out the fish to them.
C4. Objective, as master-killer, etc.; instrumental, as master-mortified adj.
ΚΠ
1608 J. Sylvester tr. G. de S. Du Bartas Deuine Weekes & Wks. (new ed.) ii. iv. 118 Art thou there, Zimri, cursed Paricide, Fell Maister-killer, canst thou choose but fear For like Offence, like punishment severe?
a1616 W. Shakespeare Antony & Cleopatra (1623) iv. x. 21 But let the world ranke me in Register A Master leauer, and a fugitiue. View more context for this quotation
1741 S. Richardson Pamela III. xv. 68 The poor, low, creeping, abject, Self-mortify'd and Master-mortify'd Mrs. Jewkes.
C5. Applied attributively to things, with the sense ‘relating to, proceeding from, or characteristic of a master’ (often with mixture of Compounds 2b), as master-duty, master-fascination, master-game, †master-reach, master-throw, etc. Cf. master hand n. at Compounds 6; masterpiece n., masterstroke n.
ΚΠ
1622 F. Bacon Hist. Raigne Henry VII 242 Neither did hee care how Cunning they were, that hee did imploy, For hee thought himselfe to haue the Master-Reach.
1624 R. Sanderson Serm. I. 82 Here then the magistrate..may learn..his master-duty.
a1674 Earl of Clarendon Brief View Leviathan (1676) 21 Discovers a master faculty in making easie.
1775 M. O. Warren Group ii. iii. 18 Yes all allow he play'd a master game, And dealt his cards with such peculiar skill.
1821 R. Southey in Q. Rev. 25 310 This rare dissembler..played his master-game at once.
1825 J. Hogg Queen Hynde 324 No clamour rose,..From such a monarch's master-throw.
1838 E. Bulwer-Lytton Alice II. vii. vi. 353 The master-fascination that he could command.
a1872 J. D. Aylward in Ess. Relig. & Lit. (1874) 3rd Ser. III. 90 Subject themselves..to the master-will of him whom they constitute the lord of their life.
C6.
master-attendant n. Navy (now historical) a senior officer in a naval dockyard, concerned chiefly with the maintenance of warships.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > shipbuilding and repairing > boat-builder or shipbuilder > [noun] > one who fits out > in royal dockyards
master-attendant1654
1654 R. Blake Let. 14 Feb. (1937) 252 The Master Attendant at Portsmouth hath no accommodation for his residence at the dock.
1669 S. Pepys Diary 25 Mar. (1976) IX. 498 I did..rattle the Maister-Attendants out of their wits almost.
1858 W. M. Gilson in Mercantile Marine Mag. 5 211 I don't think there is any Master-Attendant at Trincomalee dockyard.
1912–13 Dict. National Biogr. 1901–11 at Allen, Robert Calder In 1866–7 he was master-attendant and harbour-master at Malta.
1937 Straits Settlem. Blue Bk. 1936 (Singapore) §12. 367 The Master Attendant, Straits Settlement, draws $300 p.a. Commuted Allowance.
2012 P. Thomas & N. Tracy Master & Madman iii. 46 Lockwood may possibly have employed slaves of his own in the yard, but if so he got others to 'accept' their pay so as to keep his name off the paysheet, except for recording his own pay as master attendant.
† master bee n. Obsolete a queen bee (cf. king n. 9a) (in quot. 1645 perhaps used of a worker bee).
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > order Hymenoptera > [noun] > suborder Apocrita, Petiolata, or Heterophaga > group Aculeata (stinging) > superfamily Apoidea (bees) > queen bee
kinga1398
rectora1398
king bee1565
master bee1579
prince1609
queen1609
queen bee1609
queen mother1753
mother queen1817
1579 T. North tr. Plutarch Liues 61 They..were allwayes..together, as the bees be about their master bee.
1645 E. Waller Palamede to Zelinde 8 No Honey..But what the Master Bees have plac't In compass of their Cells.
1684 J. Smith Profit & Pleasure United 139 Above all let the King or Master Bee be Long, Shining, and Chearfull.
† master-bowl n. Bowls Obsolete rare the jack (cf. sense A. 9a).
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > bowls or bowling > [noun] > jack
master-bowl1530
master1579
mistressa1586
block1598
mistress bowl1598
Jacka1616
mark1630
jack bowl1653
tee1789
kitty1898
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 478/1 Who shall caste the mayster boule?
master-brain n. = mastermind n. 2.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > understanding > intelligence, cleverness > high intelligence, genius > [noun] > person of superior intellect, genius
wit1508
angel1655
eagle wit1661
genie1676
prodigya1684
genio1684
mastermind1692
genius1711
athlete1759
the brain(s)1844
master-brain1857
gaon1892
supermind1903
poindexter1981
dexter1985
1857 J. W. Howe Words for Hour 154 So, friends, you see my picture brought to end With labor manifold of eye and hand, And that whose slaves they are, the master-brain.
1923 E. Wallace Missing Million xiv. 112 The master-brain who took his pick of the cleverest criminals at large.
2008 J. Rieder Colonialism & Emergence of Sci. Fiction iv. 114 Eventually the scientists succeed in making a master brain that is apparently immortal.
master-chord n. originally poetic and figurative; in later use Music †(a) the tonic chord (obsolete and rare) (see tonic adj. 3); (b) the dominant chord (see dominant adj. 4).In quot. 1781 probably with the sense ‘master string’ (cf. chord n.1 2a).
ΚΠ
1781 S. J. Pratt Fair Circassian ii. i. 22 Ye mighty Powers, who rule the royal soul, And touch the master chords that sway our nature.]
1842 Ld. Tennyson Will Waterproof's Monologue in Poems (new ed.) II. 183 The master-chord Of all I felt and feel.
1865 J. S. Adams New Musical Dict. 138/1 Master-chord, the chief chord.
1895 T. Baker Dict. Musical Terms (ed. 16) 118/1 Master-chord, the dominant chord.
1913 T. L. Krebs 1,000 Questions & Answers Musical Theory 121 What is a Master-Chord? The Dominant, that is, the chord based upon the fifth key of the scale. This chord is unchanged whether the scale or key is major or minor.
1947 N. Slonimsky Thes. of Scales & Melodic Patterns p. vii Master chords, dominant-seventh chords with the fifth omitted, tabulated chromatically in 12 different keys, to be used in harmonizing scales and melodic patterns.
2015 Music Theory Spectrum 37 185/1 Slonimsky utilizes root-position major and minor triads for each note of a melodic pattern... Unlike Slonimsky's prearranged harmonizations, Adams harmonies are not drawn from a recurring master-chord subject to T3 operations.
master equation n. Physics an equation which expresses the evolution in time of the probability distribution of the possible states of a system in terms of the microscopic processes involved.
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1940 A. Nordsieck et al. in Physica 7 353 The required probability of an energy distribution will be a function of the numbers ni and of x, which we will denote by W(n1, n2,..; x). From this function W one can find all other distribution functions... When the probabilities of the elementary processes are known, one can write down a continuity equation for W, from which all other equations can be derived and which we will call therefore the ‘master’ equation.
