maistre

Maistre is an historic or archaic spelling of the French noun maître, meaning master, teacher, or owner. The form appears in medieval and early modern texts before spelling was standardised, and today it is mainly encountered in historical contexts or as part of proper names. In earlier usage, maistre could denote a master in a craft, a guild head, or a schoolmaster; it also appeared in titles and forms of address. In contemporary French, the diacritic-marked maître is the standard form, and maistre survives primarily in surnames and in archival or literary contexts.

Maistre is also a surname. The most prominent bearer is Joseph de Maistre (1753–1821), a Savoyard writer and diplomat whose conservative, counter-revolutionary thought influenced European political philosophy. Born in Chambéry, he spent much of his life in exile and produced works on authority, tradition, and the Catholic Church. His Considerations on France and other writings argued for hierarchical governance and the importance of religious legitimacy as foundations of social order.

In modern usage, maistre as a standalone term is rare outside historical references; the related term maître is widely used in professional and everyday language (for example, maître d’hôtel, maître de poste). The surname Maistre remains a recognized family name in France and among Francophone communities.