prothonotary
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prothonotary
Where it comes from
From Middle English prothonotarie, from Medieval Latin protonotarius, from Medieval Greek πρωτονοτάριος (prōtonotários), from Ancient Greek πρῶτος (prôtos) + Medieval Greek νοτάριος (notários), from Latin notārius (“notary”).
noun prothonotaries · protonotary
- A chief legal clerk or notary in Roman Byzantium, and (hence) in Rome.
- One of the seven prelates, constituting a college in the Roman Curia, whose office is to register pontifical acts and to make and preserve the official record of beatifications.
- A registrar or chief clerk in various courts of law, especially (US) in a county court, (Australia) in certain state Supreme Courts, (Canada) in Federal Court. I accordingly did direct him how to enter an appearance with the prothonotary and to obtain a copy of the plaint or declaration.
- The chief secretary of the patriarch of Constantinople.
Talk about this word "prothonotary." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/prothonotary. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. prothonotary. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/prothonotary "prothonotary." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/prothonotary.Cite this
@misc{prothonotary_2026,
title = {prothonotary},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/prothonotary},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
