[Lexicog] Master/Meister/Maestro

[Peter Kirk]

On 24/05/2004 02:07, Fritz Goerling wrote:

> Here are some usages in German :
>
> Maestro: 1) famous director of an orchestra or theatre company
>          2) ironic or sarcastic term of address for a presumptuous
>             person who thinks he is a master
> Meister (the German word):
>          1) the highest degree among artisans:
>          apprentice > journeyman > master
>          2) champion: "master of all classes" = heavyweight champion
>          3) ironic or sarcastic form of address
>
> Fritz Goerling
>
> Ken Hill wrote:
>
> "Master" in colloquial Mexican Spanish has two forms: maestro [maistro],
> a term of respect, as in reference to a symphony orchestra person, and
> maestro (which I hear as [maistro]), which is appropriate in address to
> an artisan (especially, in my experience, a mason) or schoolteacher,
> the polite presumption being that the person is skilled at his/her
> trade/profession.
>
>
There are of course two forms in English: "master" and "mister". The
latter is used as a title and occasionally as a form of address e.g.
"Hey, mister!" The former has a wide range of uses, including "the
highest degree among artisans" and also of course a higher academic
degree: bachelor > master > doctor.

Interestingly, in Russian this word group is used only in the last two
senses: "master" = "the highest degree among artisans" and "magister" =
higher academic degree. Is "magister" used in German as well for this
latter?

--
Peter Kirk
peter at qaya.org (personal)
peterkirk at qaya.org (work)
http://www.qaya.org/



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