Etymology Explorer › Portuguese

Where does “maestro” come from?

maestro (Portuguese) comes from Italian maestro, from Latin magister, from Proto-Italic magisteros, from Proto-Indo-European méǵh₂isteros, from Proto-Indo-European méǵh₂s — big, great.

maestro (Portuguese): conductor

Definitions

  1. conductor

Ancestry of “maestro”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Italianmaestroteacher; master; mast
2Latinmagisterteacher; master; a title of the Middle Ages,...
3Proto-Italicmagisteros—
4Proto-Indo-Europeanméǵh₂isteros—
5Proto-Indo-Europeanméǵh₂sbig, great
Every word from Proto-Indo-European méǵh₂s →