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datary

[dey-tuh-ree]
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.
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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 of datary

  • 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
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Word Origin for datary

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