muster
UK /ˈmʌstə/ · US /ˈmʌstɚ/ noun, verb
Forms musters mustering mustered
- noun An assemblage or display; a gathering, collection of people or things.
- noun (military) An assembling or review of troops, as for parade, verification of numbers, inspection, exercise, or introduction into service.
- noun The sum total of an army when assembled for review and inspection; the whole number of effective men in an army.
- noun (Australia, New Zealand) A roundup of livestock for inspection, branding, drenching, shearing etc.
- noun (obsolete) Something shown for imitation; a pattern.
- noun (obsolete) A sample of goods.
- noun (obsolete) An act of showing something; a display.
- noun (collective) A group of peafowl, storks or sometimes other birds.
- verb (transitive, obsolete) To show, exhibit.
- verb (intransitive) To be gathered together for parade, inspection, exercise, or the like (especially of a military force); to come together as parts of a force or body.
- verb (transitive) To collect, call or assemble together, such as troops or a group for inspection, orders, display etc.
- verb (transitive, US) To enroll (into service).
- verb (transitive, Australia, New Zealand) To gather or round up livestock.
- verb (transitive) To look within oneself to summon (a particular positive quality, such as strength, energy or courage); see: muster up. “I couldn't muster the courage to tell him.”
- noun Synonym of mustee.
Synonyms
review parade military parade rally mustee conscription draft selective service summon come up muster up
Etymology
From Middle English musteren, borrowed from Anglo-Norman mostrer, Middle French monstrer, moustrer (whence the noun monstre, which gave the English noun), from Latin mōnstrō (“to show”), from moneō (“to admonish”). Cognate with French montrer (“to show”), Italian mostrare (“to show”), Spanish mostrar (“to show”). See also monster.
Webster’s 1913
- noun Something shown for imitation; a pattern. [Obs.]
- noun A show; a display. [Obs.] Piers Plowman.
- verb To collect and display; to assemble, as troops for parade, inspection, exercise, or the like. Spenser.
- verb Hence: To summon together; to enroll in service; to get together.
Etymology [OE. moustre, OF. mostre, moustre, F. montre, LL. monstra. See Muster, v. t.]
Etymology [OE. mustren, prop., to show, OF. mostrer, mustrer, moustrer, monstrer, F. montrer, fr. L. monstrare to show. See Monster.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “muster”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details