Link Centre Dictionary

masterly

mas·terly

UK/ˈmɑːstəli/ US/ˈmæ-/ uncommon archaic obsolete

adjective

1.

having or revealing supreme mastery or skill

  • “a consummate artist”
  • “consummate skill”
  • “a masterful speaker”
  • “masterful technique”
  • “a masterly performance of the sonata”
  • “a virtuoso performance”
Synonyms
Similar

Origin

PIE word *méǵh₂s From Middle English maisterli, from maister (“leader, ruler; high official; official in charge of a place; person in control; employer; owner; schoolmaster, teacher; scholar, sage; holder of a master's degree; religious teacher; master craftsman; expert; magician; social superior; husband; lover; Jesus Christ; a god; male stud animal”) + -li (suffix forming adjectives). Maister is derived from Old English mæġester (“master”) and Old French maistre (“master”) (modern French maître), both from Latin magister (“teacher; master”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *méǵh₂s (“big, great”). The English word is analysable as master + -ly.

Phrases

  • masterly inactivity

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.