Dictionary.com
definitions
  • synonyms

datary

[dey-tuh-ree]
See more synonyms for datary on Thesaurus.com
noun, plural da·ta·ries. Roman Catholic Church.
  1. the office of the Curia Romana that investigates candidates for papal benefices.
  2. the cardinal who heads this office.
Show More

Origin of datary

1520–30; < Medieval Latin *datāria the office (where documents were dated); datārius the officer (who gave the dates), equivalent to Late Latin dat(a) date1 + Latin -āria, -ārius -ary
Related formssub·da·ta·ry, noun, plural sub·da·ta·ries.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for datary

Historical Examples

  • The Pope and his Datary refused to interfere in this ignoble quarrel.

    Renaissance in Italy: Italian Literature

    John Addington Symonds

  • The Datary has asserted that he meant he should be master over Charlemagne.

    A Philosophical Dictionary, Volume 1 (of 10)

    Franois-Marie Arouet (AKA Voltaire)

  • Man′datary, Man′datory, one to whom a mandate is given by a Man′dator.

British Dictionary definitions for datary

datary

noun plural -ries
  1. RC Church the head of the dataria (deɪˈtɛərɪə), the papal office that assesses candidates for benefices reserved to the Holy See
Show More

Word Origin

C16: from Medieval Latin datārius official who dated papal letters, from Late Latin data date 1
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