Master E.S. was an unidentified late Gothic German goldsmith and engraver who signed many of his engravings with the monogram E.S. and who was one of the outstanding early printmakers of Europe. His line engravings are especially known for their use of crosshatching and their subtlety of tonal

Meister Eckhart was a Dominican theologian and writer who was the greatest German speculative mystic. In the transcripts of his sermons in German and Latin, he charts the course of union between the individual soul and God. Johannes Eckhart entered the Dominican order when he was 15 and studied in

Meister Eckhart was a Dominican theologian and writer who was the greatest German speculative mystic. In the transcripts of his sermons in German and Latin, he charts the course of union between the individual soul and God. Johannes Eckhart entered the Dominican order when he was 15 and studied in

horticulture: Horticultural education and research: The Master Gardener program offers intensive horticultural training in conjunction with a number of land-grant universities and extensions across the United States and Canada; its graduates are required to volunteer in their communities in order to maintain an active status. Vocational horticultural training is more highly…

Beryl Bainbridge: …Every Man for Himself (1996), Master Georgie (1998), and According to Queeney (2001).

Western painting: High Gothic: …well-known Parisian royal illuminator called Master Honoré, who was active about 1288–1300 or later.

The Master and Margarita, novel by Russian writer Mikhail Bulgakov, written in 1928–40 and published in a censored form in the Soviet Union in 1966–67. The unexpurgated version was published there in 1973. Witty and ribald, the novel is at the same time a penetrating philosophical work that

Nicholas Monsarrat: His last novel, The Master Mariner; Running Proud (1979), was the first book of a two-part novel to have covered the British Navy from 1588 to 1788.

history of the organization of work: Monumental construction: …the guild craftsmen was the master mason, who functioned as architect, administrative official, building contractor, and technical supervisor. He designed the molds, or patterns, used to cut the stones for the intricate designs of doors, windows, arches, and vaults. He also designed the building itself, usually copying its elements from…

Mel Ott was an American professional baseball player, manager, and broadcaster who played his entire 22-year career with the New York Giants (1926–47). Ott had a unique batting stance with an extremely high and prolonged leg-kick, which helped the slight, 5-foot 9-inch (1.75-metre) outfielder

master of arts, degree and title conferred by colleges and universities to indicate the completion of a course of study in the humanities (such as philosophy, arts, or languages). Candidates are often required to take an exam and to complete a thesis or creative project. Programs usually take an

The Master of Ballantrae, novel by Scottish writer Robert Louis Stevenson, first serialized in Scribner’s Magazine in 1888–89 and published in book form in 1889. The novel provides another example of the moral ambiguity Stevenson had explored earlier in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Ballantrae is bold

The Master of Ballantrae, novel by Scottish writer Robert Louis Stevenson, first serialized in Scribner’s Magazine in 1888–89 and published in book form in 1889. The novel provides another example of the moral ambiguity Stevenson had explored earlier in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Ballantrae is bold

Gaston III: …first English book on hunting, The Master of Game.

J.M. Coetzee: …contemporary South Africa, but in The Master of Petersburg (1994) he made reference to 19th-century Russia (particularly to Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s work The Devils); both books treat the subject of literature in society. In 1999, with his novel Disgrace, Coetzee became the first writer to win the Booker Prize twice. After…

Metallica: …by critics, Metallica’s third album, Master of Puppets (1986), sold more than three million copies with very little support from broadcast radio. The album’s title track opened with what would become one of heavy metal’s most recognizable guitar riffs, and songs such as “Battery” and “Damage, Inc.” defined thrash metal…

France: The growth of a professional bureaucracy: There were also masters of requests (maîtres de requêtes), lawyers whose expertise was invaluable when the council sat in a judicial capacity. But in the council the professional element that assumed the greatest significance in the course of the 16th and 17th centuries was the holders of the…

Louis Feuillade: Fantômas (1913–14; Master of Terror), Feuillade’s first serial, established his popularity in both France and the United States. Its swift-moving, intricate plot features a series of thrilling episodes involving clever disguises, trapdoors, kidnappings, hairbreadth escapes, and rooftop chases. It was followed by Les Vampires (1915), which centres…