1965 F. Reif Fund. Statist. & Thermal Physics xv. 550 Although the master equation is related to the Schrödinger equation, the precise approximations which lead to the derivation of the master equation are subtle.
1994 Materials Res. Soc. Symp. Proc. 317 387 A rate equation model based on the master equation is developed for the study of MBE doping kinetics.
master eye n. the dominant eye (of a pair); (Shooting) the eye which a person favours to sight a gun.
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1927 Biometrika 19 181 There is no evidence whatever of even a correlation between ocular and manual lateralities to say nothing of a master eye determining which is the master hand.
1971 Islander (Victoria, Brit. Columbia) 16 May 10/1 Complicating the left-handed shooter's problem is that matter of the ‘master eye’. For if he does by chance find a left-handed bolt-action weapon, his master eye is probably looking up the want ads while its mate cries to line up rearsight with foresight.
master fault n. Geology a fault which governs the geological configuration of the surrounding area.
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1837 Encycl. Brit. XV. 187/2 The faults..generally cross the anticlinal axis, and terminate in a remarkable master fault or axis of elevation.
1869 Geol. Mag. 6 343 Cases of apparently great ‘master-faults’, where later sedimentary rocks are in juxta-position with crystalline, or widely distinct masses.
1989 Internat. Jrnl. Mining & Geol. Engin. 7 37 Various kinds of geological evidence has recently been used to show the presence of a master fault along the course of the Rio Grande de Santiago.
† master feather n. Ornithology Obsolete a primary flight feather.
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?1585 W. C. Aduentures Ladie Egeria sig. M3v Whereas if pluming their backs a fresh, their master feathers ouer flying the highest and strongest fortres of your dominions badonage, & subuersion shalbe your refuge & best defence for ye same.
1631 J. Mabbe tr. F. de Rojas Spanish Bawd ii. 35 For I dare pawne my life, that Celestina and Sempronio will fleece you ere they haue done with you, and not leaue you so much as one Master-feather to maintaine your flight.
1678 J. Ray tr. F. Willughby Ornithol. 104 The master-feathers in each Wing were in number twenty four.
master file n. chiefly Computing a version of a data file that is kept for reference and regularly updated, and from which copies are refreshed; (also) a file containing summary information about a set of files.
ΚΠ
1945 Fortune Mar. 130/2 Questionnaire details are transferred to punch cards, one of which goes into a master file, others into special files according to primary and secondary skills.
1958 Jrnl. Assoc. Computing Machinery 5 319 The master-file operation as it relates to the use of large-scale, tape-handling computers is discussed in detail.
1992 Lit. & Ling. Computing 7 65/1 A data analyst carefully examined the merged file, compiling a master file of names that should be matched.
master gland n. the pituitary gland.
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1939 A. J. Carlson in H. B. Van Dyke Physiol. & Pharmacol. Pituitary Body II. p. vii The pituitary body is still the ‘master’ among the endocrine glands.]
1955 R. M. De Coursey Human Organism xviii. 433 The hypophysis or pituitary gland has been called the master gland..because through its tropic hormones it exerts a regulatory effect over the activity of other endocrine glands.
1991 Spare Rib Feb. 35/1 Often referred to as the ‘master gland’, it is the site of many so-called instincts such as hunger, thirst, and sleep.
mastergroup n. Telecommunications an assembly of (in Britain) 300 or (in the United States) 600 voice channels on a single transmission band, formed by the combination of, respectively, five or ten supergroups each containing sixty voice channels.
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1969 J. Martin Telecommunications & Computer xvi. 296 Ten supergroups are multiplexed together to form one mastergroup, which carries 10 × 5 × 12 = 600 voice channels.
1986 G. Langley Telecommunications Primer (ed. 2) xix. 57 Five 12-channel groups can be combined to form a 60-channel supergroup, and five supergroups make up a 300-channel mastergroup.
master hand n. (a) the hand of a master, the agency of a person of great skill or commanding power; (b) a highly skilled worker.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > [noun] > those in authority > person in authority > agency of
master hand1711
the world > action or operation > ability > skill or skilfulness > [noun] > skill or knowledge > mastery > agency of a master
master hand1711
society > occupation and work > worker > workers according to type of work > manual or industrial worker > [noun] > manual worker > skilled worker or craftsman > expert
masterc1300
workmanc1300
master workmanc1475
master-worker1483
craftsmaster1548
craftmaster1557
arts-master1607
trades master1611
master hand1711
maistry1798
master craftsman1865
1711 A. Pope Ess. Crit. 10 Nameless Graces..which a Master-Hand alone can reach.
1773 J. Entick New Spelling Dict. (new ed.) 237/1 Master-hand, one very skilful.
1872 H. B. Stowe Ghost in Cap'n Brown House in Oldtown Fireside Stories 144 She was a master hand at cookin'.
1922 C. T. Jackson in B. C. Williams O. Henry Prize Stories of 1921 33 Tedge was a master-hand among the reefs and shoals.
1989 Lit. Rev. Dec. 59/1 A witty, misogynistic tale of the sex wars served at body heat by a master hand.
† master-hunt n. Obsolete a head huntsman (cf. hunt n.1).
ΚΠ
c1450 ( G. Chaucer Bk. Duchess 375 The mayster-hunte anoon, fot-hot, With a gret horn blew thre mot.
1656 Earl of Monmouth tr. T. Boccalini Ragguagli di Parnasso i. xcvii. 196 Zenofon, Apollos Master-Hunt.
master joint n. Geology a principal joint in a rock mass.
ΚΠ
1835 A. Sedgwick in Trans. Geol. Soc. 3 483 We might expect..to find many great ‘master joints’, nearly at right angles to the direction of the granitic ridge of Cornwall.
1839 R. I. Murchison Silurian Syst. i. xx. 244 The surprising regularity of the direction of the master joints.
1879 Encycl. Brit. X. 297/2 Granite..is traversed by two sets of chief or ‘master-joints’.
1946 L. D. Stamp Britain's Struct. & Scenery vii. 63 In the latter case the major series is known as that of the master joints.
1984 Tectonics 3 27/2 The formation of a swarm of NE striking master joints and lineaments.
master mariner n. [compare post-classical Latin magister marinarius (1336 in a British source); Old French maistre marinier (12th–13th cent.)] Nautical a person who commands, or is qualified to command, a ship, spec. the captain of a merchant vessel; also figurative.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > one who travels by water or sea > sailor > [noun] > captain or master
skipper1390
master shipmana1393
master mariner?a1400
shipmanc1405
shipmasterc1440
commanderc1450
patron1490
shipper1496
ship-governor1526
reis1585
nakhoda?1606
sea-captain1612
malem1615
manjee1683
captain1705
patroon1719
old man1821
owner1903
society > travel > travel by water > one who travels by water or sea > sailor > [noun] > captain or master > of a merchant vessel
mastera1375
padrone1804
master mariner1838
?a1400 (a1338) R. Mannyng Chron. (Petyt) (1996) i. 11797 Þe maister maryners stode bihynd, þe schip to stere to þe wynd.
c1421–2 in G. R. Owst Lit. & Pulpit Medieval Eng. (1933) ii. 74 Our maister mariner, oure worthi prince.
