quartermaster

Etymology

It is formed from English quarter + master,^[2][3][4][5] after Middle Dutch quartiermeester (“naval officer in charge of the watches”), which also meant an official in charge of a district (modern Dutch kwartiermeester, also a military officer from the 16th century);^[2] compare Middle Low German quārtērmēster and German Quartiermeister.^[2] Etymonline instead takes it from French quartier-maître or directly from the Dutch word,^[6] but the OED dates the French word only from before 1637 and thinks it probably came from Dutch.^[2] It also records post-classical Latin forms in British sources made after the English word, such as Medieval Latin quartermagister (1502).^[2] The first element goes back to Old French quartier, from Latin quartārius (“fourth part”), and the second to Old English mægester, from magister (“chief, head, teacher”).^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

A subordinate officer of a ship: 1415, in a Latin record that calls one Ricardus Broun quartermaistre of the ship La Trinite.^[2][7] Etymonline dates the word to the early 15th century,^[6] and Dictionary.com to 1400–50.^[5]

Semantic evolution

The quartermaster was first a ship's officer whose duties included stowing the hold,^[6] and later also the trim of the ship and the care of navigational instruments, answering to the captain;^[2] the Middle English Dictionary also has the sense of an assistant carpenter or shipwright.^[7] In Scotland the word named a burgh official (1462–1684) and a guild officer who assisted the deacon (1556–1868); from 1582 it was also used of a civic officer in charge of a district in Germany and the Low Countries.^[2] On land, from 1590, it was a regimental officer who saw to barracks, camps, rations and ammunition;^[2] Etymonline dates this sense to about 1600.^[6] Johnson (1755) defined it as one who regulates the quarters of soldiers.^[8] A playful sense, someone who shares a quarter of a responsibility, ran from 1541 to 1685.^[2] In the modern navy the quartermaster is a petty officer in charge of steering, signals and navigation,^[9][3][10] and in the United States Army an officer of the Quartermaster Corps.^[3] The verb, to act as quartermaster, appears in 1862.^[2]

Timeline

• 1415 – a petty officer on a ship, in charge of stowing and later of steering and signals.^[2][7]
• 1462 – in Scotland, a burgh official (obsolete after 1684).^[2]
• 1541 – a person who has a quarter share of a responsibility (obsolete after 1685).^[2]
• 1556 – in Scotland, a guild officer who assisted the deacon (obsolete).^[2]
• 1582 – a civic officer in charge of a district in Germany and the Low Countries.^[2]
• 1590 – an army officer in charge of quarters, camps and supplies.^[2] Etymonline dates this sense to about 1600.^[6]
• 1862 – verb, to act as quartermaster.^[2]
• 1882 – steering gear (obsolete after 1899).^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. A military officer responsible for the accommodation, food, clothing and equipment of troops.^[10][9][3]
2. A naval petty officer in charge of steering, signals and navigation.^[10][9][3]

Verb

1. To act as a quartermaster.^[2]

Word family

• quartermasterlike
• quartermastership
• quartermaster general

Related words

• quarter
• master
• quarters

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
6. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
7. ^ a b c Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
8. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
9. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
10. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt