prothonotary

Pro*thon"o*ta*ry, or; Pro*ton"o*ta*ry, n.; pl. -ries. Etym: [LL. protonotarius, fr. Gr. prw os first + L. notarius a shorthand writer, a scribe: cf. F. protonotaire.] 1. A chief notary or clerk. " My private prothonotary." Herrick. 2. Formerly, a chief clerk in the Court of King's Bench and in the Court of Common Pleas, now superseded by the master.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. 3. A register or chief clerk of a court in certain States of the United States. 4. (R. C. Ch.) Defn: 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. 5. (Gr. Ch.) Defn: The chief secretary of the patriarch of Constantinople. Prothonotary warbler (Zoöl.), 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.

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