magistro

Forms

magistrō (present infinitive magistrāre, perfect active magistrāvī, supine magistrātum); first conjugation^[1] The longer form magisterō also occurs.^[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is from Latin magister (“commander, teacher”) + -ō.^[2][4][1] De Vaan treats magister with the derivatives of magnus (“great”), whose comparative goes back to Proto-Italic *magjōs- (“greater”) and Proto-Indo-European *mǵ-i(V)s- (“greater”).^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The epitome of Festus glosses magisterare as to rule and govern.^[3][6] In the Life of Hadrian in the Historia Augusta it is used of leading the military life among the soldiers.^[3][4][7]

Semantic evolution

Its classical sense was to rule, direct or command, and intransitively to hold a magistracy.^[2][3]

In Medieval Latin it meant to direct or manage, to teach pupils, to act as the tutor of a prince who was still a minor, and even to build;^[8][9][10] in British texts it could also mean to officiate at a liturgy.^[10] Neo-Latin writers such as Coluccio Salutati used it for “to teach”.^[11]

Meanings

Verb

1. To rule, govern, direct.^[2][3][4]
2. (intransitive) To hold a magistracy.^[2]
3. To practise (a way of life) as an example to others.^[7][6]
4. (Medieval Latin) To teach, instruct.^[8][9][11]
5. (Medieval Latin) To act as tutor to a prince who is a minor.^[8]
6. (Medieval Latin) To officiate at a liturgy.^[10]
7. (Medieval Latin) To build.^[8]

Related words

• magister
• magistrātus

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
4. ^ a b c d Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
5. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
6. ^ a b Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
7. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
8. ^ a b c d Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
9. ^ a b du Cange, Charles du Fresne, et al. (1883–1887), Glossarium mediae et infimae latinitatis, augmented ed. by Léopold Favre, Niort: L. Favre
10. ^ a b c Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
11. ^ a b Ramminger, Johann, Neulateinische Wortliste: Ein Wörterbuch des Lateinischen von Petrarca bis 1700, www.neulatein.de