These words all refer to persons who are in authority over others. Boss is a colloquial word that originated in the United States and in its strictest sense applies to an employer, foreman or manger of a group of workmen. By extension it has also become a popular term for any executive, supervisor or immediate superior: the boss of a large clothing store. Boss may also apply to any person who is in control of things, whether by prerogative or by tyrannical behaviour.

• A horse must understand who is boss ; Many parents discover that a spoilt child has become boss of the household.

Chief , the most comprehensive of these words, can be applied to anyone who occupies the position of highest authority over a group, large or small: the editor in chief of a newspaper; the chief architect of the housing project. However, chief is more commonly used of the supervisor of some department of established government: a chief of staff; the chief inspector of weights and measures. Chief and boss are sometimes used interchangeably: I need my chief’s (or boss’s ) signature on these contracts. In its original sense, a chief is the ruler of a primitive or nomadic tribe.

Head , like chief , is also a general term, but it is usually used of people who hold a more subordinate position than does a chief : the head of the telegraph office; the head of a boys?school; to be the head of one’s class.

A leader is one who is voluntarily followed because of an ability to guide and control others or because he has been chosen by a group or party to be its head . One tends to think of a leader’s having arrived at his position mainly because of his talent for influencing others and for acting as a guiding force: the leader of the German Reich; a leader in the fashion world; the leader of a labour movement.

In its commonest sense a master is a person who has been given the authority to enforce obedience, but the word does not suggest the innate ability of the leader to guide and influence others. A master may be one who employs servants, is a male teacher at a school, or owns an animal, such as a dog, who can be trained to obey him. Master is also the formal title for the captain of a merchant ship. A teacher or leader in philosophy, religion, etc., who has followers or disciples is often called a master , as is Jesus by many Christians. Master is also applied to people of exceptional skill or artistic ability; a master plumber; the old masters of Renaissance painting; a master of the keyboard.

Commander is narrower in its meaning than are the other words of this group. Originally, it meant one who commands, as a leader, chief, etc.; now it applies almost exclusively to highly placed personnel in the armed forces. In the Navy, a commander is an officer ranking next below a captain. The officer in charge of a military post is also called a commander , or commanding officer . The person holding supreme command of all the armed forces of a nation (as the Governor-General in Australia and New Zealand) is called a commander in chief , as is any high-ranking officer in charge of a fleet or a major force.

Maestro (from the Italian for master ) is used of a person who is highly proficient in an artistic field; but it is now most often used of an eminent conductor, composer or performer in music. Maestro sometimes carries overtones of affectionate veneration, as in its application to the late Arturo Toscanini.