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American Heritage Dictionary:
mas·ter·piece |
[Probably translation of Dutch meesterstuk or German Meisterstück : Dutch meester and German Meister, master + Dutch stuk and German Stück, piece of work.]
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Roget's Thesaurus:
masterpiece |
Antonyms by Answers.com:
masterpiece |
Word Tutor:
masterpiece |
The human foot is a masterpiece of engineering and a work of art.
— Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)
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Random House Word Menu:
categories related to 'masterpiece' |
Rhymes:
masterwork |
Bradford's Crossword Solver's Dictionary:
masterpiece |
See crossword solutions for the clue Masterpiece.
Wikipedia on Answers.com:
Masterpiece |
Masterpiece (or chef d'œuvre) in modern usage refers to a creation that has been given much critical praise, especially one that is considered the greatest work of a person's career or to a work of outstanding creativity, skill or workmanship.
Originally, the term masterpiece referred to a piece of work produced by an apprentice or journeyman aspiring to become a master craftsman in the old European guild system. His fitness to qualify for guild membership was judged partially by the Masterpiece, and if he was successful, it was retained by the guild. Great care was therefore taken to produce a fine piece in whatever the craft was, whether confectionery, painting, goldsmithing, knifemaking, or many other trades. The Royal Academy in London is one institution that has acquired a fine collection of "Diploma works" as a condition of acceptance.
Originally the paper which a student needs to present in order to gain the degree of Master of Arts was also such a "Masterpiece" - i.e. a fine piece of scholarship, the particular craft in which the student sought to be admitted as a master craftsman.
The term probably derives from the Dutch "meesterstuk" (German: Meisterstück), and the form "masterstik" is recorded in English in 1579 (or in Scots, since this was from some Aberdeen guild regulations), whereas "masterpiece" is first found in 1605, already outside a guild context, in a Ben Jonson play.[1]
In modern times it is used for an exceptionally good piece of creative work[2] or the best piece of work of a particular artist or craftsman.[3]
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Translations:
Masterpiece |
Dansk (Danish)
n. - kunstværk, mesterstykke, hovedværk
Nederlands (Dutch)
meesterwerk
Français (French)
n. - chef d'¯uvre
Deutsch (German)
n. - Meisterwerk, Meisterstück
Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - αριστούργημα, αριστοτέχνημα
Português (Portuguese)
n. - obra-prima (f)
Español (Spanish)
n. - obra maestra
Svenska (Swedish)
n. - mästerverk
中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
杰作, 名著
中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 傑作, 名著
日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 傑作, 名作, 代表作
العربيه (Arabic)
(الاسم) تحفه فنيه
עברית (Hebrew)
n. - יצירת פאר, עבודה אמנותית
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Copyrights:
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 | American Heritage Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Roget's Thesaurus. Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary Copyright © 1995 byHoughton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Antonyms by Answers.com. © 1999-present by Answers Corporation. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Word Tutor. Copyright © 2004-present by eSpindle Learning, a 501(c) nonprofit organization. All rights reserved. eSpindle provides personalized spelling and vocabulary tutoring online; sign up free. Read more |
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| Random House Word Menu. © 2010 Write Brothers Inc. Word Menu is a registered trademark of the Estate of Stephen Glazier. Write Brothers Inc. All rights reserved. Read more |
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Rhymes. Oxford University Press. © 2006, 2007 All rights reserved. Read more | |
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| Bradford's Crossword Solver's Dictionary. Collins Bradford's Crossword Solver's Dictionary © Anne Bradford, 1986, 1993, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2008 HarperCollins Publishers All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Wikipedia on Answers.com. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Masterpiece. Read more |
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| Translations. Copyright © 2007, WizCom Technologies Ltd. All rights reserved. Read more |
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