master

noun

1. Someone who has control over something or someone.

   “We are masters of the sea.”

   “Maſters commands come with a power reſiſtleſs / To ſuch as owe them abſolute ſubjection; / And for a life who will not change his purpoſe? / (So mutable are all the ways of men) / Yet this be ſure, in nothing to comply / Scandalous or forbidden in our Law.”

   “When I have thus made myself master of a hundred thousand drachmas […].”

   “The Celebrity, by arts unknown, induced Mrs. Judge Short and two other ladies to call at Mohair on a certain afternoon when Mr. Cooke was trying a trotter on the track.[…]Their example was followed by others at a time when the master of Mohair was superintending in person the docking of some two-year-olds, and equally invisible.”

2. The owner of an animal or slave.
3. The captain of a merchant ship; a master mariner.

   “Master at two-and-twenty, and married at twenty-three—”

4. (dated)A male head of household.
5. Someone who employs others.

   “No matter how early I came down, I would find him on the veranda, smoking cigarettes, or otherwise his man would be there with a message to say that his master would shortly join me if I would kindly wait.”

6. An expert at something.

   “Mark Twain was a master of fiction.”

   “But that which chiefly distinguishes Addison from Swift, from Voltaire, from almost all the other great masters of ridicule, is the grace, the nobleness, the moral purity, which we find even in his merriment.”

   “No care is taken to improve young men in their own language, that they may thoroughly understand and be masters of it.”

   “Darth Vader: I've been waiting for you, Obi-Wan. We meet again, at last. The circle is now complete. When I left you I was but the learner; now I am the master. Obi-Wan Kenobi: Only a master of evil, Darth.”

   “A turning point came earlier this year. In January 2000, the local Qigong master who treated me asked me to find Falun Gong material on the Internet for him.”

7. A tradesman who is qualified to teach apprentices.
8. (dated)A male schoolteacher.
9. A skilled artist.
10. (dated)A man or a boy; mister. See Master.

    “Where there are little Maſters and Miſſes in a Houſe, they are uſually great Impediments to the Diverſions of the Servants;”

11. A master's degree; a type of postgraduate degree, usually undertaken after a bachelor degree.

    “She has a master in psychology.”

12. A person holding such a degree.

    “He is a master of marine biology.”

13. The original of a document or of a recording.

    “The band couldn't find the master, so they re-recorded their tracks.”

14. (broadly)The copyright in a sound recording.

    “Many modern recording artists value owning their masters.”

15. The primary wide shot of a scene, into which the closeups will be edited later.
16. A parajudicial officer (such as a referee, an auditor, an examiner, or an assessor) specially appointed to help a court with its proceedings.

    “The case was tried by a master, who concluded that the plaintiffs were the equitable owners of the property.[…]”

17. A device that is controlling other devices or is an authoritative source.

    “a master wheel”

    “a master database”

18. A person holding an office of authority, especially the presiding officer.
19. (broadly)A person holding a similar office in other civic societies.
20. (abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis)Ellipsis of master key.

    “The use of masters and submasters will enable suites of rooms to be controlled by one key.”

21. A male dominant.
22. (in-compounds)A vessel having a specified number of masts.

    “a two-master”

23. Prepended to a boy's name or surname as a (now somewhat formal) form of address.

    “"I'm terribly sorry, Master Luke," apologized the droid.”

24. A religious teacher, often as an honorific title.
25. The title of the head of certain colleges and schools.
26. A master's degree.
27. A person holding a master's degree, as a title.
28. The title of the eldest son of a Scots lord.

    “The eldest son of Lord Forbes is known as the Master of Forbes.”

29. The owner of a slave, in some literature.
30. Used as the title of a dominant, especially a male one.

adj

1. (not-comparable)Masterful.

   “a master performance”

2. (not-comparable)Main, principal or predominant.
3. (not-comparable)Highly skilled.

   “master batsman”

   “In another minute she lay peaceful and motionless under the anæsthetic — a statue, immobile, yet expressionful, as though carved by some master hand.”

4. (not-comparable)Original.

   “master copy”

verb

1. (intransitive)To be a master.
2. (transitive)To become the master of; to subject to one's will, control, or authority; to conquer; to overpower; to subdue.

   “Obstinacy and willful neglects must be mastered, even though it cost blows.”

   “Then Elzevir cried out angrily, 'Silence. Are you mad, or has the liquor mastered you? Are you Revenue-men that you dare shout and roister? or contrabandiers with the lugger in the offing, and your life in your hand. You make noise enough to wake folk in Moonfleet from their beds.'”

3. (transitive)To learn to a high degree of proficiency.

   “It took her years to master the art of needlecraft.”

4. (obsolete, transitive)To own; to possess.

   “[…]the wealth / That the world maſters.”

5. (especially, transitive)To make a master copy of.
6. (intransitive, usually)To earn a Master's degree.

   “He mastered in English at the state college.”

name

1. One of the triune gods of the Horned God in Wicca alongside the Father and Sage and representing a boy or a young man.

   “...and our Lord as Master, Father, and Sage.”

   “In respect to our Lord (God), these are the less known Master, Father, and Sage.”

   “Master of the Seasons of the Year, I call upon you and ask you to be here with me in this, my ritual.”

2. Mastercard
3. A surname.