ˈmast(ə)rē, -aas-, -ais-, -ȧs-, -ri noun
( -es )
Etymology: Middle English maistrie, from Old French, from maistre master + -ie -y — more at master
1.
a. : the status, position, or authority of a master : control , dominion , sway
a sense of mastery and power — B.N.Cardozo
obtained absolute mastery of the government — J.H.Plumb
little could be done to undermine that mastery — P.G.Mackesy
b. : the upper hand in a contest or competition : superiority , ascendancy
a violent spirit was struggling for the mastery — Gilbert Parker
c. archaic : superior force or power
2.
a. obsolete : a notable achievement or feat
b. : the possession or a display of skill or technique : freedom from flaws or imperfections
cannot attain to the mastery of the great artists — Matthew Arnold
greater intellectual and stylistic mastery than ever before — A.L.Locke
uses … with absolute mastery , the rhythms of actual speech — Randall Jarrell
c. : the skill or knowledge in a subject that makes one a master in it : command
mastery … over the difficult art — Benjamin Farrington
mastery of managerial techniques — W.H.Whyte
a high degree of mastery in the field — Bulletin of Meharry Medical College