n
1 official who pays troops, workers, etc 负责发薪饷的军需官; 工薪出纳员.
2 (usu pl 通常作复数) (derog 贬) person who pays another person or group to do sth for him and who therefore controls his/their actions 雇用并操纵他人的人
*The paymasters of these petty crooks are the big crime syndicates. 操纵这帮小流氓的就是那个大犯罪集团. ,Paymaster `General (Brit) minister in charge of the department of the Treasury through which payments are made （财政部）主计长.

n[C]
a powerful person or organization that secretly pays and controls another person or organization
　The assassin's paymasters were never identified.
someone who is responsible for giving people their wages that they are owed, for example an official in a factory or the army