taskmaster

noun
/ˈtæskˌmæstɚ/US

Etymology

From task + master.

  1. derived from maistre
  2. derived from *méǵh₂s
  3. derived from magester
  4. derived from magister — “chief, teacher, leader
  5. inherited from mǣster
  6. inherited from maister
  7. compounded as taskmaster — “task + master

Definitions

  1. Someone who supervises workers, especially one who imposes hard or burdensome work.

    • And the Lord said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows
  2. A source of hard work or responsibility.

    • It all looked so easy when the competent were at the helm, but reality is a cruel taskmaster, and all the excuses that worked as an underling wear thin once the incompetent are in leadership roles.

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for taskmaster. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA