I. |majə|stirēəl adjective
Etymology: Late Latin magisterialis of authority, from Latin magisterium + -alis -al
1.
a.
(1) : of, relating to, or having the characteristics of a master or teacher : authoritative
a magisterial survey of the evolution of man as a social animal — Times Literary Supplement
bespeak a sort of magisterial attitude toward language which has been lost in the intervening centuries — R.M.Weaver
(2) : marked by a dignified or sedate manner or aspect
modeled on the British reviews … it imitated their magisterial air — Van Wyck Brooks
the dark magisterial tone of academic eating places — Emily Coleman
(3) : marked by a pompous or overbearing manner or aspect
was magisterial in petty rebuke — V.L.Parrington
the magisterial condescension found in so much biography these days — Times Literary Supplement
b. : of, relating to, or required for a master's degree
the student submitting a novel or a book of poems as his magisterial thesis — Malcolm Cowley
2. obsolete : of, relating to, or having the characteristics of a master designer or workman
3. obsolete : of or relating to a magistery
4. : of or relating to a magistrate, his office, or his duties : administered or conducted by a magistrate : holding the office of a magistrate
II. noun
( -s )
obsolete : magistery