Meanings
plural schoolmasters · alternative obsolete scholemaster
- A male teacher in charge of a school, usually a small one.
- figurativelyAnything that teaches.
The war was a tough schoolmaster for the Athenians.
1 more example
If death is the schoolmaster, then life is our homework
1994, Gary Goldschneider, Joost Elffers, “June Ninth: The Day of Mental Insistence”, in The Secret Language of Birthdays, page 241
present singular third person schoolmasters · participle present schoolmastering · participle past schoolmastered · past schoolmastered · alternative obsolete scholemaster
- To teach in the capacity of schoolmaster.
Synonyms & antonyms
nounpresiding officer of a school
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Middle Englishskolemayster
- Englishschoolmaster
From Middle English skolemayster, scolemaister, scol-meister, equivalent to school + master. Cognate with West Frisian skoalmaster (“schoolmaster”), Dutch schoolmeester (“schoolmaster”), Low German Schoolmeester, Schoolmeister (“schoolmaster”), German Schulmeister (“schoolmaster”).
More words from Middle English
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian учител, учител
- учител (učitel)anything that teaches
- учител (učitel)male teacher
- преподавател (prepodavatel)male teacher
Estonian koolmeister
- koolmeistermale teacher
Finnish johtajaopettaja, opettaja
- johtajaopettajamale teacher in charge of a small school
- opettajaanything that teaches
- koulumestarimale teacher
French maître d'école
- maître d'écolemale teacher
German Schulmeister
- Schulmeistermale teacher
Greek διευθυντής, δάσκαλος
- διευθυντής (diefthyntís)male teacher in charge of a small school
- δάσκαλος (dáskalos)male teacher
Hungarian iskolaigazgató, tanító
- iskolaigazgatómale teacher in charge of a small school
- tanítóanything that teaches
- iskolai tanármale teacher
Japanese 先生, 講師
- 先生male teacher in charge of a small school
- 講師male teacher in charge of a small school
- 教員anything that teaches
- 教官anything that teaches
- 講師anything that teaches
- 先生anything that teaches
- 教諭male teacher
- 教員male teacher
- 教師male teacher
- 講師male teacher
- 教官male teacher
Thai อาจารย์
- อาจารย์ (aa-jaan)male teacher
Welsh meistr, meistr ysgol
- meistrmale teacher
- meistr ysgolmale teacher
Cite this entry
schoolmaster. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/schoolmaster
“schoolmaster.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/schoolmaster. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “schoolmaster,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/schoolmaster.
Source: schoolmaster on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.