The Collaborative International Dictionary
Prothonotary \Pro*thon"o*ta*ry\ (pr[-o]*th[o^]n"[-o]*t[als]*r[y^]), or Protonotary \Pro*ton"o*ta*ry\ (pr[-o]*t[o^]n"[-o]*t[als]*r[y^]), n.; pl. -ries (pr[-o]*th[o^]n"[-o]*t[als]*r[i^]z). [LL. protonotarius, fr. Gr. prw^tos first + L. notarius a shorthand writer, a scribe: cf. F. protonotaire.]
A chief notary or clerk. `` My private prothonotary.''
--Herrick.Formerly, a chief clerk in the Court of King's Bench and in the Court of Common Pleas, now superseded by the master. [Eng.]
--Wharton. Burrill.A register or chief clerk of a court in certain States of the United States.
(R. C. Ch.) Formerly, one who had the charge of writing the acts of the martyrs, and the circumstances of their death; now, one of twelve persons, constituting a college in the Roman Curia, whose office is to register pontifical acts and to make and preserve the official record of beatifications.
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(Gr. Ch.) The chief secretary of the patriarch of Constantinople.
Prothonotary warbler (Zo["o]l.), a small American warbler ( Protonotaria citrea). The general color is golden yellow, the back is olivaceous, the rump and tail are ash-color, several outer tail feathers are partly white.