Muster

How to spell muster

6 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce muster

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does muster mean?

1. verbTo gather, summon, or rally people, support, or an inner quality such as courage.
2. nounA formal assembly or gathering, especially of troops or staff for inspection or roll call.

Muster in a sentence

• verb

  She had to muster the courage to ask her manager for a raise.

• noun

  Every soldier was expected to report for the morning muster.

• verb

  The charity tried to muster enough volunteers for the weekend event.

• noun

  The captain read each name aloud during the muster.

Where does muster come from?

Language of origin: Latin

Muster traces back to the Latin verb monstrare, which meant 'to show, point out, or display', itself related to monere, 'to warn or advise'. The word passed into Old French as mostrer or monstrer, still carrying the sense of showing or exhibiting, and English borrowed it during the 1300s. The original idea of 'showing' narrowed into a specifically military setting: troops were called together to be shown for inspection, so a 'muster' became a formal assembly where soldiers were counted and reviewed. From this came the broader modern verb meaning to gather, summon, or rally people or resources, and the surviving phrase 'pass muster', literally to come through the inspection acceptably. The same monstrare root also gives us 'demonstrate' and 'monster', the latter once an omen or warning that was 'shown' by the gods, which is a useful reminder that the spelling keeps the plain -ster ending rather than anything fancier.

How the word is built

• muster (from Latin monstrare: to show, display)
• -er retained from the Old French verb form