baggagemaster
|bag-gage-mas-ter|
🇺🇸
/ˈbæɡɪdʒˌmæstər/
🇬🇧
/ˈbæɡɪdʒˌmɑːstə(r)/
person in charge of baggage
Etymology
'baggagemaster' originates from Modern English, specifically the compound of the nouns 'baggage' + 'master', where 'baggage' meant 'luggage' and 'master' meant 'person in charge' or 'chief'.
'baggage' came into Middle English from Old French 'bagage' (from a Germanic source), and 'master' comes from Old English 'mægester' (via Old French from Latin 'magister'). The compound 'baggage master' developed in English to name an official who supervised baggage; over time it could be written as one word, 'baggagemaster', in some contexts.
Initially it meant simply 'the master (person in charge) of baggage' in a literal, logistical sense; over time it has retained that primary meaning and occasionally been used figuratively to describe someone who handles others' burdens or problems.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
an official or employee responsible for supervising, checking, storing, and organizing passengers' or cargo's baggage at a station, port, warehouse, or on a ship.
The baggagemaster inspected each crate before it was loaded onto the train.
Synonyms
Noun 2
(figurative) A person who manages or is responsible for other people's emotional or practical 'baggage'—i.e., someone who organizes, stores, or deals with burdens or problems.
As the team's mediator, she became the baggagemaster for the group's unresolved tensions.
Synonyms
Last updated: 2025/12/31 01:01