magistrate

[maj-uh-streyt, -strit]

noun

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

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

magistrate

/ ˈmædʒɪˌstreɪt, -strɪt /

noun

1. a public officer concerned with the administration of law

2. another name for justice of the peace

3. the former name for district court judge

Other Word Forms

• magistrateship noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of magistrate¹

1350–1400; Middle English magistrat < Latin magistrātus magistracy, magistrate, equivalent to magist ( e ) r master + -ātus -ate ³

Word History and Origins

Origin of magistrate¹

C17: from Latin magistrātus, from magister master

Example Sentences

The judgement quotes from the statements she gave before her death to the police, the doctors and an executive magistrate.

From BBC

Days later, a federal magistrate judge said an arrest in Northeast Washington was preceded by the “most illegal search I’ve seen in my life” and described another arrest as lacking “basic human dignity.”

From Salon

Lord Brocket, who finished fourth on the 2004 series of I'm a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!, was due to appear before magistrates in Westminster on Saturday.

From BBC

The federal magistrate judge ordered him released on a $5,000 bond.

From Los Angeles Times

In one of his more sensational court appearances, he tried to arrest a magistrate and police officer during a dispute over public access to a national park.

From BBC