Etymology Explorer › German

Where does “meister” come from?

meister (German) comes from Middle High German meister, from Old High German meistar, from Vulgar Latin maester, from Latin magister, from Proto-Italic magisteros, from Proto-Indo-European méǵh₂isteros, from Proto-Indo-European méǵh₂s — big, great.

Definitions

Ancestry of “meister”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle High Germanmeistermaster
2Old High Germanmeistar—
3Vulgar Latinmaester—
4Latinmagisterteacher; master; a title of the Middle Ages,...
5Proto-Italicmagisteros—
6Proto-Indo-Europeanméǵh₂isteros—
7Proto-Indo-Europeanméǵh₂sbig, great
Every word from Proto-Indo-European méǵh₂s →