Definitions for magistrate
ˈmædʒ əˌstreɪt, -strɪtmag·is·trate

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:5.0 / 1 vote

1. magistratenoun

   a lay judge or civil authority who administers the law (especially one who conducts a court dealing with minor offenses)

WiktionaryRate this definition:4.7 / 3 votes

1. magistratenoun

   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.

Samuel Johnson's DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. MAGISTRATEnoun

   A man publickly invested with authority; a governour; an executor of the laws.

   Etymology: magistratus, Latin.

   They chuse their magistrate!
   And such a one as he, who puts his shall,
   His popular shall, against a graver bench
   Than ever frown’d in Greece. William Shakespeare, Coriolanus.

   I treat here of those legal punishments which magistrates inflict upon their disobedient subjects. Decay of Piety.

ChatGPTRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. magistrate

   A magistrate is a civil officer or judge who administers the law, typically in a town, district or county, dealing with minor offenses, pre-trial hearings, and other legal matters that don't require a jury. They are sometimes referred to as justices of the peace and their power and jurisdiction vary depending on the particular laws of the region in which they work.

Webster DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Magistratenoun

   a person clothed with power as a public civil officer; a public civil officer invested with the executive government, or some branch of it

2. Etymology: [L. magistratus, fr. magister master: cf. F. magistrat. See Master.]

FreebaseRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Magistrate

   A magistrate is an officer of the state; in modern usage the term usually refers to a judge. This was not always the case; in ancient Rome, a magistratus was one of the highest government officers and possessed both judicial and executive powers. Today, in common law systems, a magistrate has limited law enforcement and administration authority. In civil law systems, a magistrate might be a judge in a superior court; the magistrates' court might have jurisdiction over civil and criminal cases. A related, but not always equivalent, term is chief magistrate, which historically can denote a political and administrative officer.

Chambers 20th Century DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Magistrate

   maj′is-trāt, n. a person entrusted with the power of putting the laws in force: a justice of the peace.—n. Mag′istracy, the office or dignity of a magistrate: the body of magistrates.—adj. Mag′istral, magisterial: specially prescribed or made up, as a medicine: effectual.—n. (fort.) the guiding line determining the other positions: a special preacher in Spanish cathedrals, &c.—n. Magistrand′, an arts student ready to proceed to graduation, at Aberdeen.—adj. Magistrat′ic. [O. Fr.,—L. magistratus, magister.]

Matched Categories

1. • Judge

British National Corpus

1. Nouns Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'magistrate' in Nouns Frequency: #1441

Anagrams for magistrate »

1. sterigmata

How to pronounce magistrate?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say magistrate in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of magistrate in Chaldean Numerology is: 1

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of magistrate in Pythagorean Numerology is: 5

Examples of magistrate in a Sentence

1. Geoffrey Harrison:

   KBR believes that it is wrong for the plaintiffs' lawyers to try to avoid paying the costs of court and, instead, trying to shift the cost to the taxpayers, in his latest ruling, the magistrate judge got it wrong again. This is yet another in a long series of factually and legally incorrect rulings from this judge.

2. Bertrand Russell:

   Obscenity is what happens to shock some elderly and ignorant magistrate.

3. Wassam Waheed:

   When the judicial magistrate came to the hanging, these guys tried to make him (Basit) stand at the gallows ... it wasn't possible, so the magistrate postponed the hanging.

4. Jim Hood:

   The magistrate started pulling the bull by the horns, that lady worked hours and hours and hours, and if anybody deserves the credit in this thing, it’s Judge Sally Shushan.

5. Edward Gibbon:

   The various modes of worship, which prevailed in the Roman world, were all considered by the people as equally true by the philosopher, as equally false and by the magistrate, as equally useful.

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