-ˌsiŋə(r), -ˌziŋ- noun
( plural meistersinger or meistersingers )
Usage: usually capitalized
Etymology: German, from Middle High German, from meister master (from Old High German meistar, from Latin magister ) + singer, from singen to sing (from Old High German singan ) + -er, from Old High German -āri -er — more at master , sing
: a member of any of various German guilds especially of the 15th and 16th centuries composed chiefly of middle-class workingmen and craftsmen and formed for the cultivation of poetry and music — see meistergesang