| 释义 |
mas·ter
I. \ˈmastə(r), -aas-, -ais-, -ȧs-\ noun
(-s)
Etymology: Middle English maister master, teacher, ruler, from Old English mægester, magister & Old French maistre, both from Latin magister; akin to Latin magnus great, large — more at much
1.
a.
(1) : a male teacher : tutor; especially : schoolmaster
< watched my master's face pass from amiability to sternness — James Joyce >
(2) : a person qualified to teach at a medieval university
(3) : a person who has received an academic degree higher than a bachelor's but lower than a doctor's
< a reception was held for the newly made masters and doctors >
b.
(1) often capitalized : a religious leader whose doctrines one accepts : one who inspires devotion or reverence on the part of his disciples
< eighty disciples drawn from diverse faiths sat with their Master — M.L.Bach >
(2) : a great figure of the past (as in science, literature, or art) whose work serves as a model, ideal, or landmark for later generations : a figure of immense authority or generally recognized greatness
< one of the few valid studies of our literature on the scale of the masters — M.D.Geismar >
< thoughts which had already occurred to the great masters of the past — Arturo Castiglioni >
< music of the masters >
c. : a workman so proficient in his handicraft or trade as to be able to follow it independently and employ or supervise journeymen or apprentices; sometimes : one who has passed a licensing examination and consequently is permitted to contract for services
d.
(1) : a person who possesses mastery (as of an art or technique) : an artist or performer of consummate skill
< one of the masters of the new poetic idiom — R.W.Southern >
< beautiful playing by a throng of masters — Wilder Hobson >
< a follower of the school of English masters — Current Biography >
(2) archaic : a painting or statue by a master — see old master
(3) : an anonymous artist of distinction whose work is distinguishable from other work of his time and place by its characteristic style or quality
< the master of the St. Cecilia altarpiece >
e. : a person who is highly skilled, ingenious, or dexterous in some area of activity
< a master at laying out and illustrating advertisements — W.J.Reilly >
< a master at dissembling >
< a master of paradox >
< a master of historical technique >
f. : a bridge player (as in United States contract bridge tournaments) eligible to play in restricted contests
2. : an individual having control, authority, or predominance over another: as
a.
(1) : a man having control over the actions of others : ruler, governor
< this decisive battle left him master of Europe >
< the masters of the little state met and drafted a defiant reply >
(2) : a sovereign ruler in relation to his ministers or diplomatic agents
< bear this message to the king your master >
b. : one that conquers or masters or is capable of conquering or mastering another : victor, superior
< in this young, obscure challenger the champion found his master >
c.
(1) : a person who is licensed to take complete charge of a merchant ship : captain, master mariner
(2) : a former commissioned officer (as in the United States and British navies) ranking next below a lieutenant and performing the duties of the present navigating officer
d.
(1) : a person having mastery of or control over something abstract or immaterial
< proved himself master of the situation >
< master of his own time >
(2) : something abstract or immaterial that exercises control or mastery
< the doctrine that fate is the master of our destinies >
(3) : a possessor or owner of something inanimate
< master of a stately house and broad acres >
(4) : the owner of a slave
< his slaves found him a kind master >
or of an animal
< these tribesmen are masters of vast herds of sheep >
also : the male person whom an animal has been trained to obey
< pulling his two-year-old master from a rain-swollen river — Springfield (Massachusetts) Union >
e.
(1) : employer
< the master eats his meal in a separate room from the laborer — J.M.Mogey >
especially : the employer of a domestic or personal servant
< informed the caller his master was not at home >
(2) : the person to whom an apprentice is articled
f. : a leader (as a bellwether) of a herd of animals
g.
(1) dialect : husband
< my master isn't home >
(2) : the male head of a household
< the master of the house >
(3) : a woman's lover or paramour
< the mistress produces to the court letters from her late master — Time >
h. : a man who owns or controls a pack of hounds; especially : one who leads, commands, and disciplines the field in a hunt when hounds are in full cry
< always refer to all persons on the hunt, other than masters and whips, as the field — Coles Phinizy >
— often used in the phrase master of hounds or in a phrase designating a pack of hounds of a specified kind (as master of foxhounds, master of beagles)
i. : a supernatural being in the mythology of a primitive people, regarded as the intermediary between men and a particular species of animals, replenishing the species, and responsible for sending animals to be killed by deserving hunters
< success depended … upon a man's satisfactory relations with the superhuman masters — American Anthropologist >
3.
a.
