{ Pro*thon"o*ta*ry (?), or Pro*ton"o*ta*ry (?) },
n.; pl> -ries (#). [LL.
protonotarius, fr. Gr. prw^tos 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King's Bench and in the Court of Common Pleas, now superseded by the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.) 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.) 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.