Home

maister

Maister is a historical spelling variant of the English word master. It derives from the Old French maistre, which in turn comes from the Latin magister, meaning a person of authority, learning, or skill. In Middle English and Early Modern English, maister was used alongside master to denote someone with mastery in a trade, craft, or domain.

As English spelling stabilized in the modern era, master became the predominant form. Maïster, and related spellings,

Maister has also appeared as a surname in English-speaking regions. Such surnames are usually linked to the

In contemporary usage, maister is considered archaic or regional, and modern English contexts favor master. Dictionaries

See also Meister, Magister. The term is etymologically related to these cognates: Meister in German, meaning

faded
from
general
use
and
are
now
chiefly
encountered
in
historical
texts,
spelling
lists,
or
as
surnames.
The
form
survives
in
some
regional
records
and
in
discussions
of
the
history
of
English
orthography.
occupational
sense
of
master—referring
to
a
former
master,
teacher,
or
craftsman—and
may
reflect
ancestral
associations
with
a
trade
or
position
of
authority.
and
linguistic
references
from
the
early
modern
period
document
maister
as
a
historical
variant
rather
than
a
current
term.
"master,"
and
magister
in
Latin,
used
in
academic
and
ecclesiastical
titles.