ਉਸਤਾਦ

Ustaad (ਉਸਤਾਦ) is the Punjabi word for a teacher or master: someone who has mastered an art, a craft or a subject and teaches it to others. It is a masculine noun from Persian. Wikipedia traces the Persian ustad back to the Middle Persian awestad, meaning master or craftsman.

What does ustaad mean in Punjabi?

Ustaad means a master, instructor, tutor or teacher. Rekhta's dictionary gives that teaching sense first, and adds professor, leader, and the craft sense: a craftsmaster, a skilful man, an expert specialist, a head artisan. The two senses belong together, because an ustaad is not only expert himself: he is the person others sit with to learn.

How is ustaad used in music and the crafts?

In Hindustani classical music, Ustad is an honorific title placed before the name of an expert singer or player, given once a musician has reached eminence, with Pandit as the equivalent title for a Hindu musician. Outside music the word stays practical: Wikipedia notes it can be used for a master of any art or occupation, even an acknowledged master mechanic, and an apprentice calls his own teacher ustaad.

What is a student of an ustaad called?

A student of an ustaad is his shagird, his pupil or apprentice, and the ustaad and shagird bond is a long one: the shagird learns by sitting with the master, not only from books. Rekhta also lists ustaad as a term of honourable address for friends, which is why in everyday Punjabi speech friends warmly call each other ustaad too.