taskmaster
/ˈtæskˌmæstɚ/ noun
Forms taskmasters
- noun Someone who supervises workers, especially one who imposes hard or burdensome work.
- noun (figuratively) A source of hard work or responsibility.
Etymology
From task + master.
Webster’s 1913
- noun One who imposes a task, or burdens another with labor; one whose duty is to assign tasks; an overseer. Ex. i. 11.
- noun A wage paid by the day, or some fixed period, on condition that a minimum task be performed. When the workman is paid in proportion for excess over the minimum, the wage is one for piece-work.
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “taskmaster”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details