Canadian literature: World War II and the postwar period, 1935–60: >Master of the River) deplored in lyrical language Anglo-American takeovers of Quebec’s natural resources, and in 1938 Ringuet (Philippe Panneton) traced the decline of Quebec’s rural economy in Trente arpents (Thirty Acres). After the interruption of the war years (1939–45), French Canadian fiction became increasingly…

Jean Duvet was a French engraver whose style and subject matter had roots in the Middle Ages and in Florentine Mannerism and foreshadowed the highly charged work of late 16th-century France. He painted religious and mystical works at a time when his contemporaries were predominantly concerned with

E.L. James: …author best known for the Fifty Shades series of erotic novels.

August Strindberg: Early years: …important work, the historical drama Mäster Olof (published in 1872), on the theme of the Swedish Reformation, influenced by Shakespeare and by Henrik Ibsen’s Brand. The Royal Theatre’s rejection of Mäster Olof deepened his pessimism and sharpened his contempt for official institutions and traditions. For several years he continued revising…

Paolo Veneziano was a principal Venetian painter of the Byzantine style in 14th-century Venice. Paolo and his son Giovanni signed The Coronation of the Virgin in 1358; it is the last known work by him. Another The Coronation of the Virgin, which is dated 1324, is also attributed to Paolo. Other

French literature: Secular drama: 1465; Master Peter Patelan, a Fifteenth-Century French Farce), a tale of trickery involving a sly lawyer, a dull-witted draper, and a crafty shepherd.

property law: Zoning and planning: …full-scale plan, sometimes called a master plan, requires an accurate inventory of the population and of the land-use patterns existing in the area, economic and demographic predictions of what the future is likely to bring, a thorough understanding of the infrastructure that these future changes will require, and considerable imagination…

motion-picture technology: Film processing and printing: …is used to make a master positive, sometimes known as the protection positive, from which a printing negative is then made to run off the release prints. Alternatively, a “dupe” negative can be made by copying the original camera negative through the reversal process. This yields a color reversal intermediate…

modular arithmetic: …Sun Zi’s Sunzi suanjing (Master Sun’s Mathematical Manual), asks

Tara Singh was a Sikh leader known chiefly for his advocacy of an autonomous Punjabi-speaking Sikh nation in the Punjab region. He was a champion of Sikh rights against the dominant Hindus, Muslims, and British. Tara Singh was born a Hindu, but while a student in Rawalpindi he became attracted to

master’s degree, academic degree intermediate between the bachelor’s degree and the doctor’s degree. The terms master and doctor were used interchangeably during the Middle Ages, but in Germany the doctorate came to be considered superior to the master’s and this system subsequently spread to the

tort: Vicarious liability: …is sometimes called the “master’s tort” theory. This theory probably results from a misreading of Roman texts as well as the desire to protect small industrial concerns at the end of the 19th century. It makes the master liable only if he is personally at fault in selecting or…

Colm Tóibín: Novels: The Master (2004) is a piercing portrait of the American literary giant Henry James; in 2006 the novel received the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award.

Amy Adams: Stage debut and later career: …of a spiritual leader in The Master (2012), which netted her another Oscar nomination. She subsequently appeared as the determined daughter of a baseball scout in Trouble with the Curve (2012) and a character based on William S. Burroughs’s wife, Joan Vollmer, in a screen adaptation of Jack Kerouac’s On…

Mastercard Inc. is an international payment card services corporation established in 1966. It provides various financial services in more than 210 countries and territories, and its branded credit cards and debit cards are accepted by more than 37 million businesses worldwide. The company is

Gordon Ramsay: …and an American version of MasterChef that debuted in 2010. The latter show, which Ramsay cohosted, featured amateur cooks competing for cash prizes and a cookbook contract. MasterChef Junior, which had children as contestants, began airing in 2013 in the United States. In 2017 Ramsay appeared in the two-part British…

