masterless

Thân thiện

A lone masterless samurai walks through a quiet bamboo forest.

Definition

Adjective: * Having no lord or master: Describes a person, particularly in a historical or feudal context, who is not under the authority, control, or ownership of a master, lord, or employer. It implies a state of being unattached, independent, or without a superior.

Usage

The word "masterless" is primarily used in historical, literary, or formal contexts to describe individuals who lack a recognized superior or employer. It often carries connotations of being unattached, potentially rootless, or outside the normal social order of the time. * It is most commonly used to describe people (e.g., masterless men, a masterless servant). * It can be applied to animals in a similar sense (e.g., a masterless dog). * It is rarely used in modern everyday conversation but appears in historical analysis, fiction, and discussions of social structures.

Examples

• After the plague, many masterless laborers wandered the countryside seeking work.
• The knight, now dishonored and masterless, offered his sword to the highest bidder.
• In feudal Japan, a masterless samurai was known as a .
• The sheriff was tasked with dealing with bands of masterless men who disrupted trade.

Advanced Usage

• Figurative Use: Can be used metaphorically to describe something not controlled by a dominant force or principle.
  • The artist lived a masterless life, following no school or tradition.
• Historical Context: The term often appears in documents and literature concerning vagrancy, social control, and the breakdown of feudal systems, where "masterless men" were viewed with suspicion by authorities.

Variants and Related Words

• Master (n.): A person having control or authority; an employer or owner.
• Lordless (adj.): Similar to "masterless," specifically meaning having no feudal lord. This is an even more archaic synonym.
• Unmastered (adj.): Not conquered, controlled, or learned. (Note: This is different, focusing on the state of not being overcome or learned, rather than the lack of a personal master).

Synonyms

• Unattached
• Independent
• Unemployed (in a historical, bonded-labor context)
• Freeman (though this can imply a specific legal status)
• Vagrant (carries a stronger negative connotation of homelessness and idleness)

Antonyms

• Enslaved
• Employed
• Apprenticed
• Subordinate
• Vassal
• Servant

Học thuật

Adjective

1. having no lord or master
   • harsh punishments for sturdy vagabonds and masterless men

Từ đồng nghĩa

• lordless