Editing Masterpiece (section)

== Etymology ==
The form ''masterstik'' is recorded in English or [[Scots language|Scots]] in a set of [[Aberdeen]] guild regulations dated to 1579, whereas ''masterpiece'' is first found in 1605, already outside a guild context, in a [[Ben Jonson]] play.<ref>[[OED]]:"Masterpiece". See also: [http://encarta.msn.com/dictionary_1861628683/masterpiece.html Encarta]. [https://web.archive.org/web/20091107141731/http://encarta.msn.com/dictionary_1861628683/masterpiece.html Archived] 2009-11-01.</ref>  ''Masterprize'' was another early variant in English.<ref>[[OED]]:"Masterprize"</ref>
[[File:Things Fall Apart signed.jpg|thumb|''[[Things Fall Apart]]'' by Igbo author [[Chinua Achebe]] is often considered a literary masterpiece, and one of the greatest works of [[Nigerian literature]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe: 9780385474542 {{!}} PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books |url=https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/565351/things-fall-apart-by-chinua-achebe/9780385474542 |access-date=2023-09-11 |website=PenguinRandomhouse.com |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Obioma |first=Chigozie |date=2022-10-05 |title=Top 10 books about Nigeria |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2022/oct/05/top-10-books-about-nigeria |access-date=2023-09-11 |issn=0261-3077}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Hardison |first=Erika |date=2022-04-25 |title=15 Of The Best Nigerian Books By Nigerian Authors |url=https://bookriot.com/best-nigerian-books/ |access-date=2023-09-11 |website=BOOK RIOT |language=en-US}}</ref>]]
In English, the term rapidly became used in a variety of contexts for an exceptionally good piece of creative work, and was "in early use, often applied to man as the 'masterpiece' of God or Nature".<ref>[[OED]], and examples</ref>