maestro
[mahy-stroh]
- 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.
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Origin of maestro
1790–1800; < Italian: master
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for maestro
Contemporary Examples
She told me he insisted she called him Maestro: “I thought it was ridiculous and silly,” she said.
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 MissionDavid Freedlander
September 23, 2012
Peckinpah, for all his reputation as “Bloody Sam,” the maestro of screen violence, cuts that part by at least half.
That opinion is seconded by Eric Ripert, the maestro of Le Bernardin.
“Ileana should be given her due,” Twombly comments today, slightly dismissive of the maestro.
Historical Examples
The maestro was an old man and chary of his words; yet even he was stirred to enthusiasm.
The Dominant StrainAnna 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 SingingEnrico Caruso and Luisa Tetrazzini
One morning he said to me: 'The maestro Miller, he does not eat.'
maestro
- 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
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Word Origin
C18: Italian: master
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for maestro
n.
"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).
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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.”
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The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.