ˈtaskˌmaster
[f. task n. + master n.1]
One whose office is to allot tasks and see to their performance; an overseer; a middleman; spec. in plastering (see quot. 1892); also fig. one who allots a duty, or imposes a heavy burden or labour.
| 1530 Tindale Exod. i. 11 And he [Pharao] sette taske⁓masters ouer them. Ibid. 14 And the officers of the children of Israel which Pharaos taskmasters had sett ouer them, were beaten. 1631 Milton Sonn., ‘How soon hath Time’, All is, if I have grace to use it so, As ever in my great task Masters eye. 1797 Godwin Enquirer i. viii. 67 There is no equality between me and my Task-master. 1869 W. P. Mackay Grace & Truth (1875) 212 The task-master's whip held over his head. 1892 Labour Commission Gloss., Taskmaster, one who takes work from the original contractor in the plastering industry, and sets a given quantity of work to be done in a certain time. |
Hence ˈtaskˌmastership, the office or position of a taskmaster.
| 1815 Zeluca I. 70 All the arts, and all the sciences..all conned in submission to taskmastership. 1898 Daily News 12 Nov. 3/6 Having..passed through both the terrible ordeal of a lower boy's life at Eton and..having enjoyed the delights of cruel taskmastership. |