magistral means of, relating to, or befitting a master; authoritative.
magistral is pronounced /ˈmæ.dʒɪs.tɹəl/.
Why “magistral” is a great word
Possessing the confident authority of a master or, in pharmacy, describing a remedy formulated specially for a single case rather than taken from standard stock. From the Latin *magistrālis* (“of a master”), from *magister* (“master, teacher”) + *-ālis* (adjectival suffix), first attested in English in the 1570s. Unlike “magisterial,” which conveys the dignified bearing of a judge or scholar, or “officinal,” which denotes a standard, off-the-shelf medicine, “magistral” speaks to a more intimate, bespoke command. It is the precise, unteachable flourish in a violinist’s cadenza, the architect’s hand-drawn plans that will never be built again, and the apothecary’s mortar yielding a powder mixed for this patient, on this day, for this singular ache—a quiet testament to the authority found in addressing the particular.
Etymology
Borrowed from Middle French magistral, from Latin magistrālis, from magister (“master, teacher”) + -ālis. Doublet of mistral.
adj
- Of, relating to, or befitting a master; authoritative.e.g.“[Y]ou live on a magistral hill in a venerable mansion, not to speak of governmental rations.” — 1928, Hart Crane, letter, 16 September
- Sovereign (of a remedy); extremely effective.
- Formulated extemporaneously, or for a special case; opposed to officinal, and said of prescriptions and medicines.
noun
- A sovereign medicine or remedy.
- A magistral line.
- Powdered copper pyrites used in the amalgamation of ores of silver, as at the Spanish mines of Mexico and South America.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.