Gordon Ramsay: MasterChef Junior, which had children as contestants, began airing in 2013 in the United States. In 2017 Ramsay appeared in the two-part British documentary series Gordon on Cocaine, about the illegal drug. Two years later Gordon Ramsay: Uncharted made its debut; the TV show followed…

beef Wellington: …variation in her best-selling book Mastering the Art of French Cooking (1961) and then, on a 1965 episode of her television show The French Chef, calling it “filet of Wellington beef.” A favourite dish of U.S. Presidents John F. Kennedy and Richard M. Nixon—a recipe is included in the White…

quiz: A history of quizzing: …notable exception was the BBC’s Mastermind, which was created by Bill Wright, a former Royal Air Force gunner. Having been shot down over Germany during World War II, he became a prisoner of war and was repeatedly interrogated with a light in his face. He brought that experience to Mastermind,…

quiz: Why people quiz: …of the fourth season of Mastermind India, went on to win the Champion of Champions title. To do so, she had to defeat three other Mastermind winners. But quizzing often continues to be perceived as a space for men to hang out. This is unfortunate because quizzes are, by nature,…

Kelly Reichardt: First Cow, Showing Up, and The Mastermind: …and directed the crime drama The Mastermind, which stars Josh O’Connor as a small-time art thief on the run after stealing several Arthur Dove paintings from a museum. In a departure for the director, it was set in Massachusetts, in the 1970s. The Guardian wrote of the movie that the…

Russell Baker: …host of the television program Masterpiece Theatre. In that same year he published Russell Baker’s Book of American Humor, which, following an illuminating introduction, gives its due to figures such as Benjamin Franklin, Mark Twain, and James Thurber. Baker’s final “Observer” column for The New York Times appeared on Christmas…

Samuel A. Alito, Jr.: Alito’s jurisprudence and concern for religious liberty: …joined a concurring opinion in Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd. v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission (2018), in which the Court’s conservative majority held that a Colorado civil rights agency had acted unfairly in its finding that a baker’s refusal on religious grounds to make a wedding cake for a same-sex couple had…

Bunraku: …2003 UNESCO declared Bunraku a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.

Russell Baker: …host of the television program Masterpiece Theatre. In that same year he published Russell Baker’s Book of American Humor, which, following an illuminating introduction, gives its due to figures such as Benjamin Franklin, Mark Twain, and James Thurber. Baker’s final “Observer” column for The New York Times appeared on Christmas…

Émile Zola: Life: …of his novel L’Oeuvre (1886; The Masterpiece), which depicts the life of an innovative painter who, unable to realize his creative potential, ends up hanging himself in front of his final painting. Cézanne, in particular, chose to see the novel as a thinly disguised commentary on his own temperament and…

Bunraku: …2003 UNESCO declared Bunraku a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.

Masters and Johnson: …a sex therapist, established the Masters & Johnson Institute (originally the Reproductive Biology Research Foundation), which served couples affected by sexual dysfunction from 1964 until 1994.

Masters and Johnson, American research team noted for their studies of human sexuality. William H. Masters (in full William Howell Masters; b. December 27, 1915, Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.—d. February 16, 2001, Tucson, Arizona), a physician, and Virginia E. Johnson (née Virginia Eshelman; b. February

Southern Africa: Changes in the status of Africans: By 1841, largely through “masters and servants” legislation, settlers had reimposed much of their old authority.

Brazilian literature: Modernismo and regionalism: The Masters and the Slaves). This sociological study characterized miscegenation and the Portuguese racial practice of commingling with black slaves for the first time in a positive frame; it categorized them luso-tropicalismo, a concept later criticized as contributing to the myth of racial democracy. In…

Charles Portis: In the similarly episodic Masters of Atlantis (1985), Portis humorously skewered secret societies and cults with his depiction of an organization devoted to preserving the esoteric wisdom of the island of Atlantis. The quest for another ancient civilization, a lost city in the jungles of Mexico, animates the plot…

Colleen McCullough: …the first of her seven-book Masters of Rome series, The First Man in Rome. The works, which center on historical figures during the twilight of the Roman Republic, were widely praised for their meticulous adherence to historical record. The last novel, Antony and Cleopatra, was published in 2007.

