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in the Court of Common Pleas, now superseded by the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} (Zo["o]l.), 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.