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The word Meister originally means "master" in German (as in master craftsman or as an honorific title such as Meister Eckhart; akin to maestro). It has been borrowed into English slang, where it is used in compound words. These neologisms mostly have a sarcastic intent (for example, "stubblemeister" for someone with a short neat beard; heard on BBC TV; or concertmeister, leader of a symphony).
In compound words such as Wachtmeister or Polizeimeister, the word meister has also been used as a police rank of Germany with the first usage dating to the 19th century. Many modern day German police forces use variations of the title Meister. During the Second World War, Meister was the highest enlisted rank of the Ordnungspolizei.
Meister had a recent resurgence in American popular culture with two characters. The first, "The Rich-meister," portrayed by Rob Schneider on Saturday Night Live, added meister (among other words) as a suffix to the names of his coworkers for comical effect. More recently, the character Stifler from American Pie referred to himself as "The Stif-meister", in an attempt to portray his high self-confidence. The usage of meister in American Pie likely dates back to the Saturday Night Live usage. It is also often used in referring to Formula One driver Michael Schumacher as Der Regenmeister (the rain master) due to his highly-rated driving through low-visibility or wet conditions.
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- This page was last modified on 8 January 2009, at 04:25.
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