notary
Americannoun
noun
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a notary public
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(formerly) a clerk licensed to prepare legal documents
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archaic a clerk or secretary
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of notary
First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English, from Latin notārius “clerk,” from not(āre) “to mark” ( see note) + -ārius -ary
Explanation
A notary is someone with the legal power to witness signatures, verify documents, and take depositions. A notary — also known as a notary public — is a person who has been licensed by a state to perform a few legal functions. The most common one is to witness signatures. For many types of paperwork, you need a notary to be present as you sign, which makes the paperwork official. Notaries also have the power to verify various types of documents and are allowed to take depositions (statements) in some legal situations.
Vocabulary lists containing notary
"Maus II: And Here My Troubles Began" by Art Spiegelman
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The Mona Lisa Vanishes
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The Voyage of the Frog
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
I marched my son down to the notary as soon as he turned 18, because he had a minor surgery soon after his birthday.
From MarketWatch • May 5, 2026
In many Latin American countries, a public notary is the equivalent of a lawyer, and notario fraudsters rely on this mistranslation to fake credentials.
From Salon • May 2, 2026
“Sometimes, you’re dealing with a notary person who only works on Wednesdays, and takes all of August off,” she said.
From Slate • Feb. 1, 2026
The notary wrote to Freymond several times seeking information about Puech’s financial affairs, but received no substantive response.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 18, 2025
Thanks to this cruel logic, Leonardo da Vinci escapes—barely—a dull alternate existence as a notary.
From "The Mona Lisa Vanishes" by Nicholas Day
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
