English
master
Master comes from Middle English maister ‘master’, from Latin magister ‘chief, teacher, leader’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *méǵh₂s ‘big, great’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*méǵh₂s‘big’reconstructed
- Old Latinc. 700–75 BCEmagester
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmagister‘chief’
- Old Englishc. 450–1150mǣster
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500maister‘master’
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1596–1598master
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*méǵh₂s‘big’reconstructed
- Old Latinc. 700–75 BCEmagester
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmagister‘chief’
- Old Englishc. 450–1150mǣster
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500maister‘master’
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1596–1598master
Earliest quotation: c. 1596–1598, William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice: “[…]the wealth / That the world maſters.”
The story
Reinforced by Old French maistre, mestre (noun) and maistriier, maister (verb) from the same Latin source.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *méǵh₂s ‘big, great’
major, mayor, magnitude, magnum, maxim, magnate, magnify, mair, mickle, maggiore, muckle, mahila, 16 more
through Latin magister ‘chief, teacher, leader’
mistress, magistrate, maestro, meister, magisterial, magister, 9 more
Today it means
noun Someone who has control over something or someone.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *méǵh₂s / master