prothonotary

[proh-thon-uh-ter-ee, proh-thuh-noh-tuh-ree]

noun, plural pro·thon·o·tar·ies.

a chief clerk or official in certain courts of law.
Roman Catholic Church.
1. any of the seven members of the college of prothonotaries apostolic, charged chiefly with the registry of pontifical acts and canonizations.
2. an honorary title for certain other prelates.
Greek Orthodox Church. the chief secretary of the patriarch of Constantinople.

Origin of prothonotary

1400–50; late Middle English < Medieval Latin prōthonotārius, Late Latin prōtonotārius < Greek prōtonotā́rios. See proto-, notary

Related formspro·thon·o·tar·i·al

[proh-thon-uh-tair-ee-uh l, proh-thuh-noh-tair-] /proʊˌθɒn əˈtɛər i əl, ˌproʊ θə noʊˈtɛər-/, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for prothonotary

Historical Examples of prothonotary

This bond was to be filed with the prothonotary of Cambria county.
The Johnstown Horror
James Herbert Walker
That day I found the first nest of the prothonotary warbler.
Everyday Adventures
Samuel Scoville
A son of his was for many years Prothonotary for the District of Montreal.
The Loyalists of Massachusetts
James H. Stark
This was practised to a great extent in the trials of the archbishop of Toledo, of the Prothonotary, and others.
The History of the Inquisition of Spain from the Time of its Establishment to the Reign of Ferdinand VII.
Juan Antonio Llorente
I hoped it was a prothonotary warbler, a bird I had never seen, and about whose notes I knew nothing.
Spring notes from Tennessee
Bradford Torrey

British Dictionary definitions for prothonotary

prothonotary

protonotary

noun plural -taries

(formerly) a chief clerk in certain law courts

Derived Formsprothonotarial (prəʊˌθɒnəˈtɛərɪəl) or protonotarial, adjective

Word Origin for prothonotary

C15: from Medieval Latin prōthonotārius, from prōtho- proto- + Late Latin notārius notary

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

Word Origin and History for prothonotary

also protonotary, mid-15c., "principal clerk of a court," from Late Latin prothonotarius, from Greek protonotarios "first scribe," originally the recorder of the court of the Byzantine empire, from protos "first" (see proto-) + Latin notarius (see notary). The -h- appeared in Medieval Latin