Notary

4 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Notary \No"ta*ry\, 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]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  notary
       n : someone legally empowered to witness signatures and certify
           a document's validity and to take depositions [syn: {notary
           public}]

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  39 Moby Thesaurus words for "notary":
     accountant, amanuensis, approver, archivist, bookkeeper, certifier,
     clerk, confirmer, cosignatory, cosigner, documentalist, endorser,
     engraver, filing clerk, guarantor, insurer, librarian, marker,
     notary public, party, prothonotary, ratifier, record clerk,
     recorder, recordist, register, registrar, scorekeeper, scorer,
     scribe, scrivener, secretary, signatory, stenographer, stonecutter,
     subscriber, timekeeper, underwriter, upholder
  
  

From Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856) [bouvier]:

  NOTARY or NOTARY PUBLIC. An officer appointed by the executive, or other  
  appointing power, under the laws of different states. 
       2. Their duties are generally prescribed by such laws. The most usual 
  of which are, l. To attest deeds, agreements and other instruments, in order 
  to give them authenticity. 2. To protest notes, bills of exchange, and the 
  like. 3. To certify copies of agreements and other instruments. 
       3. By act of congress, Sept. 16, 1850, Minot's Statutes at Large. U. S. 
  458, it is enacted, That, in all cases in which, under the laws of the 
  United States, oaths, or affirmations, or acknowledgments may now be taken 
  or made before any justice or justices of the peace of any state or 
  territory, such oaths, affirmations, or acknowledgments may be hereafter 
  also taken or made by or before any notary public duly appointed in any 
  state or territory, and, when certified under, the hand and official seal of 
  such notary, shall have the name force and effect as if taken or made by or 
  before such justice or justices of the peace. And all laws and parts of laws 
  for punishing perjury, or subornation of perjury, committed in any such 
  oaths or affirmations, when taken or made before any such justice of the 
  peace, shall apply to any such offence committed in any oaths or 
  affirmations which may be taken under this act before a notary public, or 
  commissioner, as hereinafter named: Provided always, That on any trial for 
  either of these offences, the seal and signature of the notary shall not be 
  deemed sufficient in themselves to establish the official character of such 
  notary, but the same shall be shown by other and proper evidence. 
       4. Notaries, are of very ancient origin they were well known among the 
  Romans, and exist in every state of Europe, and particularly on the 
  continent. 
       5. Their acts have long been respected by the custom of merchants and 
  by the courts of all nations. 6 Toull. n. 211, note. Vide, generally, Chit. 
  Bills, Index, h.t.; Chit. Pr. Index,, h.t.; Burn's Eccl. Law, h.t.; Bro. 
  Off. of a Not. passim; 2 Har. & John. 396; 7 Vern. 22; 8 Wheat. 326; 6 S. & 
  R. 484; 1 Mis. R. 434.