Etymograph

English

magistrate

Magistrate comes from Latin magistrātus ‘a magistrate, official’, from magister ‘master, chief, head, superior, director,…’, and ultimately from Proto-Italic *magisteros ‘bigger, greater’.

  1. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*magisteros‘bigger, greater’reconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmagister‘master, chief, head, superior, director, president, leader, commander, conductor’
  3. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEmagistrātus‘a magistrate, official’
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500magistrat
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1821magistrate

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Earlier history uncertain.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*magisteros‘bigger, greater’reconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmagister‘master, chief, head, superior, director, president, leader, commander, conductor’
  3. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEmagistrātus‘a magistrate, official’
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500magistrat
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1821magistrate

Earliest quotation: 1821, Thomas De Quincey: “In any case, however, I saw that part of…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *meǵh₂- ‘big’

much, majority, merino, 7 more

through Proto-Italic *magisteros ‘bigger, greater’

mastery, masterly, 6 more

through Latin magister ‘master, chief, head, superior, director,…’

master, mistress, maestro, meister, magisterial, magisterium, 9 more

Today it means

noun 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.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Proto-Italic *magisteros / magistrate

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