Definition of "prothonotary" []

• The principal clerk in certain courts of law. (noun)
• Roman Catholic Church One of a college of 12 ecclesiastics charged with the registry of important pontifical proceedings. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "The prothonotary was a suave and diplomatic elder who seemed keenly interested in the small monk's life."
• "That's how residents of this area near the tip of Southern Illinois (about two hours southwest of Evansville) describe the Cache River State Natural Area with its wetlands, ancient cypress trees and a yellow songbird known as a prothonotary warbler."
• "The prothonotary is the custodian of civil court records."