master in chancery

Master \Mas"ter\ (m[.a]s"t[~e]r), n. [OE. maistre, maister, OF.
   maistre, mestre, F. ma[^i]tre, fr. L. magister, orig. a
   double comparative from the root of magnus great, akin to Gr.
   me`gas. Cf. {Maestro}, {Magister}, {Magistrate}, {Magnitude},
   {Major}, {Mister}, {Mistress}, {Mickle}.]
   1. A male person having another living being so far subject
      to his will, that he can, in the main, control his or its
      actions; -- formerly used with much more extensive
      application than now.
      (a) The employer of a servant.
      (b) The owner of a slave.
      (c) The person to whom an apprentice is articled.
      (d) A sovereign, prince, or feudal noble; a chief, or one
          exercising similar authority.
      (e) The head of a household.
      (f) The male head of a school or college.
      (g) A male teacher.
      (h) The director of a number of persons performing a
          ceremony or sharing a feast.
      (i) The owner of a docile brute, -- especially a dog or
          horse.
      (j) The controller of a familiar spirit or other
          supernatural being.
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   2. One who uses, or controls at will, anything inanimate; as,
      to be master of one's time. --Shak.
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            Master of a hundred thousand drachms. --Addison.
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            We are masters of the sea.            --Jowett
                                                  (Thucyd.).
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   3. One who has attained great skill in the use or application
      of anything; as, a master of oratorical art.
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            Great masters of ridicule.            --Macaulay.
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            No care is taken to improve young men in their own
            language, that they may thoroughly understand and be
            masters of it.                        --Locke.
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   4. A title given by courtesy, now commonly pronounced
      m[i^]ster, except when given to boys; -- sometimes written
      {Mister}, but usually abbreviated to Mr.
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   5. A young gentleman; a lad, or small boy.
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            Where there are little masters and misses in a
            house, they are impediments to the diversions of the
            servants.                             --Swift.
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   6. (Naut.) The commander of a merchant vessel; -- usually
      called {captain}. Also, a commissioned officer in the navy
      ranking next above ensign and below lieutenant; formerly,
      an officer on a man-of-war who had immediate charge, under
      the commander, of sailing the vessel.
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   7. A person holding an office of authority among the
      Freemasons, esp. the presiding officer; also, a person
      holding a similar office in other civic societies.
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   {Little masters}, certain German engravers of the 16th
      century, so called from the extreme smallness of their
      prints.

   {Master in chancery}, an officer of courts of equity, who
      acts as an assistant to the chancellor or judge, by
      inquiring into various matters referred to him, and
      reporting thereon to the court.

   {Master of arts}, one who takes the second degree at a
      university; also, the degree or title itself, indicated by
      the abbreviation M. A., or A. M.

   {Master of the horse}, the third great officer in the British
      court, having the management of the royal stables, etc. In
      ceremonial cavalcades he rides next to the sovereign.

   {Master of the rolls}, in England, an officer who has charge
      of the rolls and patents that pass the great seal, and of
      the records of the chancery, and acts as assistant judge
      of the court. --Bouvier. --Wharton.

   {Past master},
      (a) one who has held the office of master in a lodge of
          Freemasons or in a society similarly organized.
      (b) a person who is unusually expert, skilled, or
          experienced in some art, technique, or profession; --
          usually used with at or of.

   {The old masters}, distinguished painters who preceded modern
      painters; especially, the celebrated painters of the 16th
      and 17th centuries.

   {To be master of one's self}, to have entire self-control;
      not to be governed by passion.

   {To be one's own master}, to be at liberty to act as one
      chooses without dictation from anybody.
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   Note: Master, signifying chief, principal, masterly,
         superior, thoroughly skilled, etc., is often used
         adjectively or in compounds; as, master builder or
         master-builder, master chord or master-chord, master
         mason or master-mason, master workman or
         master-workman, master mechanic, master mind, master
         spirit, master passion, etc.
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               Throughout the city by the master gate.
                                                  --Chaucer.
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   {Master joint} (Geol.), a quarryman's term for the more
      prominent and extended joints traversing a rock mass.

   {Master key}, a key adapted to open several locks differing
      somewhat from each other; figuratively, a rule or
      principle of general application in solving difficulties.
      

   {Master lode} (Mining), the principal vein of ore.

   {Master mariner}, an experienced and skilled seaman who is
      certified to be competent to command a merchant vessel.

   {Master sinew} (Far.), a large sinew that surrounds the hough
      of a horse, and divides it from the bone by a hollow
      place, where the windgalls are usually seated.

   {Master singer}. See {Mastersinger}.

   {Master stroke}, a capital performance; a masterly
      achievement; a consummate action; as, a master stroke of
      policy.

   {Master tap} (Mech.), a tap for forming the thread in a screw
      cutting die.

   {Master touch}.
      (a) The touch or skill of a master. --Pope.
      (b) Some part of a performance which exhibits very
          skillful work or treatment. "Some master touches of
          this admirable piece." --Tatler.

   {Master work}, the most important work accomplished by a
      skilled person, as in architecture, literature, etc.;
      also, a work which shows the skill of a master; a
      masterpiece.

   {Master workman}, a man specially skilled in any art,
      handicraft, or trade, or who is an overseer, foreman, or
      employer.
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MASTER IN CHANCERY. An officer of the court of chancery. 
     2. The origin of these officers is thus accounted for. The chancellor 
from the first found it necessary to have a number of clerks, were it for no 
other purpose, than to perform the mechanical part of the business, the 
writing; these soon rose to the number of twelve. In process of time this 
number being found insufficient, these clerks contrived to have other clerks 
under them, and then, the original clerks became distinguished by the name 
of masters in chancery. He is an assistant to the chancellor, who refers to 
him interlocutory orders for stating accounts, computing damages, and the 
like. Masters in chancery are also invested with other powers, by local 
regulations. Vide Blake's Ch. Pr. 26; 1 Madd. Pr. 8 1 Smith's Ch. Pr. 9, 19. 
     3. In England there are two kinds of masters in chancery, the ordinary, 
and the extraordinary.. 
     4.-1. The masters in ordinary execute the orders of the court, upon 
references made to them, and certify in writing in what manner they have 
executed such orders. 1 Sm. Ch. Pr. 9. 
     5.-2. The masters extraordinary perform the duty of taking affidavits 
touching any matter in or relating to the court of chancery, taking the 
acknowledgment of deeds to be enrolled in the said court, and taking such 
recognizances, as may by the tenor of the order for entering them, be taken 
before a master extraordinary. 1 Sm. Ch. Pr. 19. Vide, generally, 1 Harg. 
Law Tr. 203, a Treatise of the Maister of the Chauncerie.