(1) archaic : mr. 1a
(2) now chiefly dialect : mister II 2, 4
(3) : youth, boy — now used chiefly as a conventional title of courtesy before the name of a boy
b. : any of various members of the Scottish peerage: as
(1) : the eldest son of a peer (as a viscount or baron)
< The Master of Ballantrae >
(2) : the heir presumptive to a peerage; specifically : the eldest son of an heir apparent to an earldom
4.
a.
(1) : a presiding or administrative officer; especially : the head in an institution or society (as a college, guild, or corporation)
(2) : an official who has custody or superintendence of a specified thing
< the Master of the Robes >
b.
(1) : any of several officers of court appointed to assist a judge (as by hearing and reporting upon matters referred to him or by recording proceedings)
(2) : any of several clerks or recording officers of the supreme courts of England
c. : a person holding an office of authority among the Freemasons; especially : the presiding officer — called also worshipful master
5.
a. : master matrix
b. or master copy : a surface (as a stencil or a gelatin matrix) from which copies are printed by direct contact on a duplicating machine
c. : a master mechanism or device; specifically : caster 1b
II. transitive verb
(mastered ; mastered ; mastering \-t(ə)riŋ\ ; masters)
Etymology: Middle English maistren, from maister, n. — more at master I
1.
a. : to become master of : bring under control : conquer, overcome
< tried to master his stammer — Osbert Sitwell >
< mastered his love for the wife of a neighbor — Stringfellow Barr >
b. : to cause to obey : bend to one's will : subdue, tame
< masters his gal by knocking her down and dragging her away — M.W.Fishwick >
< a farmer must master every beast on his farm — F.D.Smith & Barbara Wilcox >
< man has mastered nature — P.L.Ralph >
c. obsolete : to have or get possession of : own, possess
d. : to act as master over : rule, regulate, direct
2.
a. : to become skilled or proficient in the use of : achieve mastery or command of
< the telephone was an instrument he could not master — Osbert Sitwell >
< master a foreign language >
< could not master the technique necessary for a concert pianist — Current Biography >
b. : to gain a thorough or perfect understanding, grasp, or knowledge of
< failed to master the windings of that river — Thomas Wood †1950 >
< could master any intricate detail of pertinent information — Robert White >
c. : to work out : solve
< master a knotty problem >
III. adjective
Etymology: Middle English maister, from maister, n. — more at master I
1. : being or relating to a master: as
a. : having chief authority or power : ruling over others : dominant
< the theory of a master race >
b. : being a master as distinguished from a journeyman or apprentice
< a master electrician >
< a master plumber >
c. : being a person notably or supremely proficient in something : consummately accomplished or skilled
< flute music played by a master minstrel — Lavinia R. Davis >
< a master mathematician and craftsman — Eric Hoffer >
d. : being the chief, guiding, or principal one : having all others subordinate to oneself : principal, controlling, ruling
< the fear of communism is the master fear — W.M.Ball >
< anatomy and perspective are almost the master subjects — Reyner Banham >
< it was the master design and … thousands of westerns would be modeled on it — Fanny K. Wister >
e. : being something in a superlative degree — often used in combination
< a saturnine master-bore — D.B.W.Lewis >
< a master-liar >
f. : being a device or mechanism that controls the operation of another mechanism
< the pressure exerted by the brake fluid from the master cylinder acting on the rear face of the slave cylinder piston — Irving Frazee >
g. : being a mechanical part or a device that establishes a dimension, weight, or other standard
< the use of suitable master gears or sample gears is necessary for reference purposes — G.F.Hessler >
— compare master gage
h. : being or relating to a record (as on magnetic tape) from which duplicates or prints are intended to be made
2. dialect : remarkable, great, notable, outstanding
< I've seen some master crops there — Adrian Bell >
IV. adverb
chiefly dialect : exceedingly, very
< a master long, rough road — Sarah O. Jewett >
V. noun
(-s)
Etymology: mast (I) + -er
: a ship having a specified number of masts — usually used in combination
< a two-master >
VI. noun
: a record (as a film, sound recording, or videotape) from which copies can be produced
VII. transitive verb
: to produce a master of (as a sound recording) |