masterless

Masterless is an adjective meaning lacking a master, lord, or controlling authority. It can describe people, systems, or entities that are independent of a governing master figure. The term appears in historical, literary, and technical contexts, and its meaning depends on the domain.

In historical contexts, masterless has specific social implications. In feudal Japan, a samurai without a lord was called a ronin, often rendered in English as a “masterless samurai.” Ronin might roam in search of employment with another lord, work as guards or mercenaries, or pursue other income. Their status varied, with some experiencing social stigma and others carving out new roles in a changing political landscape.

In Britain during the Tudor and Stuart eras, the phrase “masterless men” described individuals without a master or employer—often unemployed or vagrant—who could become targets of social policy and law enforcement. The term was tied to concerns about social order, poverty, and unrest, though not all masterless individuals were criminals.

In modern technology, masterless denotes the absence of a central controlling server. For example, in software configuration management, masterless mode enables systems to operate without a Puppet master. This approach uses local manifests and modules and applies configuration with commands like puppet apply, making it suitable for offline, isolated, or small deployments.

Other uses may appear in literature or media to describe autonomous actors not bound by a master or overseer, reflecting a broader theme of independence or self-direction.

See also: ronin, vagrancy, Puppet (software).