headmaster

C2+ Topic:Education & Learning

US /ˈhɛdˌmæstər/ UK /ˈhɛdˌmɑːstə/ See IPA manual

noun

Meanings

1

noun
the male head teacher in charge of a school

The headmaster summoned the prefects to his study at noon.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · the male head teacher in... principal head headteacher rector dean

Opposites

pupil student

Word family

Derived forms headmastership

Related forms headmistress head master

Etymology

A compound of head ('chief', from Old English heafod) and master, the latter from Old English mægester and Latin magister ('master, teacher').

heafod Old English magister Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Education & Learning Word Formation & Derivatives

# headmaster

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** ˈhɛdˌmæstər
**IPA (UK):** ˈhɛdˌmɑːstə

## Meanings
1. the male head teacher in charge of a school

## Examples
- The headmaster summoned the prefects to his study at noon.

## Synonyms
- principal
- head
- headteacher
- rector
- dean

## Antonyms
- pupil
- student

## Derived Forms
- headmastership

## Related Forms
- headmistress
- head
- master

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: heafod
- Root: magister

## Etymology
A compound of head ('chief', from Old English heafod) and master, the latter from Old English mægester and Latin magister ('master, teacher').

## AI Etymology
headmaster is a compound of head ('chief', from Old English heafod) and master, the latter from Old English mægester and Latin magister ('master, teacher'). Morphologically, the word is best read through the components named in the history, with the modern spelling preserving a compound structure rather than a single unanalyzable stem. In present English, the noun sense is "the male head teacher in charge of a school", so the historical development ends in a clearly identifiable modern dictionary use. The same base also appears in related forms such as headmistress, head, and master, and in derivatives such as headmastership. Its semantic neighborhood includes principal, head, headteacher, and rector, which helps locate the modern sense without adding a separate etymological claim. The named historical forms include Old English heafod and Latin magister.

## Topics
- Education & Learning
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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headmaster

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