Magistery
noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 A pure quality with the power to cure or to turn one substance into another; also, a substance such as a philosopher's stone able to turn one substance into another. also, countable, figuratively, historical, uncountable
"[T]hey made proofe of the ſaid flowers dried, and this high magiſterie they found, That being beaten to pouder, they cured thoſe of the bloudie flix,^([sic – meaning flux]) vvho lay at the very point of death upon that diſeaſe; […]"
- 2 The product of such a transformation. also, countable, figuratively, historical, obsolete, uncountable
- 3 A fine substance deposited by precipitation, formerly applied to certain white precipitates from metallic solutions. countable, historical, uncountable
"magistery of bismuth (BiONO₃·H₂O)"
- 4 A concentrated extract of a substance. countable, historical, obsolete, uncountable
- 5 An art or a skill. countable, obsolete
Show 4 more definitions
- 6 Synonym of magistracy (“the dignity or office of a magistrate; the collective body of magistrates”). countable, obsolete
- 7 A medicine prepared for a specific use. countable, obsolete
- 8 The quality possessed by a master; authority, mastership, mastery; also, the exercise of authority. obsolete, uncountable
- 9 Synonym of magisterium (“the teaching authority or office of the Roman Catholic Church”). obsolete, uncountable
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
More examples"[T]hey made proofe of the ſaid flowers dried, and this high magiſterie they found, That being beaten to pouder, they cured thoſe of the bloudie flix,^([sic – meaning flux]) vvho lay at the very point of death upon that diſeaſe; […]"
Etymology
PIE word *méǵh₂s From Middle English magisteri, magistery (“academic degree of Master”), from Latin magisterium (“office of a chief, director, president, or superintendent; teaching office or authority of the Roman Catholic Church; authoritative statement”) (compare Late Latin magisterium (“philosopher’s stone”)), from magister (“master (title for a person in authority or one having a licence from a university to teach liberal arts and philosophy); teacher”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *méǵh₂s (“big, great”) + *-teros (contrastive or oppositional suffix forming adjectives)) + -ium (suffix forming abstract nouns, sometimes denoting groups and offices). By surface analysis, magister + -y. Doublet of magisterium. Cognate with French magistère, Old French magisteire.
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.