Etymologically
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maître

Etymology and origin of the French word maître

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Inherited
First attested
c. 1100, Chanson de Roland (maistre)
Inherited from
Latin magister via Old French
Ultimate origin
Latin (magis)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin magis
Latin magister
French maître

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /mɛtʁ/[1]
  • IPA: /mɛːtʁ/[1]
  • IPA (Quebec): [maɛ̯tʁ][1]

Forms

maître m (plural maîtres, feminine maîtresse or maître)[1] Old French maistre, mestre;[2] maître from the Académie of 1740.[2][3] Feminine maîtresse (12th century).[4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French maistre, inherited from Latin magister (“chief, master, teacher”),[2][5][4][1][6] probably derived from magis (“more”),[2][7][8] like minister from minus.[7] Magister replaced classical Latin dominus (“master of the house”), which survives in dom and dame.[2][5] French also had the learned magistre until the 16th century.[2]

Doublets are magister, maestro (from Italian) and master (from English).[1] Cognate with Italian maestro and Spanish maestro.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Chanson de Roland (about 1100) has maistre both as a noun, a person who has power over others, and in apposition with the sense “chief, most important”.[2][9]

Semantic evolution

The idea of “most important” survives in maître-autel “high altar” (about 1160), maître-couple (1765) and carte maîtresse “winning card”.[2][9] The noun covers the master of servants or slaves, the owner, the head of a trade guild, and the teacher: maistre escole (late 13th century), maître d'école (17th century).[3][5][8] As a title it is given to lawyers and notaries, and to great artists (les maîtres flamands).[1][8]

The feminine maîtresse (13th century) took the sense “mistress, lover”.[5][8] Derivatives include maîtrise (1191), maîtriser (about 1200) and contremaître (1425).[5]

Timeline

  • c. 1100 – Maistre (Roland).[2][4]
  • c. 1160 – Maître-autel.[2]
  • 1191 – Maîtrise.[5]
  • late 13th century – Maistre escole.[5]
  • 1425 – Contremaître.[5]
  • 1740 – The spelling maître.[3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A master; one who has authority over others or owns something: maître de maison.[8][1]
  2. A primary-school teacher: maître d'école.[8][1]
  3. One who excels in an art or is taken as a model: les maîtres flamands.[8]
  4. Maître: a title of lawyers and notaries.[1][8]
  5. (navy) A petty officer.[1]

Adjective

  1. Chief, principal: pièce maîtresse, maître mot.[8][9]

Word family

  • maîtresse
  • maîtrise
  • maîtriser
  • contremaître
  • petit-maître

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  3. ^ a b c Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
  4. ^ a b c Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 6/1, 34a
  7. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  9. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Maître.” Etymologically, 17 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/ma%C3%AEtre. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·