etymology - Does the word "master" denote masculinity?


The other day, I had a little argument with a friend. He asserted that if the principal of a school is a female, she would not be called a "headmaster", rather - a headmistress.


But I disagreed with him, saying that headmaster is a gender-neutral term. I couldn't believe that people still used the word "headmistress"


Turns out I was wrong. So my question is about the word "master" - does the word have some masculine origin?


Or is it that "mistress" goes with "mister"?




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