magistrate
part of speech
noun (a magistrate, magistrates)
meaning for a pupil
1) (law) An official who acts as a judge in a local court, dealing with less serious crimes and some family or local matters. tree →
2) (UK) A volunteer from the community, also called a Justice of the Peace (JP), who hears cases in a magistrates' court. tree →
3) (history) In old Rome and other places, a person who held public power, like a mayor or governor. tree →
sense in the lessons
In the Tanakh and Jewish tradition: In Isaiah it means a ruler or governor of the people. It is a picture of what the leaders will be like in a future time. Interpretation: Isaiah promises that peace and righteousness themselves will rule the people. Tradition reads this as a vision of an age of justice, often linked to the time of redemption. In the primary lessons: In citizenship lessons, magistrates are part of the justice system: in England and Wales most criminal cases start in a magistrates' court; in Australia and New Zealand magistrates also run local courts. Magistrates decide if someone is guilty of minor crimes and give punishments like fines. Phrases: «magistrates' court», «appear before a magistrate», «the magistrate fined him».
examples
- For brass I will bring gold, and for iron I will bring silver, and for wood brass, and for stones iron; I will also make thy officers peace, and righteousness thy magistrates. (Prophets ISA.60.17, JPS 1917) tree →
- The man had to appear before a magistrate for speeding. tree →
- Magistrates in England are usually volunteers, not paid lawyers. tree →
- The magistrate fined her for dropping litter. tree →
- Most criminal cases start in the magistrates' court. tree →
- Our neighbour is a magistrate and sits in court twice a month. tree →
- The magistrate listened to both sides before deciding. tree →
- In ancient Rome, magistrates ran the city. tree →
- A magistrate can send serious cases to a higher court. tree →
- Then the magistrate, pointing to Pinocchio, said in a very solemn voice: tree →
note
Countable: one magistrate, two magistrates. «Magistrates' court» has the apostrophe after the s. A magistrate is not always a trained lawyer (in the UK many are volunteers). Not the same as a «judge», who deals with bigger cases. Not a maths word.
In the corpora
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «magistrate» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.