1838 D. Jerrold Men of Char. II. 322 Edward Seabright, master-mariner.
1905 Baroness Orczy Scarlet Pimpernel xxi. 205 Briggs was an expert skipper, and Sir Percy handled a schooner as well as any master mariner.
1991 Impact of Sci. on Society (UNESCO) No. 162. 177 A Master Mariner who has written and broadcast about ships and shipping for some 25 years.
† master-miss n. Obsolete an effeminate young man.
ΘΚΠ
the world > people > person > man > [noun] > effeminate man
badlingeOE
milksopc1390
cockneyc1405
malkina1425
molla1425
weakling1526
tenderling1541
softling1543
niceling1549
woman-man1567
cocknel1570
effeminate1583
androgyne1587
meacock1590
mammaday1593
hermaphrodite1594
midwife1596
nimfadoro1600
night-sneaker1611
mock-mana1625
nan1670
she-man1675
petit maître1711
old woman1717
master-miss1754
Miss Molly1754
molly1785
squaw1805
mollycoddle1823
Miss Nancy1824
mollycot1826
molly mop1829
poof1833
Margery?c1855
ladyboy1857
girl1862
Mary Ann1868
sissy1879
milk1881
pretty-boy1881
nancy1888
poofter1889
Nancy Dawson1890
softie1895
puff1902
pussy1904
Lizzie1905
nance1910
quean1910
maricon1921
pie-face1922
bitch1923
Jessie1923
lily1923
tapette1923
pansy1926
nancy boy1927
nelly1931
femme1932
ponce1932
queerie1933
palone1934
queenie1935
girlie-man1940
swish1941
puss1942
wonk1945
mother1947
candy-ass1953
twink1953
cream puff1958
pronk1959
swishy1959
limp wrist1960
pansy-ass1963
weeny1963
poofteroo1966
mo1968
shim1973
twinkie1977
woofter1977
cake boy1992
hermaphrodite-
1754 S. Foote Knights ii. 23 The Master-Misses of the present Age.
1817 W. Gifford tr. Juvenal Satires Juvenal & Persius I. 383 Thou canst never seek in vain, A pathick friend, while these seven hills remain. Hither in crowds the master-misses come.
† master note n. Music (Obsolete) †(a) a semibreve (obsolete); (b) a pre-eminent note; also figurative.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > music > musical sound > duration of notes > [noun] > semi-breve
semibreve1591
master note1636
measure note1636
1636 C. Butler Princ. Musik i. ii. 12 Mi is the principal, or Master-note.
1654 J. Playford Breefe Introd. Skill Musick 13 The Semibriefe being the Master Note; for in Songs or Lessons all Times are kept to his value, which is the hand up and downe.
1740 J. Grassineau tr. S. De Brossard Musical Dict. 127 Master note, the measure note or key.
1872 C. H. Spurgeon Metrop. Tabernacle Pulpit XVII. ix. From the songs unmingled with groans, which perpetually peal forth from immortal tongues before the presence of the Most High, I hear this one master note: ‘Yea, He is altogether lovely.’
1906 T. Watts-Dunton Coming of Love 110 To catch the master-note of Nature's lyre.
master number n. = matrix number n. at matrix n. Compounds 2.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > record > recording or reproducing sound or visual material > sound recording and reproduction > a sound recording > [noun] > record or disc > matrix or negative > matrix number
matrix number1937
master number1939
1939 Jazz Information 15 Dec. 2/1 Sara Martin's ‘I'm Gonna Hoodoo You—Your Going Ain't Giving me the Blues’, Okeh 8270, master numbers 73-773 and 73-774 respectively.
1969 John Edwards Mem. Foundation Q. 5 iv. 146 Such documents are of great importance to the discographer who is trying to assemble the usual discographic data of master number, recording date..and release number.
1973 in B. Holiday & W. Duffy Lady sings Blues (ed. 2) 208 In the era of 78 rpm records most companies assigned a number to each recording they made for the sake of handy reference, called the ‘master’ number.
master plan n. (a) a large-scale or comprehensive plan of action; (b) a general plan of a building, installation, etc., esp. one made prior to construction.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > industry > building or constructing > [noun] > plans of buildings or structures
ground-plot1563
model1570
ichnography1598
skiagraphy1636
plane1639
skiagraph1648
plain1659
plan1664
planography?1668
scheme1703
ground plan1731
working plan1767
working drawing1785
detail1819
floor-plan1867
Z-plan1887
block plan1909
master plan1914
1914 W. S. Blunt Poet. Wks. II. 4 The heir of their delight, Whose keener sight Grasped the full vision of Time's master-plan.
1935 Harvard City Planning Stud. 7 40 Such master plan shall show desirable streets..and other planning features.
1994 New Yorker 2 May 66/1 The Nobel Prize..was part of an ambitious master plan he had.
master race n. a race of people considered or claiming to be pre-eminent (for spec. use with reference to Nazi theories of racial supremacy cf. Herrenvolk n.).
ΘΚΠ
the world > people > ethnicities > race > master race > [noun]
master race1826
Herrenvolk1940
1826 Q. Rev. Mar. 503 A total and visible line of demarcation drawn by the hand of nature herself, between the master-race and the vassal.
1856 W. J. Grayson Hireling & Slave ii. 74 By slavery tamed, enlightened, and refined; Instructs him, from a master-race.
1910 Encycl. Brit. I. 141/2 In the Homeric poems..the Achaeans are the master race in Greece.
1940 Jrnl. Hist. Ideas 1 149 Though many differing ethical values may be attached to the vague Nietzschean concept of the Superman, both the Nazi idea of the master-race and the Führerprinzip are among the most obvious and most congruous derivatives of that concept.
1960 C. Hooper Brief Authority 54 To look at you one would say that you were unimpeachably white, a member of the master race, though not the volk.
2013 Z. Leonardo Race Frameworks iii. 90 Life in the margins produces knowledge that neither the marginalized races nor the master race could have predicted or over which the master race could exercise complete control.
master rod n. Engineering (in a rotary or radial engine) a rod which connects one of the pistons to the crankshaft and carries the wrist pins to which the link rods are connected.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > machine > machines which impart power > engine > internal-combustion engine > [noun] > rotary or radial > parts of
cylinder1830
maneton1919
master rod1922
1922 Encycl. Brit. XXX. 36/2 Connecting-rods of rotary and radial engines consist usually of one master rod, ball or roller-bearinged, with the big-end enlarged to form circular lugs to secure wrist pins carrying the plain or auxiliary type of rod of the remaining cylinders.
1946 J. W. Vale Aviation Mechanic's Engine Man. iii. 87 Constructing the crank~shaft in sections permits use of the one-piece master rod.
