magistrate

From Middle English magistrat, maiestrat (“magistrate; magistracy”), borrowed from Latin magistrātus. See also -ate (forms nouns denoting rank or office).

• IPA^(key): /ˈmæd͡ʒɪstɹeɪt/, /ˈmæd͡ʒɪstɹət/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Hyphenation: ma‧gis‧trate

magistrate (plural magistrates)

1. (law) A judicial officer with limited authority to administer and enforce the law. A magistrate's court may have jurisdiction in civil or criminal cases, or both.
   • 1821, Thomas De Quincey, Confessions of an English Opium-Eater:

     In any case, however, I saw that part of her injuries might easily have been redressed, and I urged her often and earnestly to lay her complaint before a magistrate.

2. (historical) A high official of the state or a municipality in ancient Greece or Rome.
3. (by extension) A comparable official in medieval or modern institutions.

   Like other civil servants, Ashok Kumar started his career as an Assistant Collector cum Sub-divisional Magistrate.

4. (Quebec) A master's degree.

• (judicial officer): justiciary
• (master's degree): See master's degree

• sterigmata

magistrate

1. plural of magistraat

• IPA^(key): /ma.ʒis.tʁat/
• Hyphenation: ma‧gis‧tra‧te

• Audio:

  (file)

magistrate f (plural magistrates)

1. female equivalent of magistrat: female magistrate