magistral

English

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *meǵh₂-der.?

Proto-Indo-European *meh₂-der.?

Proto-Italic *magisteros

Latin magister

Proto-Indo-European *h₂el-der.?

Proto-Italic *-ālis

Latin -ālis

Latin magistrālisder.

Middle French magistralbor.

English magistral

Borrowed from Middle French magistral, from Latin magistrālis, from magister (“master, teacher”) + -ālis. Doublet of mistral.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation, General American) IPA^(key): /ˈmæ.dʒɪs.tɹəl/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ædʒɪstɹəl
• Hyphenation: ma‧gis‧tral

Adjective

magistral (comparative more magistral, superlative most magistral)

1. Of, relating to, or befitting a master; authoritative. [from 16th c.]
   • 1928, Hart Crane, letter, 16 September:

     [Y]ou live on a magistral hill in a venerable mansion, not to speak of governmental rations.

   • 1982, Lawrence Durrell, Constance (Avignon Quintet), Faber & Faber, published 2004, page 889:

     Toby opened the game with a magistral flourish.

2. (obsolete, pharmacology) Sovereign (of a remedy); extremely effective. [16th–17th c.]
3. (pharmacology) Formulated extemporaneously, or for a special case; opposed to officinal, and said of prescriptions and medicines. [from 16th c.]

Derived terms

• magistrality
• magistrally

Noun

magistral (countable and uncountable, plural magistrals)

1. (pharmacology) A sovereign medicine or remedy.
2. (countable) A magistral line.
3. (chiefly uncountable) Powdered copper pyrites used in the amalgamation of ores of silver, as at the Spanish mines of Mexico and South America.

Anagrams

• altigrams, tragalism

Catalan

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin magistrālis. Doublet of mestral.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Northern, Balearic, Central) [mə.ʒisˈtɾal]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [ma.d͡ʒisˈtɾal]
• IPA^(key): (Northwestern) [ma.ʒisˈtɾal]

• Audio (Barcelona):

  (file)

Adjective

magistral m or f (masculine and feminine plural magistrals)

1. masterful, magistral (characteristic of a master or mastery)

   Synonym: mestrívol

Further reading

• “magistral”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007

Crimean Tatar

Etymology

Borrowed from Russian магистраль (magistralʹ), from Latin magistralis, itself from magister.

Noun

magistral

1. magistral line

Declension

Declension of magistral

	singular	plural
nominative	magistral	magistraller
genitive	magistralniñ	magistrallerniñ
dative	magistralge	magistrallerge
accusative	magistralni	magistrallerni
locative	magistralde	magistrallerde
ablative	magistralden	magistrallerden

Adjective

magistral

1. main, arterial

References

• Mirjejev, V. A.; Usejinov, S. M. (2002), Ukrajinsʹko-krymsʹkotatarsʹkyj slovnyk [Ukrainian – Crimean Tatar Dictionary]‎^[1], Simferopol: Dolya, →ISBN
• “magistral”, in Luğatçıq (in Russian)

French

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin magistrālis, itself from magister. Doublet of mistral.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ma.ʒis.tʁal/

• Audio (France (Vosges)):

  (file)

• Audio (France (Vosges)):

  (file)

Adjective

magistral (feminine magistrale, masculine plural magistraux, feminine plural magistrales)

1. (relational) magistral, master
2. ex cathedra

   cours magistral ― lecture

3. (figuratively) remarkable, masterful
4. (figuratively) resounding, sound

   Il s'est planté d'une façon magistrale. ― (please add an English translation of this usage example)

Derived terms

• magistralement

Descendants

• → Romanian: magistral

Further reading

• “magistral”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012

Galician

Adjective

magistral m or f (plural magistrais, reintegrationist norm)

1. reintegrationist spelling of maxistral

Further reading

• “magistral”, in Dicionário Estraviz de galego (in Galician), 2014–2026

Portuguese

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *meǵh₂-der.?

Proto-Indo-European *meh₂-der.?

Proto-Italic *magisteros

Latin magister

Proto-Indo-European *h₂el-der.?

Proto-Italic *-ālis

Latin -ālis

Latin magistrālislbor.

Portuguese magistral

Learned borrowing from Latin magistrālis.

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ma.ʒisˈtɾaw/ [ma.ʒisˈtɾaʊ̯]

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ma.ʒisˈtɾaw/ [ma.ʒisˈtɾaʊ̯]
  • (Rio de Janeiro) IPA^(key): /ma.ʒiʃˈtɾaw/ [ma.ʒiʃˈtɾaʊ̯]

 

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /mɐ.ʒiʃˈtɾal/ [mɐ.ʒiʃˈtɾaɫ]

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /mɐ.ʒiʃˈtɾal/ [mɐ.ʒiʃˈtɾaɫ]
  • (Southern Portugal) IPA^(key): /mɐ.ʒiʃˈtɾa.li/

• Hyphenation: ma‧gis‧tral

Adjective

magistral m or f (plural magistrais)

1. magistral (relating to a master)

Noun

magistral m (plural magistrais)

1. master, magistrate

Derived terms

• magistralmente

Related terms

• magistratura

Further reading

• “magistral”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “magistral”, in Dicionário Eletrônico Houaiss [Houaiss Electronic Dictionary] (in Portuguese), São Paulo: UOL, 2004–2026
• “magistral”, in Dicionário infopédia da Lingua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Porto: Porto Editora, 2003–2026
• “magistral”, in Michaelis Dicionário Brasileiro da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), São Paulo: Editora Melhoramentos, 2015–2026, →ISBN
• “magistral”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French magistral. By surface analysis, magistru +‎ -al.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ma.d͡ʒisˈtral/

Adjective

magistral m or n (feminine singular magistrală, masculine plural magistrali, feminine/neuter plural magistrale)

1. masterly

Declension

Declension of magistral

		singular			plural
		masculine	neuter	feminine	masculine	neuter	feminine
nominative- accusative	indefinite	magistral		magistrală	magistrali	magistrale
	definite	magistralul		magistrala	magistralii	magistralele
genitive- dative	indefinite	magistral		magistrale	magistrali	magistrale
	definite	magistralului		magistralei	magistralilor	magistralelor

Further reading

• “magistral”, in DEX online—Dicționare ale limbii române (Dictionaries of the Romanian language) (in Romanian), 2004–2026

Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin magistrālis, itself from magister. Doublet of maestral and mistral.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /maxisˈtɾal/ [ma.xisˈt̪ɾal]
• Rhymes: -al
• Syllabification: ma‧gis‧tral

Adjective

magistral m or f (masculine and feminine plural magistrales)

1. magistral, magisterial, masterly

Derived terms

• lección magistral
• magistralmente

Related terms

• magisterio

Further reading

• “magistral”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025