1991 Model Engineer 15 Mar. 309/1 Auxiliary rod wrist pins were of silver steel, screwed and staked into the master rod.
master-scene n. Film and Television = master shot n.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > cinematography > filming > shot > [noun] > types of
long shot1858
glass shot1908
close-up1913
aerial shot1920
angle shot1922
medium shot1925
far-away1926
travelling shot1927
zoom1930
zoom shot1930
process shot1931
close-medium shot1933
medium close-up1933
reverse angle1933
reverse shot1934
three-shot1934
tilt shot1934
medium-close shot1937
reaction shot1937
tracking shot1940
pan shot1941
stock shot1941
Dutch angle1947
cheat shot1948
establishing shot1948
master-scene1948
trucking shot1948
two-shot1949
bridging shot1951
body shot1952
library shot1953
master shot1953
mid shot1953
MS1953
pullback1957
MCU1959
noddy1982
arc shot1989
pop shot1993
1948 D. F. Zanuck Let. 27 Feb. in P. Sturges Four more Screenplays (1995) 810 I still believe that you are playing the long scene too fast. I refer to the master scene between Rudy Vallee and Rex Harrison.
1960 D. Wilson Television Playwright 16 The plays in this book are printed in ‘Rehearsal Script’ form, that is to say, the manuscript as the author wrote it. In the Cinema this would be called a ‘Master-scene Script’.
master's degree n. a university degree conferring the status of master (sense A. 15a).
ΘΚΠ
society > education > educational administration > university administration > taking degree or graduation > [noun] > a degree > specific
masterdomc1400
doctorship1533
doctorate?1577
mastership1583
baccalaureate1625
bachelorshipa1656
doctorhood1683
LL.D.1763
master's degree1774
LL.B.1796
Mus.B.1801
PhD1839
Lambeth degree1859
baccalaureate degree1864
LL.M.1874
(Lady) Literate in Arts1877
Sc.D.1885
Mus. Bac.1889
post-graduation1889
B.Lit.1895
masterate1902
B.Phil.1923
B. Ed.1941
ABD1954
Dip. Tech.1957
master1960
B.Sc.-
1774 J. Woodforde Diary 14 Jan. (1924) I. 122 Cooke Junr went also to the Convocation House to take his Master's degree.
1856 R. W. Emerson Eng. Traits xii. 205 Seven years' residence is the theoretic period for a master's degree.
1991 Transpacific July 22/2 A widely admired 41-year-old producer with a master's degree in fine arts.
master sergeant n. a high rank of non-commissioned officer in the U.S. armed forces: in the army, above sergeant first class and below sergeant major; in the air force, above technical sergeant and below senior master sergeant; in the marine corps, above gunnery sergeant and below master gunnery sergeant; (also) a person holding this rank.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > warrior > soldier > leader or commander > officer by rank > [noun] > sergeant > types of
havildar1698
muster-master1711
staff sergeant1811
lance-sergeant1815
master sergeant1920
staff1925
1920 Gen. Orders (U.S. War Dept.) No. 36. 1 Enlisted men of the ‘first grade’..will be designated as master sergeants and will include: Regimental sergeants major.
1993 R. Shilts Conduct Unbecoming xiii. 136 The captain sent Baker to a grizzled master sergeant who was ready to cut a deal.
master–servant adj. (attributive) involving a master and a servant, relating to masters and servants (cf. master–slave adj.).
ΚΠ
1926 Jrnl. Polit. Econ. 34 102 The evidence is impressive that the master-servant relationship is becoming less adapted to modern social and industrial conditions.
1939 R. F. A. Hoernlé S. Afr. Native Policy 174 They and their descendants..became so completely assimilated, in a hereditary master-servant relationship, into the structure of Afrikaner society that [etc.].
1993 Eng. Today Jan. 29/2 In the mines and in master-servant interactions the pidgin language Fanakalo is often used.
† master shipman n. Obsolete = master mariner n.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > one who travels by water or sea > sailor > [noun] > captain or master
skipper1390
master shipmana1393
master mariner?a1400
shipmanc1405
shipmasterc1440
commanderc1450
patron1490
shipper1496
ship-governor1526
reis1585
nakhoda?1606
sea-captain1612
malem1615
manjee1683
captain1705
patroon1719
old man1821
owner1903
a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) viii. 1084 The Maister Schipman cam and preide.
a1450 (c1410) H. Lovelich Hist. Holy Grail xxxvi. 499 (MED) A Maister Schipman..told hym of An yl In the Se.
master shot n. Film and Television a long shot of a complete sequence of action, which may be intercut with close-ups, etc., when edited.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > cinematography > filming > shot > [noun] > types of
long shot1858
glass shot1908
close-up1913
aerial shot1920
angle shot1922
medium shot1925
far-away1926
travelling shot1927
zoom1930
zoom shot1930
process shot1931
close-medium shot1933
medium close-up1933
reverse angle1933
reverse shot1934
three-shot1934
tilt shot1934
medium-close shot1937
reaction shot1937
tracking shot1940
pan shot1941
stock shot1941
Dutch angle1947
cheat shot1948
establishing shot1948
master-scene1948
trucking shot1948
two-shot1949
bridging shot1951
body shot1952
library shot1953
master shot1953
mid shot1953
MS1953
pullback1957
MCU1959
noddy1982
arc shot1989
pop shot1993
1953 K. Reisz Technique Film Editing 280 Master shot, single shot of an entire piece of dramatic action taken in order to facilitate the assembly of the component closer shots of details from which the sequence will finally be covered.
1959 P. Bull I know Face v. 94 We started..with a ‘master-shot’, which means that the actors go through the entire scene from rather far off and only portions of the shot are likely to be used in the final film.
1991 Sight & Sound Oct. 26/2 The first is a reasonably conventional sequence: master shot of Le Tour coming into a restaurant, three-shot of Le Tour and his clients, a couple of close-ups.
† master sinew n. Obsolete a main tendon (probably the calcaneal (Achilles) tendon or a hamstring).
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > structural parts > sinew, tendon, or ligament > types of sinew, tendon, or ligament > [noun]
master sinewa1400
bridle1578
fraenulum1706
fraenum1741
fundiform ligament1889
tendon organ1923
habena-
the world > animals > animal body > general parts > constituent materials > [noun] > main sinew
master sinewa1400
the world > animals > mammals > [noun] > parts of > (parts) of foot > quadruped > parts of
master sinewa1400
palma1425
beak1567
pad1837
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) 3941 (MED) Iacob was þan hurt..Þe maister sinu of his the.
1607 E. Topsell Hist. Foure-footed Beastes 402 A painefull swelling of the maister sinnew.
master–slave adj. (attributive) (a) gen. involving a master and a slave; relating to masters and slaves; (b) chiefly Electronics and Computing, designating or relating to a system in which one component controls the behaviour of one or more other components.
ΚΠ
1933 Jrnl. Negro Educ. 2 90/1 Can the answer be found in the former master-slave relationship and in the attempt to perpetuate it by keeping a race in an abject and humiliating state?
1949 B. A. Botkin Treasury Southern Folklore i. iii. 58 The chief protagonist and antagonist of master–slave folklore are Old Massa and Old John.
1952 Nucleonics Nov. 41/1 They have been named master-slave manipulators because all the seven degrees of freedom of the tongs are slaved to the single master handle.
1990 G. Gilder Life after Television i. 18 Instead of a master-slave architecture, the telecomputer will have an interactive architecture in which every receiver can function as a processor and transmitter.
1992 N. Williams They came from SW19 (BNC) 165 Quigley clearly had a master-slave relationship with these people.
master's mate n. now historical a petty officer rated as an assistant to the master of a warship; also figurative.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > hostilities at sea > seafaring warrior or naval man > leader or commander > officer with specific duty > [noun] > master > master's mate
master's mate1496
1496 in M. Oppenheim Naval Accts. & Inventories Henry VII (1896) 166 The Maisters mate & iiij quartermaisters.
1598 W. Phillip tr. J. H. van Linschoten Disc. Voy. E. & W. Indies i. iii. 4/2 The Seto Piloto, which is the Masters mate, hath 1200. reyes.
1642 T. Fuller Holy State iv. xvi. 322 It often hapning in Commonwealths, that the Masters mate steers the ship thereof, more then the Master himself.
1720 W. R. Chetwood Voy. Capt. R. Falconer i. 6 There's an excellent Master's-Mate.
1836 F. Marryat Mr. Midshipman Easy II. ii. 22 The worthy master's mate.
1993 P. O'Brian Wine-dark Sea iii. 62 One day I was only a wretched master's mate with no half pay..and the next I was Lieutenant Aubrey.
master station n. a principal broadcasting station; spec. (in radio navigation) the main station in a group of synchronized transmitters which either controls the broadcasts of the other stations or is used as a reference point for their transmissions.
ΚΠ
1948 Life 6 Sept. 41/1 The occasion was the opening of the American Broadcasting Company's new master station WJZ-TV.
1960 N. M. Cooke & J. Markus Electronics & Nucleonics Dict. 277/2 Master station, the station of a synchronized group of radio stations to which the emissions of other stations of the group are referred. In a loran system it is the A station.
1990 Vietnam Apr. 10/1 LORAN consists of a master station that transmits a signal triggering two ‘slave’ stations to transmit.
master teacher n. a highly skilled or experienced teacher (sometimes more narrowly defined: see quot. 1945); U.S., used as a formal job title.
ΘΚΠ
society > education > teaching > teacher > schoolteacher or schoolmaster > [noun]
schoolmasterc1225
pedagoguea1387
pedanty1573
pedanta1586
dominiea1625
Khoja1625
schoolteachera1691
knight of the grammar1692
boy farmer1869
schoolkeeper1871
faki1872
professor1880
beak1888
schoolie1889
grade teacher1906
master teacher1931
chalk-and-talker1937
sir1955
teach1958
1931 Jrnl. Higher Educ. 2 161 Master teachers are a necessity in colleges and universities where eighty per cent of the gross faculty effort must necessarily be expended in teaching thousands of students.
1945 C. V. Good Dict. Educ. 251/2 Master teacher, a teacher..who..is qualified to assist in the education of student teachers.
1978 Jrnl. Techn. Writing & Communication 8 301 Neophiliacs began suggesting every conceivable ‘innovation’ to make education more ‘relevant’:..team teaching, master teachers, compensatory education.
1991 Times Educ. Suppl. 22 Mar. 27/3 Our consultant programme aims to..give them [sc. the teachers] the advice of a master teacher who has years of experience and knows the answers.
master touch n. (a) a masterly detail in a work of art, etc.; (in extended use) a skilful or ingenious action; (b) a distinguishing quality characteristic of the work of a skilled artist, craftsman, etc.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > ability > skill or skilfulness > [noun] > display of skill > an act or feat of skill > masterly
master-prize1604
masterpiece1607
coup de maître1668
master touch1687
masterstroke1691
1687 E. Ravenscroft Titus Andronicus To Rdr. sig. A2 I have been told by some anciently conversant with the Stage, that..he [sc. Shakespeare] only gave some Master-touches to one or two of the Principal Parts or Characters.
1710 J. Addison Tatler No. 156. ⁋10 I have here only mentioned some Master-Touches of this admirable Piece.
1880 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Feb. 187 The master-touch interpreting all lights.
1915 A. Conan Doyle Valley of Fear ii. Epil. 306 Finally..he would step in himself with a master touch.
1977 G. Bugialli Fine Art of Ital. Cooking 288 Then the master touch is applied: uova in padella (fried eggs) are arranged over them [sc. asparagus].
† master water n. Obsolete the liquid left after crystallization, e.g. of sea salt.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > chemistry > physical chemistry > liquid phase > [noun] > liquids > having powerful chemical effects
master water1611
1611 J. Florio Queen Anna's New World of Words at Acqua Maestra The master-water.
1647 N. Nye Art of Gunnery i. 13 Take the Saltpeter out, and preserve the water that dropped, because it is Master water.
master weed n. U.S. (in full rattlesnake master weed) a plant regarded as yielding an antidote for rattlesnake bites (cf. rattlesnake master n. at rattlesnake n. Compounds 1).
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > healing > medicines or physic > medicines for specific purpose > antidote > [noun] > antidotes to snake-bite > plant or plant-derived
snake-wood1598
snake-weed1631
snake-root1635
contrayerva1648
Virginia snake-root1694
senega1738
mungo root1741
guaco1834
master weed1843
1843 F. Marryat Narr. Trav. M. Violet II. vi. 134 I beheld five or six stems of the rattlesnake master weed.
1843 F. Marryat Narr. Trav. M. Violet II. vi. 138 I removed..the poultice of master weed.
1965 J. F. Dobie Rattlesnakes 25 In her state a certain wild hyacinth is so well known as a master weed that if one rattlesnake is bitten by another it at once seeks this plant, eats some of it, and recovers.
2014 D. A. Swanson Golden Weed v. 156 Gabe White..remembered using herbaceous plants, such as ‘master weed’, mayapple, ‘Peter's root’, and sweet William, to treat sickness.
† master woman n. Obsolete rare an imperious or masculine woman.
ΘΚΠ
the world > people > person > woman > [noun] > man-like woman
viragoa1387
master womana1535
viragin1558
hermaphrodite1594
masculine-feminine1620
viragon1641
Amazon1758
she-man1848
gynander1888
masculinist1928
masculist1930
a1535 T. More Dialoge of Comfort (1553) iii. xi. sig. P.ii She is in dede a stoute maister woman.
master-worker n. [compare Middle French maistre ouverier (1418), maistre ouvrier (1567)] (a) = master workman n.; (b) an officer of the British Royal Mint, responsible for overseeing the manufacture of coinage (now historical).
