maestro

[mahy-stroh]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR maestro ON THESAURUS.COM

noun, plural maes·tros.

an eminent composer, teacher, or conductor of music: Toscanini and other great maestros.

(initial capital letter) a title of respect used in addressing or referring to such a person.

a master of any art: the maestros of poetry.

Origin of maestro

1790–1800; < Italian: master

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for maestro

Contemporary Examples of maestro

She told me he insisted she called him Maestro: “I thought it was ridiculous and silly,” she said.
Jon Ronson’s Book Bag: Five Books on Madness
Jon Ronson
November 20, 2012
At the opening, Clinton was very much the maestro, a mixture of MC and talk show host.
Bill Clinton Opens His CGI Summit by Stressing the Urgency of His Mission
David Freedlander
September 23, 2012
Peckinpah, for all his reputation as “Bloody Sam,” the maestro of screen violence, cuts that part by at least half.
The Power of 'Straw Dogs'
Malcolm Jones
September 19, 2011
That opinion is seconded by Eric Ripert, the maestro of Le Bernardin.
Has Gordon Ramsay Gone Too Far?
Jacob Bernstein
September 29, 2010
“Ileana should be given her due,” Twombly comments today, slightly dismissive of the maestro.
The Svengali of Pop Art
Annie Cohen-Solal
May 13, 2010

Historical Examples of maestro

The maestro was an old man and chary of his words; yet even he was stirred to enthusiasm.
The Dominant Strain
Anna Chapin Ray
Among the latter, Maestro Ticellini occupied the first place.
The Son of Monte-Cristo, Volume I (of 2)
Alexandre Dumas pre
Salvani, as well as the maestro, looked wonderingly at the audience.
The Son of Monte-Cristo, Volume I (of 2)
Alexandre Dumas pre
The maestro was not so enthusiastic as Messiani, but he promised to do what he could.
Caruso and Tetrazzini on the Art of Singing
Enrico Caruso and Luisa Tetrazzini
One morning he said to me: 'The maestro Miller, he does not eat.'
The Spinner's Book of Fiction
Various

British Dictionary definitions for maestro

maestro

noun plural -tri (-trɪ) or -tros

a distinguished music teacher, conductor, or musician

any man regarded as the master of an art: often used as a term of address

See maestro di cappella

Word Origin for maestro

C18: Italian: master

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for maestro

"master of music, great teacher or composer," 1797, from Italian maestro, literally "master," from Latin magisterium, accusative of magister (see master (n.)). Applied in Italian to eminent musical composers. Meaning "conductor, musical director" is short for maestro di cappella (1724), literally "master of the chapel" (cf. German kapellmeister).

Culture definitions for maestro

maestro

[(meye-stroh)]

A title for distinguished artists, especially those in music. It may be given to teachers, composers, conductors, or performers. Maestro is Italian for “master.”