Nō'ta-ry, n.

n. [Lat. notarius, from nota, mark, sign, letter, character; Fr. notaire, Pr. notari, Sp. & Pg. notario, It. notaro, notajo. See NOTE.]

1. A person employed to take notes of contracts, trials, and proceedings in courts among the Romans.
2. (Eng. & Am. Law.) A public officer who attests, or certifies, deeds and other writings, usually under his official seal, and to make them authentic in another country. His duties chiefly relate to instruments used in commercial transactions, such as protests of negotiable paper, ship’s papers in cases of loss or damage, &c. He is generally called a notary public, and his acts are recognized and respected in all commercial countries. Craig. Brooke.

Notary public, a notary. See No. 2, supra.