Prothonotary

1 definition found

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

  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.
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     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        in the Court of Common Pleas, now superseded by the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.
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     3. A register or chief clerk of a court in certain States of
        the United States.
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     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.
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     5. (Gr. Ch.) The chief secretary of the patriarch of
        Constantinople.
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     {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.
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