magistrate

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mag·is·trate

(măj′ĭ-strāt′, -strĭt)

1. A judge or justice of a local or inferior court; a justice of the peace.

2. A judge in a court having jurisdiction over the trial of misdemeanors and preliminary hearings involving felonies.

3. A public official with the chief administrative power in a district or region.

[Middle English magistrat, from Old French, from Latin magistrātus, from magister, magistr-, master; see meg- in Indo-European roots.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

magistrate

(ˈmædʒɪˌstreɪt; -strɪt)

1. (Law) a public officer concerned with the administration of law.

2. (Law) another name for justice of the peace

3. (Law) NZ the former name for district court judge

[C17: from Latin magistrātus, from magister master]

ˈmagisˌtrateship n

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

mag•is•trate

(ˈmædʒ əˌstreɪt, -strɪt)

n.

1. a civil officer charged with the administration of the law.

2. a minor judicial officer, as a justice of the peace, having jurisdiction to try minor criminal cases and to conduct preliminary examinations of persons charged with serious crimes.

[1350–1400; < Latin magistrātus=magist(e)r master + -ātus -ate³]

mag`is•trat′i•cal (-ˈstræt ɪ kəl) adj.

mag`is•trat′i•cal•ly, adv.

magistrate

A public officer who has the power to administer the law.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Noun

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

judge, jurist, justice - a public official authorized to decide questions brought before a court of justice

justice of the peace - a local magistrate with limited powers

stipendiary, stipendiary magistrate - (United Kingdom) a paid magistrate (appointed by the Home Secretary) dealing with police cases

magistrate

noun judge, justice, provost (Scot.), bailie (Scot.), justice of the peace, J.P. The magistrate ordered them to pay £3000 compensation.

Related words
adjective magisterial

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

magistrate

noun

A public official who decides cases brought before a court of law in order to administer justice:

judge, jurisprudent, jurist, justice, justice of the peace.

Translations

قاضٍ قَاضِيِ الْصُّلُحِ

úředník se soudní pravomocí

byretsdommermagistrat

Friedensrichter Verwaltungsbeamter

κατώτερος δικαστικός

magistrado

rauhantuomari

magistrat

sudac nižeg suda

yfirvald; dómari

magistrato

治安判事

행정관

magistratasteismo pareigūnas

miertiesnesis

magistraat

forhørsdommer

urzędnik mający władzę sędziowską

magistrado

мировой судья

úradník so súdnou právomocou

sodnik

fredsdomare

ผู้พิพากษา

sulh hakimisulh yargıcı

quan tòa

地方法官治安官

magistrate

[ˈmædʒɪstreɪt]

A. N → magistrado/a m/f, juez mf

B. CPD magistrates' court N (in England) → juzgado m de primera instancia

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

magistrate

[ˈmædʒɪstreɪt] n (dealing with minor cases) → juge mf d'instance magistrates' courtmagistrates' court n (British) → tribunal m d'instance

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

magistrate

n → Friedensrichter(in) m(f), → Schiedsmann m → /-frau f

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

magistrate

[ˈmædʒɪˌstreɪt] n → magistrato

magistrate

(ˈmӕdʒistreit) noun

a person who has power to put the laws into force and sentence those guilty of lesser crimes.

magistrate

→ قَاضِيِ الْصُّلُحِ úředník se soudní pravomocí magistrat Verwaltungsbeamter κατώτερος δικαστικός magistrado rauhantuomari magistrat sudac nižeg suda magistrato 治安判事 행정관 magistraat forhørsdommer urzędnik mający władzę sędziowską magistrado мировой судья fredsdomare ผู้พิพากษา sulh hakimi quan tòa 地方法官

References in classic literature ?

The more the middle-aged lady meditated, the more terrified she became; and at length she determined to repair to the house of the principal magistrate of the town, and request him to secure the persons of Mr.

Now George Nupkins, Esquire, the principal magistrate aforesaid, was as grand a personage as the fastest walker would find out, between sunrise and sunset, on the twenty-first of June, which being, according to the almanacs, the longest day in the whole year, would naturally afford him the longest period for his search.

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It interested him enormously, and he threw himself into it, less as a magistrate eager to know the truth, than as an amateur of dramatic embroglios, tending wholly to mystery and intrigue, who dreads nothing so much as the explanatory final act.

Monsieur Maleine replied in the same tone, "I understand!" and then tried to prevent Rouletabille from entering the same compartment with the examining magistrate.

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AN Anarchist Orator who had been struck in the face with a Dead Cat by some Respector of Law to him unknown, had the Dead Cat arrested and taken before a Magistrate.

"Why do you appeal to the law?" said the Magistrate - "You who go in for the abolition of law."

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The executive magistrate forms an integral part of the legislative authority.

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The persons, therefore, to whose immediate management these different matters are committed, ought to be considered as the assistants or deputies of the chief magistrate, and on this account, they ought to derive their offices from his appointment, at least from his nomination, and ought to be subject to his superintendence.

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If the magistrate won't give the word, what's the officer to do?'

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Bumble, was at once instructed that Oliver Twist and his indentures were to be conveyed before the magistrate, for signature and approval, that very afternoon.

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At this very moment the soldiers, preceded by a magistrate, entered the room.

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He also made a law, that those should be rewarded who found out anything for the good of the city, and that the children of those who fell in battle should be educated at the public expense; which law had never been proposed by any other legislator, though it is at present in use at Athens as well as in other cities, he would have the magistrates chosen out of the people in general, by whom he meant the three parts before spoken of; and that those who were so elected should be the particular guardians of what belonged to the public, to strangers, and to orphans.