master key

A key which commands many locks of a certain set, the keys of which are not interchangeable among themselves. While neither one of a series of keys may suffice to open any lock besides the one for which it was constructed, a master-key is one which will open any one of the (2) The little masters . [LITTLE-MASTERS.] *2. Bowls : The jack. (1) Master - at - arms : Navy: A petty officer, who may be considered the head of the ship's police; his a istants are called ship's corporals. (2) Master in Lunacy: A judicial officer appointed by the Lord Chancellor, to hold inquiries into the state of mind of persons alleged to be insane, and incapable of managing their own affairs. ( Eng . ) (3) Master of the Buckhounds : A state official who has charge and management of the royal staghounds. ( Eng . ) (4) Master of the Ceremonies : [CEREMONY.] (5) Master of the Horse: The third great officer of the British Court. He has the management and supervision of all the royal stables and horses, with authority over all equerries, pages, coachmen, grooms, footmen, . In state proce ions he rides next to the sovereign. (6) Master of Hounds : One who keeps a pack of hounds. ( Eng.) (7) Master of the Household : In the British Court, an officer employed under the Treasurer of the Household to examine accounts. (8) Master of the Mint: [MINT.] (9) Master of the Robes: [ROBES.] (10) Master of the Rolls: Law : One of the judges of the Chancery division of the English High Court of Justice, as originally constituted by the Supreme Judicature Act (1873). By the amending Act of 1881 the Master of the Rolls ceased to be a member of that court, and became a member of the Court of Appeal, retaining, however, his rank, title, salary, patronage, . ( Lely & Foulkes .) [ROLL, 8., II.] "This great officer was formerly the chief merely of the masters in chancery, who carried out the decrees and performed the ministerial functions of that court. Cardinal Wolsey is said to have been the first chancellor who devolved on the Master of the Rolls the exercise of a considerable branch of the equity jurisdiction of the court." -Black stone: Comment . , bk. iii., ch. 2. (11) Master of the Temple : The chief ecclesiastical minister of the Temple Church, London. (12) To be master of one's self: To have complete control or command of one's own pa ions and temper. Master is largely used, in composition, with the sense of chief, head, eminent; obvious compounds are master - baker , master - jest , master - tailor , . master-attendant, s. Navy : The officer next in rank to the superintendent of a royal dockyard. master-builder, s. 1. The chief builder. "Thorberg Skafting, master - builder , In his ship-yard by the sea." Long fellow: Musician's Tale. 2. A builder who employs workmen. master-chord, s. Mus.: The chief chord; the chord of the dominant. *master-fast, *maister-fast, adj . Tied to a IMG:content-0978.png:[blocks in formation] master-lode, s. Min.: The principal vein of ore in a mine. master-mariner, s. Naut .: A skilled seaman, holding a certificate of competency to take charge of a ve el; the captain or commander of a merchant-ve el. master-mason, s. A Freemason who has been raised to the third or master's degree. master-mind, s. The chief or predominating mind or intellect; the master-spirit. "There shone the image of the master -mind." Pope: Homer's Iliad , xviii. 558. *master-mold, s. The chief or finest molding or composition. "The master- mold of Nature's heavenly hand." Byron: Childe Harold , iv. 25. *master-note, s . Mus.: An old term for the sensible or leading note.