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > worker > workers according to type of work > manual or industrial worker > [noun] > manual worker > skilled worker or craftsman > expert
masterc1300
workmanc1300
master workmanc1475
master-worker1483
craftsmaster1548
craftmaster1557
arts-master1607
trades master1611
master hand1711
maistry1798
master craftsman1865
society > trade and finance > money > coining > [noun] > coiner > officers of the mint
Master of the Coin1423
Master of the Mint1423
Warden of the Mint1463
Usher of the Coins, Change, or Exchange1485
melter1511
mint master1528
Surveyor of the Melting (also Meltings)1556
clerk of the irons1566
master-worker1622
1483 ( tr. G. Deguileville Pilgrimage of Soul (Caxton) (1859) v. xiv. 108 Yf thou wylt bylde an hows, and arte a maister werker, couthest thou bilde withouten mater.
1622 G. de Malynes Consuetudo 281 The Master worker..doth put into the melting pot, two penny weight of Copper in euerie pound.
1670 J. Pettus Fodinæ Regales 41 The Master-worker, who receiveth the Silver from the Warden, causeth it to be melted, and delivereth it to the Moniers, and taketh it from them again when it is made.
1880 E. H. Hickey Verse-tales 3 For the Master-Worker He gives to one of us, verily, A little thing.
1889 Dict. National Biogr. at Freeman, Sir Ralph In 1629 he held the office of auditor of imprests..and soon afterwards became master worker of the mint.
a1915 E. G. H. White Captivity & Restoration Israel (1917) iv. 73 Those who, in response to the call of the hour, have entered the service of the Master-worker, may well study His methods.
1978 C. E. Challis Tudor Coinage i. 23 The master-worker was bound to deliver the bullion to the moneyers in good clean ingots.
master workman n. a skilled or experienced workman; a workman who employs others; also figurative.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > worker > workers according to type of work > manual or industrial worker > [noun] > manual worker > skilled worker or craftsman > expert
masterc1300
workmanc1300
master workmanc1475
master-worker1483
craftsmaster1548
craftmaster1557
arts-master1607
trades master1611
master hand1711
maistry1798
master craftsman1865
society > occupation and work > worker > workers according to type of work > manual or industrial worker > [noun] > manual worker > skilled worker or craftsman > expert > working on own account or employing others
masterc1300
upsetter1518
craftsmaster1579
master workman1670
garret-master1851
master craftsman1865
c1475 Magnificencia Ecclesie in Publ. Mod. Lang. Assoc. Amer. (1909) 24 692 Stones þat to þese wallys perteyne Must be made able by þe handes verryly of þe master werkman, þat ys, þe preste certyne.
1598 R. Barret Theorike & Pract. Mod. Warres v. 134 A maister workeman to ioyne them [sc. boats] together.
1615 H. Crooke Μικροκοσμογραϕια 217 The great Maister workman therefore of set purpose, made the one halfe of mankinde imperfect.
1670 J. Eachard Grounds Contempt of Clergy 118 An ordinary Brick-layer, or Carpenter, (I mean not your great Undertakers and Master-Workmen)..has certainly the command of more money.
1850 R. W. Emerson Napoleon in Representative Men vi. 224 He is..a very consistent and wise master-workman.
1889 Harper's Mag. July 262/2 Each composed of one master workman and several younger assistants.
1935 R. S. Woodworth Psychol. (ed. 10) x. 245 Any occupation in which master workmen, virtuosos, and ‘aces’ occur.
† master yaw n. Obsolete rare = mother yaw n. at mother n.1 Compounds 7.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > suppuration > [noun] > a suppuration > abscess > ulcer > of yaws
master yaw1744
yaw1744
tubboe1769
mamma-yaw1801
mama-pian1822
mother yaw1822
mother-pian1898
1744 Med. Ess. V. ii. 793 Sometimes after..the Salivation is over, there remains one large Yaw, high knobbed, red and moist; this is commonly called the Master yaw.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2001; most recently modified version published online June 2022).

mastern.2

Brit. /ˈmɑːstə/, /ˈmastə/, U.S. /ˈmæstər/
Origin: Formed within English, by derivation. Etymons: mast n.1, -er suffix1.
Etymology: < mast n.1 + -er suffix1.
A vessel having masts, esp. one with a specified number of masts, as in five-master, seven-master, etc.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > vessel propelled by sail > [noun] > vessel with specific number of masts
three-master1827
two-sticker1884
five-master1887
1827 F. Witts Diary 26 Apr. (1978) 70 One of these ships was a three-master.
1879 Webster's Amer. Dict. Eng. Lang. Suppl. Master, a vessel having masts.
1887 Pall Mall Gaz. 25 July 2/1 The iron-sheathed five-masters the Agincourt and the Minotaur.
1899 A. Quiller-Couch Ship of Stars xxiv That there two-master's got a fool for skipper.
1901 Daily Chron. 26 July 5/2 The keel of a gigantic seven-master has been laid.
1960 J. Barth Sot-weed Factor ii. xiv. 268 The pirates looked to see a three-master heading in their direction.
1992 Daily Mail 17 Aug. 19/2 The world's largest barque, the stately Russian four-master Sedov.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2001; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

masterv.

Brit. /ˈmɑːstə/, /ˈmastə/, U.S. /ˈmæstər/
Forms: see master n.1
Origin: Formed within English, by conversion; perhaps modelled on a French lexical item. Etymon: master n.1
Etymology: < master n.1, perhaps after Anglo-Norman mestrier, mestreer, Old French maistrier maistrie v. Compare classical Latin magistrāre, Middle Dutch meesteren (Dutch meesteren), Old High German meistarōn, meistrōn (Middle High German meistern, German meistern), Danish mester, Swedish mästra.
I. To get the better of, to rule, and related senses.
1. transitive. To get the better of, in any contest or struggle; to overcome or defeat. In later use chiefly with immaterial object.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > prosperity > success > mastery or superiority > have or gain mastery or superiority over [verb (transitive)]
overcomeeOE
forecomec1000
overwieldlOE
masterc1225
overmaistrie1340
overmatcha1375
overpassa1382
surmount1390
to have the fairer (of)c1400
maistriec1400
overmasterc1425
winc1440
overc1485
bestride1526
rixlec1540
overreach1555
control1567
overmate1567
govern1593
to give (a person) the lurch1598
get1600
to gain cope of1614
top1633
to fetch overa1640
down1641
to have the whip hand (of)1680
carberry1692
to cut down1713
to be more than a match for1762
outflank1773
outmaster1799
outgeneral1831
weather1834
best1839
fore-reach1845
to beat a person at his (also her, etc.) own game1849
scoop1850
euchrec1866
bemaster1871
negotiate1888
to do down1900
to get (someone) wetc1926
lick1946
c1225 (?c1200) St. Katherine (1973) 549 (MED) Ha wið hire anes mot meistreð us alle.
a1400 (c1303) R. Mannyng Handlyng Synne (Harl.) 7908 Y dredde hyt [sc. synne] wlde ha maystred me.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) 25365 Quen þai faanding maister wele, Crund er þai wit mikel sele.
c1440 (?a1400) Morte Arthure 2683 He maisterede that man, so myghtty of strenghes.
