datary

[dey-tuh-ree]

noun, plural da·ta·ries. Roman Catholic Church.

the office of the Curia Romana that investigates candidates for papal benefices.

the cardinal who heads this office.

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. 2019

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.
Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 2 of 4: E-M)
Various

British Dictionary definitions for datary

datary

noun plural -ries

RC Church the head of the dataria (deɪˈtɛərɪə), the papal office that assesses candidates for benefices reserved to the Holy See

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