Masters and Johnson: …a drama television series titled Masters of Sex debuted on the American cable channel Showtime. The drama was based on Masters of Sex: The Life and Times of William Masters and Virginia Johnson, the Couple Who Taught America How to Love (2009), a biography of the two researchers written by…

Black Eyed Peas: … to release the graphic novel Masters of the Sun: The Zombie Chronicles (2017), written by will.i.am with Marvel’s Benjamin Jackendoff and Damion Scott (illustrator), and shortly thereafter they added an augmented-reality smartphone app in conjunction with the graphic novel. In 2018 the band, without Fergie, unexpectedly issued a hip-hop single,…

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe: Film and TV adaptations: Masters of the Universe, a live-action film starring Dolph Lundgren as He-Man and Frank Langella as Skeletor, was released in 1987 along with an expanded toy line; it turned out to be a commercial failure but became a cult classic. A new toy line debuted…

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe: Film and TV adaptations: Masters of the Universe, a live-action film by Mattel Studios and Amazon MGM Studios, is set to be released in June 2026. With Nicholas Galitzine as He-Man (Prince Adam), Jared Leto as Skeletor, Camila Mendes as Teela, and Idris Elba as Man-at-Arms (Duncan), the film…

Masters Tournament, invitational golf tournament held annually since 1934 from Thursday through Sunday during the first full week of April at the private Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia. The tournament was conceived by American golfer Bobby Jones. It is considered one of the four

Winners of the Masters Tournament, which is held each April in Augusta, Georgia, receive a trophy, prize money, and invitations to all future Masters Tournaments during their lifetimes, but the event’s most unique reward is the green jacket that is bestowed on each champion by the previous winner

Edgar Lee Masters was an American poet and novelist, best known as the author of Spoon River Anthology (1915). Masters grew up on his grandfather’s farm near New Salem, Ill., studied in his father’s law office, and attended Knox College, Galesburg, Ill., for one year. He was admitted to the bar in

William H. Masters was an American gynecologist who was a pioneer in the field of human sexuality research and sex therapy. With partner Virginia E. Johnson, Masters conducted groundbreaking research on sex physiology and in 1964 established the Masters & Johnson Institute (originally the

William H. Masters was an American gynecologist who was a pioneer in the field of human sexuality research and sex therapy. With partner Virginia E. Johnson, Masters conducted groundbreaking research on sex physiology and in 1964 established the Masters & Johnson Institute (originally the

master’s degree, academic degree intermediate between the bachelor’s degree and the doctor’s degree. The terms master and doctor were used interchangeably during the Middle Ages, but in Germany the doctorate came to be considered superior to the master’s and this system subsequently spread to the

Richard Wagner: Return from exile of Richard Wagner: …Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (The Meistersingers of Nürnberg), for which he incorporated into his new conception of music drama certain of the old “operatic” elements. By 1864, however, his expenditure on a grand scale and inveterate habits of borrowing and living on others had brought him to financial disaster:…

Bat Masterson was a gambler, saloonkeeper, lawman, and newspaperman who made a reputation in the old American West. Born in Canada, Masterson grew up on successive family farms in New York, Illinois, and Kansas. Leaving home at 19, he eventually became a buffalo hunter and Indian scout, working out

Bat Masterson was a gambler, saloonkeeper, lawman, and newspaperman who made a reputation in the old American West. Born in Canada, Masterson grew up on successive family farms in New York, Illinois, and Kansas. Leaving home at 19, he eventually became a buffalo hunter and Indian scout, working out

Ashton Kutcher: Medical issues and philanthropic work: …costar from That ’70s Show, Danny Masterson, who had been convicted of rape; Masterson ultimately received a sentence of 30 years to life.

Bat Masterson was a gambler, saloonkeeper, lawman, and newspaperman who made a reputation in the old American West. Born in Canada, Masterson grew up on successive family farms in New York, Illinois, and Kansas. Leaving home at 19, he eventually became a buffalo hunter and Indian scout, working out

Masterton, town (“district”), southern North Island, New Zealand. It is located on the Ruamahanga River (a tributary of the Wairarapa), 55 miles (89 km) northeast of Wellington. The town was established in 1854 and named for Joseph Masters, founder of the Wairarapa Small Farms Association.