1487 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (St. John's Cambr.) vii. 211 The sleip masterit hym.
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 633/2 Be he never so stronge I put no doutes to mayster hym.
1567 J. Maplet Greene Forest f. 83v [Some dogges] haue Maystred and bene good inough for the Lyon and Elephant.
1576 G. Baker tr. C. Gesner Newe Jewell of Health iii. f. 131v The sayd water drunck, maystreth and expelleth poysons.
a1640 F. Beaumont et al. Loves Cure v. iii, in F. Beaumont & J. Fletcher Comedies & Trag. (1647) sig. Sssss4v/2 Kings, nor authority can master fate.
1664 H. Power Exper. Philos. ii. 109 The smaller weight of Quicksilver is not able to master the Elastick pressure of the external Ayr.
a1701 H. Maundrell Journey Aleppo to Jerusalem (1703) 110 Here we had a very steep and Rocky ascent, but however in half an hour we master'd it.
1702 Clarendon's Hist. Rebellion I. i. 11 The King..was very Quick-sighted in..raising objections, and very Slow in mastering them.
1798 Beresford in Ld. Auckland's Corr. (1862) III. 414 Lord Edward was mastered, brought to the Castle, and committed to Newgate.
1841 G. P. R. James Corse de Leon II. v. 109 Deep grief masters me.
1887 H. R. Haggard Jess vi. 53 A crash that almost mastered the awful crackling of the thunder.
1919 J. Conrad Arrow of Gold iv. ii. 165 She had mastered her irritation and through the glass side of the room sent a wistful smile to his address.
1954 O. Sitwell Four Continents i. 4 Within that period of time men will undoubtedly have mastered the difficulties of traversing interstellar space.
1979 D. Lessing Shikasta 36 The need for haste took hold of me again, and mastered my weakness, so that I struggled up.
2. transitive. To reduce to subjection, compel to obey; to tame, break (an animal).
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > subjection > subjecting or subjugation > subject [verb (transitive)] > make obedient
master?c1225
atame1340
tamec1384
reclaima1393
reducec1475
subduea1525
range1587
to bring ina1599
tawne1606
entamea1616
puppify1660
to bring to1747
?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 280 Siker luue & treowe & oueralle oðre swete ne mei meistren us seforð as deð þet luue summe.
c1500 (?a1437) Kingis Quair (1939) clxxxi (MED) The quhich treuly efter..That all my wittis maistrit had tofore..hensferth the paynis did away.
1523 Ld. Berners tr. J. Froissart Cronycles I. ccccxxvi. 748 The gates myght stand open..for all maner of men of warre to entre..to thentent to mayster them of Parys.
1580 in W. K. Clay Liturg. Services Q. Eliz. (1847) 573 Masters, unable to master their own affections, are become servants to other folks' servants.
1587 J. Hooker Chron. Ireland 133/2 in Holinshed's Chron. (new ed.) II They..swore to be..obedient: which, so long as he maistered and kept them vnder, so long they performed it.
a1628 J. Preston Breast-plate of Faith (1631) 210 Doe not you reckon it a worke to breake horses, to master coltes?
1639 T. Fuller Hist. Holy Warre ii. xxxiii. 87 Yet was he not mastered by his purse, but made it his vassall.
1725 I. Watts Logick iii. iii. §2 Every wise man masters his passions; no angry man masters his passions.
1774 O. Goldsmith Hist. Earth II. 393 The zebra..could never be entirely mastered.
1844 E. B. Barrett Drama of Exile in Poems I. 93 This shall..master with a look Your lion at his fasting.
1876 ‘G. Eliot’ Daniel Deronda II. iv. xxviii. 212 He meant to be master of a woman who would have liked to master him.
1915 C. P. Gilman Herland in Forerunner Nov. 293/2 Terry put in practice his pet conviction that a woman loves to be mastered, and by sheer brute force..he tried to master this woman.
1974 E. Bowen Henry & Other Heroes iv. 75 The camp was dedicated to the absurd propositions that (a) riding is fun, and (b) mastering a horse is good character training.
†3. transitive. Dyeing and Tanning. To make (a dyestuff) brighter or sharper by treatment with a solution of lye; to subject (a dyestuff, dyed cloth, skin, etc.) to the action of such a solution, for purposes of seasoning, ageing, or the like. Cf. mastering n. 1. Obsolete.Quot. a1665 may illustrate an extension of this to mean ‘temper, modify’, or it may be a use of sense 1.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > industry > manufacturing processes > perform general or industrial manufacturing processes [verb (transitive)] > mix or incorporate substances
workeOE
mastera1398
the world > matter > colour > colouring > dyeing > dye [verb (transitive)] > fast dye
engrain1377
dyec1386
to dye in (the) wool, in grainc1386
mastera1398
grain1530
begrain1855
society > occupation and work > industry > working with specific materials > working with skins > work with skins [verb (transitive)] > steep hides
lime1561
sumac1792
master1841
pure1842
bate1875
a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add.) f. 310v Wiþ atrament, ynke is y-tempred and y-maystred [L. acuitur].
a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add.) f. 311 Þis coloure [sc. purple] is y-maystred and amended wiþ blood þat droppeþ of certeyn schelle fische whanne þey ben y-kutte.
a1475 in J. O. Halliwell Early Eng. Misc. (1855) 89 Cast in ȝour clothe... When hit is masteryd, take hit up and wasche hit clene oute of the ayschys.
a1665 K. Digby Closet Opened (1669) 74 That the hot herbs may be mastered with the cool.
1841 in Titles Patents (1854) 1145 An expeditious mode of unhairing, mastering, and tanning..hides and skins.
†4.
a. transitive. To rule as a master; to act the part of master towards; to be the master of (a servant, scholar, house, etc.). Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > [verb (transitive)] > have authority over
lordshipc1350
maistriec1400
mastera1425
manc1426
overlordshipc1460
domine1481
to carry the sway of1549
overmastera1557
command1575
swinge1593
monarch1600
dominate1611
dominion1647
dominate1870
a1425 (?a1350) Gospel of Nicodemus (Galba) (1907) 1323 Wenes þou..to maister þan both god and man verray?
a1475 Sidrak & Bokkus (Lansd.) (Ph.D. diss., Univ. of Washington) (1965) 3172 (MED) Þerynne shal regne a king And al þe world maistiryng.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Cymbeline (1623) iv. ii. 385 I will not say Thou shalt be so well master'd . View more context for this quotation
a1616 W. Shakespeare Cymbeline (1623) v. vi. 396 I good youth, And rather Father thee, then Master thee. View more context for this quotation
1711 J. Swift Jrnl. to Stella 2 Aug. (1948) I. 325 The dog [sc. his servant] thinks he has the whip hand of me; he begins to master me; so now I am resolved to part with him.
1715 M. Davies Εἰκων Μικρο-βιβλικὴ 19 He doubtless would have ordered it [sc. St Paul's School] to be Master'd by Learned Chaplains alone.
