Etymology Explorer › French

Where does “maitre” come from?

maitre (French) comes from Middle French maistre, from Old French maistre, from Latin magister, from Proto-Italic magisteros, from Proto-Indo-European méǵh₂isteros, from Proto-Indo-European méǵh₂s — big, great.

maitre (French): master; leader; primary school teacher

Definitions

  1. master; leader; primary school teacher

Ancestry of “maitre”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Frenchmaistremaster
2Old Frenchmaistremaster; Master; magister
3Latinmagisterteacher; master; a title of the Middle Ages,...
4Proto-Italicmagisteros—
5Proto-Indo-Europeanméǵh₂isteros—
6Proto-Indo-Europeanméǵh₂sbig, great

Words derived from “maitre”

  • met tet
  • maitresse
  • мэтр
  • метрдотель
  • maîtrise
  • quartier-maître
  • maîtresse
  • maitre
  • Lemaître
  • maître d'hôtel
  • contremaître
  • maistrance
  • maitresse
  • Mätresse
  • maître
  • metres
  • metrdotel
  • mèt tèt
Every word from Proto-Indo-European méǵh₂s →