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Master is a term that indicates a consummate level of skill, proficiency, superiority or power. It is used in several contexts, as indicated below. The female equivalent is Mistress.
A master is also a prototype or template; such usages are also listed.
Master recording
A master is the original of a visual and/or sound recording, which is then mixed and/or cut into a template from which distributable copies are made.
Master craftsman
A master is also a person who has a larger skill than most in some kind of art.
See also: master craftsman (a guild member)
A master is also the recipient of a graduate degree in a specified discipline from a college or university. The degree is intermediate between a bachelor's degree and a Ph.D. and include the specific degrees Master of Arts, Master of Science, and Master of Engineering.
Some Master's degrees, such as the MBA, are the highest degree offered, see (professional Master's degree). Others are sometimes the terminal degree, e.g. a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) is often a highest degree, as there is often no PhD degree offered in fine arts.
A master is a person who has a larger skill than most in the licensed trades, this is usually granted following instruction, testing and a period of practical experience.
The Masters
The Masters golf tournament is one of the most important in golf.
The Masters is a snooker tournament.
Master unit
A master is also a mechanical or electronic unit which commands or controls another unit, so that they work in tandem or in parallel. Examples include:
Slave master
A master was also another name for a slaveholder. See slavery.
Sexual master
In BDSM, a master is a man who takes a dominant role. The feminine equivalent is mistress or dominatrix.
Master Aircrew
Master Aircrew is the highest non-commissioned rank held by aircrew in the Royal Air Force.
Form of address
Master was once a title used in England for men of fairly high rank, such as gentlemen, priests or scholars. It was later extended to all respectable men and was the forerunner of ""Mister", which is derived from it. After its replacement in common speech by "Mister", "Master" was retained as an address for boys or young men, but is now considered archaic and affected. See also Mistress.
The heir to a Scottish lordship, barony or viscountcy is given the honoric title "Master of" followed by his father's title. For instance, the heir of Lord Elphinstone is known as the Master of Elphinstone.
In Korean martial arts, master is the title above black belt which allows the holder to operate a school (dojang). A higher rank is grandmaster.
A Chess Player's Rank
In international chess, players are ranked by the FIDE using a comparison of their win-draw-loss record against other ranked players. Master and grandmaster are two such ranks.
The term Master has several meanings in this context; refer to the full article at Master Mariner.
Schoolmaster
A Master once referred to a male school teacher. This usage survives in British public schools, but is generally obsolete elsewhere.
The teacher in charge of a school was the Headmaster. This again survives in public schools, but has been replaced by Head Teacher in other British schools (although Headmaster is still often used colloquially, particularly in grammar schools) and is equivalent to the Principal in American schools. The term Headmaster survives in some America and Commonwealth private schools.
A range of other terms was derived from this, including Deputy Headmaster (the second most senior teacher), Senior Master (used in some public schools instead of deputy headmaster), Second Master (the third most senior teacher), and Housemaster (the master in charge of a boarding house). Some public schools use other titles as well.
The female equivalent is Mistress, which can be used with all the same prefixes.
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