Where does “master” come from?

master (Norwegian Nynorsk) comes from English Master, from English Mast, from French masse, from Old French mace, from Vulgar Latin mattia, from Latin mateola, from Latin -ulus, from Proto-Italic -olos — Forms agent nouns from verbal roots.

master (Norwegian Nynorsk): a master's degree; a master's thesis; a person...

Definitions

  1. a master's degree; a master's thesis; a person...

Ancestry of “master”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishMasterPrepended to a boy's name or surname as a form...
2EnglishMast
3Frenchmassea paste, a dough; large amount or quantity of...
4Old Frenchmacemace weapon
5Vulgar Latinmattia
6LatinmateolaThe meaning of this term is uncertain....
7Latin-ulusUsed to form a diminutive of a noun, indicating...
8Proto-Italic-olos
9Proto-Italic-elosForms desubstantival and deadjectival diminutive nouns
10Proto-Indo-European-e-lós
11Proto-Indo-European-lósForms agent nouns from verbal roots
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -lósEvery word from Latin -ulusEvery word from Latin mateola
master — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer