magnate

[ mag-neyt, -nit ]

/ ˈmæg neɪt, -nɪt /

noun

a person of great influence, importance, or standing in a particular enterprise, field of business, etc.: a railroad magnate.

a person of eminence or distinction in any field: literary magnates.

a member of the former upper house in either the Polish or Hungarian parliament.

Nearby words

magnaflux, magnalium, magnanimity, magnanimous, magnanimously, magnate, magnesia, magnesite, magnesium, magnesium arsenate, magnesium carbonate

Origin of magnate

1400–50; back formation from Middle English magnates (plural) < Late Latin magnātēs leading people, equivalent to Latin magn(us) magn- + -ātēs, plural of -ās noun suffix

Related forms

mag·nate·ship, noun

Can be confused

magnate magnet

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for magnates

Until recently, the Hirst Spot paintings had frequently supplied the background in newspaper photographs of magnates on the go.
My Art Basel Favorites|Anthony Haden-Guest|June 18, 2009|DAILY BEAST
The town population are merchants and craftsmen, rarely or never nobles or magnates.
English Seamen in the Sixteenth Century|James Anthony Froude
The Cathari continued to multiply under the avowed protection of Stephen and his magnates.
A History of The Inquisition of The Middle Ages; volume II|Henry Charles Lea
The party of the magnates was thus faithful to its traditions, in sacrificing patriotism to private interests.
The Story of Norway|Hjalmar H. Boyesen

The great landowners, the magnates, whether moneyed or territorial, of the land will alone survive the general wreck.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. CCCLXXVI. February, 1847. Vol. LXI.|Various
Early the next year an embassy was sent to Russia led by the two magnates Einar and Kalf.
Canute the Great|Laurence Marcellus Larson

British Dictionary definitions for magnates

magnate

/ (ˈmæɡneɪt, -nɪt) /

noun

a person of power and rank in any sphere, esp in industry

history a great nobleman

(formerly) a member of the upper chamber in certain European parliaments, as in Hungary

Derived Forms

magnateship, noun

Word Origin for magnate

C15: back formation from earlier magnates from Late Latin: great men, plural of magnās, from Latin magnus great

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012