master-at-arms

3 8.4

A navy officer who keeps order and discipline on a ship

noun
/ˈmæstər æt ɑrmz/

Specialized

: maestro de armas

If you have any issues, report them to the master-at-arms on duty.
chief master-at-arms
master-at-arms aboard the ship

Examples

I am master at arms aboard this ship.

Christopher Columbus: The Discovery (1992)
The Master-at-Arms is already suspicious.

The Hunt for Red October (1990)
Master-at-arms reports rafts secure and evacuation proceeding.

The Hunt for Red October (1990)
The master-at-arms is responsible for maintaining discipline among the crew.
During the drill, the master-at-arms kept everyone in line and ensured safety.

Surface Forms

master-at-arms singular

masters-at-arms plural

Morphology

master-at-arms = master + arms (semi-transparent) = at + master + arms

The components 'master', 'at', and 'arms' are literal and explainable, but the specialized naval role (discipline officer) is a conventionalized, domain-specific meaning not fully deducible by general learners. [Postprocessing: moved 'at' from base_words to prefix]

Etymology

Master-at-arms comes from an old phrase meaning 'master of arms'; the part master means 'chief' or person in charge and arms means 'weapons', as in firearms. So on ships this person was in charge of weapons and security, and that is why today a master-at-arms is a navy officer who keeps order and discipline.