MAGISTRATE

magistrate

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

Source: WordNet® 3.1

Etymology

Noun

magistrate (plural magistrates)

(legal) 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.

(historical) A high official of the state or a municipality in ancient Greece or Rome.

(historical, by extension) A comparable official in medieval or modern institutions.

(Quebec) A master's degree.

Synonyms

• (judicial officer): justiciary

• (master's degree): See master's degree

Anagrams

• sterigmata

Source: Wiktionary

Mag"is*trate, n. Etym: [L. magistratus, fr. magister master: cf. F. magistrat. See Master.]

Definition: A person clothed with power as a public civil officer; a public civil officer invested with the executive government, or some branch of it. "All Christian rulers and magistrates." Book of Com. Prayer. Of magistrates some also are supreme, in whom the sovereign power of the state resides; others are subordinate. Blackstone.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition