prothonotary

The principal clerk in certain courts of law.

A chief notary or clerk.

Specifically — Originally, the chief of the notaries; now, in the Roman Catholic Church, one of a college of twelve (formerly seven) ecclesiastics charged with the registry of acts, proceedings relating to canonization, etc.

In the Gr. Ch., the chief secretary of the patriarch of Constantinople, who superintends the secular-work of the provinces.

In law, a chief clerk of court; formerly, a chief clerk in the Court of Common Pleas and in the King’s Bench.

A chief notary or clerk.

Formerly, a chief clerk in the Court of King’s Bench and in the Court of Common Pleas, now superseded by the master.

A register or chief clerk of a court in certain States of the United States.

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.

The chief secretary of the patriarch of Constantinople.