Dallas Stars: …marked by tragedy, as center Bill Masterton became the first NHL player to die from an injury sustained during a game; he died after hitting his (helmetless) head on the ice during a January 1968 contest. Led by right wing Bill Goldsworthy, the North Stars qualified for the playoffs in…

mastic, aromatic resin obtained as a soft exudation from incisions in mastic trees. It is used chiefly to make pale varnishes for protecting metals and paintings. When dispersed in bodied (thickened by heating) linseed oil, mastic is known as megilp and is used as a colour vehicle. Mastic is also

chewing gum: …the sweet resin of the mastic tree (so named after the custom) as a tooth cleanser and breath freshener. New England colonists borrowed from the Indians the custom of chewing aromatic and astringent spruce resin for the same purposes. Similarly, for centuries inhabitants of the Yucatán Peninsula have chewed the…

chewing, up-and-down and side-to-side movements of the lower jaw that assist in reducing particles of solid food, making them more easily swallowed; teeth usually act as the grinding and biting surface. In cats and dogs, food is reduced only to a size that permits easy swallowing. Cows and other

rubber: Mastication: Mastication and softening are usually carried out in batches. The operation is done either in large enclosed mixing machines or on rubber mills. The preeminent example of an enclosed machine is the Banbury (registered trademark) mixer, consisting of heavy steel counterrotating paddles in an…

mastic, aromatic resin obtained as a soft exudation from incisions in mastic trees. It is used chiefly to make pale varnishes for protecting metals and paintings. When dispersed in bodied (thickened by heating) linseed oil, mastic is known as megilp and is used as a colour vehicle. Mastic is also

coachwhip, (Masticophis, sometimes Coluber, flagellum), nonvenomous snake of the family Colubridae that ranges from the southern half of the United States to west central Mexico. It averages 1.2 metres (4 feet) long, but it is occasionally twice that length. It is slender, and its tail is marked

Mastiff, breed of large working dog used as a guard and fighting dog in England for more than 2,000 years. Dogs of this type are found in European and Asian records dating back to 3000 bce. Sometimes called the Molossian breeds for a common ancestor, numerous heavily built large dog breeds

mastiff bat, any of various species of free-tailed bats (family Molossidae) named for their doglike faces. The eight New World species of bats making up the genus Molossus are called mastiff bats. Several other genera also include species commonly called mastiff

rhizomastigote: , Mastigamoeba) are free-living in fresh and salt water, in soil, or in other organisms. An important parasitic form is Histomonas meleagridis, the cause of enterohepatitis (or blackhead) in poultry. Cell shape, although variable in this species, frequently is round; cells range from 10 to 14…

protozoan: Annotated classification: Mastigamoebidae Possess several pseudopodia and a single anterior flagellum; some life stages lack flagella. Some taxa are multinucleate. Mitochondria absent. Pelomyxa Anaerobic, lacking mitochondria, peroxisomes, and hydrogenosomes. Express a polymorphic life cycle with multinucleate stages.

protist: Cilia and flagella: …absence, or pattern of the mastigonemes (minute scales or hairs covering the flagellum) may also differ between two flagella. Some parasitic zooflagellates have hundreds of long flagella.

flagellate, (subphylum Mastigophora), any of a group of protozoans, mostly uninucleate organisms, that possess, at some time in the life cycle, one to many flagella for locomotion and sensation. (A flagellum is a hairlike structure capable of whiplike lashing movements that furnish locomotion.)

vinegarroon, species of whip scorpion

spiny-tailed lizard, (Uromastyx), any of more than a dozen species belonging to the lizard family Agamidae. Spiny-tailed lizards live in arid and semiarid habitats from northern Africa to India. They are limbed lizards with broad heads and stout bodies, and most adults grow up to about 25 to 30 cm

mast seeding, the production of many seeds by a plant every two or more years in regional synchrony with other plants of the same species. Since seed predators commonly scour the ground for each year’s seed crop, they often consume most of the seeds produced by many different plant species each

della Scala family: …of the ruling dynasty was Mastino I della Scala (d. 1277), who became podesta (chief magistrate) shortly after the defeat and death (1259) of Ezzelino da Romano, tyrant of Verona. A new election in 1262 gave Mastino the added authoritative office of captain of the people. He was succeeded in…

