Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Magistrate \Mag"is*trate\, n. [L. magistratus, fr. magister
   master: cf. F. magistrat. See {Master}.]
   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 : WordNet®

magistrate
     n : a public official authorized to decide questions bought
         before a court of justice [syn: {judge}, {justice}, {jurist}]