- Protonotary
- Prothonotary Pro*thon"o*ta*ry
(pr[-o]*th[o^]n"[-o]*t[als]*r[y^]), or Protonotary
Pro*ton"o*ta*ry (pr[-o]*t[o^]n"[-o]*t[als]*r[y^]), n.; pl.
{-ries} (pr[-o]*th[o^]n"[-o]*t[als]*r[i^]z). [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 Formerly, a chief clerk in the Court of King's Bench and in the Court of Common Pleas, now superseded by the master.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} (Zo["o]l.), 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]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.