della Scala family: His successor and nephew, Mastino II (who ruled with his brother Alberto II), tried to continue the expansionist policies of his uncle. His aggressiveness, however, provoked a rival Florentine-Venetian coalition and the loss of allies and territories, and by the end of his reign he was left with only…

mastitis, inflammation of the breast in women or of the udder in sheep, swine, and cattle. Acute mastitis in women is a sudden infectious inflammation caused usually by the bacterium Staphylococcus aureus, or sometimes by streptococcus organisms. It begins almost exclusively during the first three

fibrocystic disease of the breast, noncancerous cysts (harmless swellings caused by fluid trapped in breast tissues) that often increase in size and become tender during the premenstrual phase of the menstrual cycle. This condition occurs most often in women between the ages of 30 and 50 years.

mastodon, (genus Mammut), any of several extinct elephantine mammals (family Mammutidae, genus Mammut ) that first appeared in the early Miocene (23 million to 2.6 million years ago) and continued in various forms through the Pleistocene Epoch (from 2.6 million to 11,700 years ago). In North

artiodactyl: Specializations of the head: …the skull is called the mastoid, and skulls without such a surface exposure are described as being amastoid. Amastoid skulls are found in most suiform groups (including entelodonts, anthracotheres, and all living suiform groups); mastoid skulls occur in some early suiform groups, oreodonts, and all remaining artiodactyls that have lived…

mastoid process, the smooth pyramidal or cone-shaped bone projection at the base of the skull on each side of the head just below and behind the ear in humans. The mastoid process is important to students of fossil humans because it occurs regularly and in the specific form described only in

mastoiditis, inflammation of the mastoid process, a projection of the temporal bone just behind the ear. Mastoiditis, which primarily affects children, usually results from an infection of the middle ear (otitis media). Symptoms include pain and swelling behind the ear and over the side of the head

bolas spider, (genus Mastophora), genus of about 50 species of New World spiders known for the particular hunting method of the females. Female bolas spiders capture their flying prey by swinging a sticky droplet at the end of a silky thread, much like the South American bola hunting weapon. Bolas

termite: Evolution, paleontology, and classification: …the most primitive living termite, Mastotermes darwiniensis, from Australia. Mastotermes has further affinities with other roaches: its hind wing has a folded anal lobe, and its eggs are not laid singly as those of other termites but in clusters held together by a gelatinous material resembling the egg case of…

Dion and the Belmonts: …Long Island, New York), and Carlo Mastrangelo (b. October 5, 1937, New York City, New York—d. April 4, 2016, Tampa Bay, Florida).

Latin American literature: Post-boom writers: … (settled in France) and Mexican Angeles Mastretta outstripped their predecessors in originality and independence. In fact, at the turn of the 21st century, Cuban women writers in exile were highly popular in Latin America, Spain, and other parts of Europe. Chaviano won an important award in Spain. Montero, Valdés, and…

Mastro-don Gesualdo, realistic novel of Sicilian life by Giovanni Verga, published in Italian in 1889. Mastro-don can be translated as “Sir-Workman,” a title that embodies the story’s central dilemma. The protagonist, Gesualdo Motta, is a peasant who becomes a wealthy landowner through hard work

Marcello Mastroianni was an actor who became the preeminent leading man in Italian cinema during the 1960s. An attractive man whose acting style projected a mood of casual affability, he achieved international fame as the screen symbol of the modern European. Mastroianni enrolled at the University

masturbation, manipulation of the genital organs for pleasure, usually to orgasm. The term masturbation generally connotes self-manipulation, but it can also be used to describe manipulation of or by a sexual partner, exclusive of sexual intercourse. Once the object of extravagant superstitions and

mola: The sharptail mola (Masturus lanceolatus) is also very large; its maximum length is 3.37 meters (11.1 feet). However, the slender mola (Ranzania laevis) is smaller, measuring no more than 1 meter (39.3 inches) long. Some classifications also include the southern sunfish (M. ramsayi) is slightly smaller,…

Masuda, city, Shimane ken (prefecture), western Honshu, Japan. It lies in the basin of the Takatsu River, near the Sea of Japan (East Sea). Masuda, the commercial hub of the surrounding agricultural region, has a few rural industries, such as tatami mat production, silk manufacture and spinning,