From Latin 'magister' (master), from PIE *meg- (great) — shares its root with 'master,' 'maestro,' and 'major.'
A civil officer who administers the law, especially one who conducts a court dealing with minor offenses and holds preliminary hearings for more serious ones.
From Latin 'magistrātus' (magistracy, the office of a magistrate, the magistrate himself), from 'magister' (master, director, teacher, chief, one who is in charge), from 'magis' (more, to a greater degree, rather) + the suffix '-ter' (a comparative or agentive ending). The root is Proto-Indo-European *meǵh₂- (great, large, much), which is among the most widespread roots in the language family. In Latin, *meǵh₂- generated 'magnus' (great), 'maior' (greater — whence English 'major' and 'mayor'), 'maximus' (greatest — whence 'maximum'), 'magister' (the greater one, the master — whence 'magistrate,' 'master,' 'maestro,' 'mister,' 'mast' (of a ship — the great upright timber), and 'minister' (one who serves — from 'minus,' less, the semantic opposite of 'magister'). In Greek
The word 'master,' 'maestro,' 'mister,' and 'magistrate' all come from the same Latin word — 'magister' (the greater one). A 'Master of Arts' degree uses the same word as a police court magistrate. Even 'Miss' and 'Mrs.' derive from 'mistress,' the feminine form of 'master.' When you address someone as 'Mr.' or 'Ms.,' you are calling them a magistrate.