noun
master; expert; highly skilled person
Used for someone exceptionally skilled in a particular art, sport, technique, or role. Often appears as 「〜の名手」, such as バイオリンの名手 or 守備の名手.
彼女はバイオリンの名手として知られている。
She is known as a master of the violin.
あの選手は守備の名手だ。
That player is an expert defender.
noun
brilliant move; excellent move
Specialized use for an excellent move in games such as go or shogi. It refers to the move itself, not to a skilled player.
将棋の解説で、その一手は名手だと評された。
In the shogi commentary, that move was praised as a brilliant move.
終盤の名手が勝敗を分けた。
A brilliant move in the endgame decided the match.
A common word for a brilliant or ingenious move in go, shogi, and similar games; it overlaps with the move sense of 名手 but more strongly suggests cleverness or unexpected brilliance.
A Sino-Japanese compound of 名, associated here with excellence or reputation, and 手, associated with a person skilled by hand or a move in a game. The spelling transparently matches the modern meanings, though this is a component explanation rather than a detailed historical derivation.