1790 R. Tyler Contrast ii. ii Father said I should come as Colonel Manly's waiter,..but no man shall master me.
a1845 T. Hood Lamia i, in W. Jerdan Autobiogr. (1852) I. 256 I have a house..within the walls of Corinth: Will you not master it as well as me?
1864 A. McKay Hist. Kilmarnock (1880) 366 I'm your equal: I'll be maistered nae langer.
1881 Daily News 14 Sept. 3/1 The estate is not well mastered.
1898 Daily News 30 June 6/7 It was..a magnificent school,..magnificently mastered.
b. intransitive. To act the master. Also transitive with it. Obsolete. rare.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > [verb (intransitive)]
to give (the) law (to)a1225
reignc1325
to rule the roastc1500
to bear (the) rooma1529
to have, bear, carry, strike the stroke1531
to bear (a or the) sway1549
to bear a (also the) rout1550
(to have) swing and sway1552
to rule the rout1570
master1656
carry1662
to lay down the law1762
to rule the roost1769
to carry (also hold) (big) guns1867
1656 S. Hunton Golden Law 67 He..did justly master it, and rule over his masters.
1793 F. Burney Diary & Let. 14 Feb. in Jrnls. & Lett. (1972) II. 14 I have been scholaring all day—& mastering too,—for our lessons are mutual.
†5. transitive. To address by the title or style of ‘master’. Obsolete. rare.
ΚΠ
1576 R. Peterson tr. G. della Casa Galateo 28 Yf you chaunce to Master him, and leaue out his title of Honour or worship: he takes that in dougeon.
1583 P. Stubbes Anat. Abuses sig. Kiv He who hath moni enough shalbe rabbied & maistered at euery word.
†6.
a. transitive. To have at one's disposal; to own, to possess. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > have or possess [verb (transitive)] > possess and control
wieldeOE
to owe (also have) a wold (also on wield)c1175
to be mistress of1590
master1594
commanda1616
1594 W. Shakespeare Lucrece sig. G1v He hath it [sc. treasure] when he cannot vse it, And leaues it to be maistred by his yong. View more context for this quotation
1600 W. Shakespeare Merchant of Venice v. i. 174 The wealth that the world maisters . View more context for this quotation
1609 W. Shakespeare Sonnets cvi. sig. G3 I see their antique Pen would haue exprest Euen such a beauty as you maister now. View more context for this quotation
1638 T. Herbert Some Yeares Trav. (rev. ed.) 175 Had hee mastered any weapon, he had doubtlesse saved himselfe; but wanting it his breath failed.
b. transitive. To dominate as a result of superior strategic position; to command. Obsolete. rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > high position > be in high position [verb (intransitive)] > be above > dominate
master1601
domineer1694
predominate1814
tower1863
1601 W. Raleigh Let. Oct. (1999) 220 The towne is of small reseat, mastered by hills and cumpased with a weake wall.
1625 S. Purchas Pilgrimes II. vii. 1167 Our Campe stood on a Hill, where we mastred the other grounds.
c. transitive. To take possession of. Obsolete. rare.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > taking > taking possession > take possession of [verb (transitive)]
take?a1160
seizec1290
raima1325
to take in possessiona1325
to hent in (also upon) handa1350
occupya1382
to take possession?a1425
to take upc1425
uptakec1425
to take in1523
possess1526
master1826
1826 J. F. Cooper Last of Mohicans II. viii. 145 The Hurons would follow up our trail, and master our scalps.
7.
†a. transitive. To perform or carry out (an action) skilfully or successfully. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > carrying out > execute, perform, or carry out [verb (transitive)] > carry into effect (a command, promise, plan, etc.) > fully or as expected
accomplishc1405
master1624
to deliver (also come up with, produce) the goods1870
1624 F. Bacon Considerations War with Spain (1629) 3 I doe not take my selfe to bee so perfect in the customes..and priuileges of that Kingdome of Bohemia, as to be fit to handle that part; and I will not offer at that I cannot master.
1755 S. Johnson Dict. Eng. Lang. Master,..to execute with skill.
b. transitive. To make oneself master of, attain expertise in (an art, science, skill, etc.); to acquire complete knowledge or understanding of (a fact, subject, etc.); to attain complete facility in using (an instrument, etc.).
ΘΚΠ
society > education > learning > [verb (transitive)] > master
master1690
1690 J. Locke Ess. Humane Understanding To Rdr. sig. A4v It was not meant for those that had already mastered this Subject.
1730 J. Clarke Ess. Educ. Youth (ed. 2) 163 A Boy has..mastered his Syntax.
1781 W. Cowper Parrot 9 Belinda's maids are soon preferred To teach him now and then a word, As Poll can master it.
a1839 W. M. Praed Poems (1864) II. 176 Away with ye, visions of law, Of cases I never shall master.
1866 C. Kingsley Hereward the Wake I. viii. 198 Grammar, rhetoric, Latin prose and poetry..she mastered ere she was grown up.
1878 R. W. Dale Lect. Preaching (ed. 3) iv. 91 The instrument you have to master stands before you—the soul of man.
1901 Athenæum 27 July 120/3 He has not mastered the difference between ‘would’ and ‘should’.
1939 R. G. Collingwood Autobiogr. i. 3 I have never been able to master the piano.
1953 E. Jones Sigmund Freud I. ix. 189 Nor could he persuade her to master English, although he often pressed her to.
1971 A. MacLean Bear Island (1972) i. 10 Captain Imrie had long mastered the art of dining gracefully at sea.
1986 B. Geldof Is that It? xi. 160 We had mastered studio technology and we played with it perfectly on the album.
II. Sense derived from master n.1 10.
8. transitive. To create the master copy of (something); (Sound Recording) to record the master disc or tape for (a record or recording); to make a recording of (a performance) from which a master disc or tape can be created. Also intransitive. Cf. master n.1 10.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > record > recording or reproducing sound or visual material > sound recording and reproduction > [verb (intransitive)] > record master disc or tape
master1960
society > communication > record > recording or reproducing sound or visual material > sound recording and reproduction > make recording [verb (transitive)] > record master disc or tape
master1960
1960 [implied in: Jrnl. Audio Engin. Soc. 8 251/2 For mastering purposes, where maximum signal-to-noise ratio is necessary, wide tracks are desirable. (at mastering n. 3)].
1967 db Nov. 8/1 Monophonic lateral recordings are commonly mastered with variable ground pitch.
1978 Gramophone Mar. 1573 (advt.) We fully appreciate the vital need for top quality pressings and, therefore, all records are now being mastered and manufactured for us in the Netherlands.
1986 Studio Week July 13/3 Since we've begun mastering digitally the noise floor has dropped.
1994 CD-ROM World Apr. 102/1 Many CD-ROM discs are mastered in the common ISO-9660 format.
1997 T3 Feb. 48/1 New films are mastered to THX standard.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2001; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1adj.eOEn.21827v.c1225
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