n.; pl. Notaries [ F. notaire, L. notarius notary (in sense 1), fr. nota mark. See 5th Note. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. One who records in shorthand what is said or done; as, the notary of an ecclesiastical body. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Eng. & Am. Law) A public officer who attests or certifies deeds and other writings, or copies of them, usually under his official seal, to make them authentic, especially in foreign countries. His duties chiefly relate to instruments used in commercial transactions, such as protests of negotiable paper, ship's papers in cases of loss, damage, etc. He is generally called a notary public. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. See Prothonotary. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Office of a prothonotary. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ or , n.; pl. -ries [ LL. protonotarius, fr. Gr. prw^tos first + L. notarius a shorthand writer, a scribe: cf. F. protonotaire. ] 1. A chief notary or clerk. “ My private prothonotary.” Herrick. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Formerly, a chief clerk in the Court of King's Bench and in the Court of Common Pleas, now superseded by the master. [ Eng. ] Wharton. Burrill. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. A register or chief clerk of a court in certain States of the United States. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. (R. C. Ch.) Formerly, one who had the charge of writing the acts of the martyrs, and the circumstances of their death; now, one of twelve persons, constituting a college in the Roman Curia, whose office is to register pontifical acts and to make and preserve the official record of beatifications. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. (Gr. Ch.) The chief secretary of the patriarch of Constantinople. [ 1913 Webster ]

Prothonotary warbler (Zool.), a small American warbler (Protonotaria citrea). The general color is golden yellow, the back is olivaceous, the rump and tail are ash-color, several outer tail feathers are partly white. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Same as Prothonotary. [ 1913 Webster ]