notary

Etymology

From Middle English notarie, from Old French notarie (French notaire), from Latin notārius.

noun

1. (law, especially civil law) A lawyer of noncontentious private civil law who drafts, takes, and records legal instruments for private parties, and provides legal advice, but does not appear in court on his or her clients' behalf.
   Originally an official of the medieval European ecclesiastical courts, the notary developed into a noncontentious secular legal professional in France. In England, partly because the canon and secular laws were not on speaking terms, "the notarial system never took deep root." For one thing, an important aspect of the notary’s duties, his authority to "authenticate" documents, was of little use to the English. The whole notion of a state-sanctioned authenticator of private acts was entirely foreign to English common law; whereas in France we see notaries "making" and "passing" contracts, the common law left that to the parties. 1985, Morris Arnold, Unequal Laws Unto a Savage Race: European Legal Traditions in Arkansas, page 19
   Unlike the United States, where a notary public is often a clerk you find working in a bank or real estate office, a Mexican notary has a higher ranking than an ordinary attorney who is not a notary. (In Mexico all notaries are attorneys, but not all attorneys are notaries.) 2007, John Howells, Don Merwin, Choose Mexico for Retirement, 10th edition, page 49
   Although advocates sometimes get involved in drafting instruments, notaries continue to do most of this work in civil law nations. 2007, John Merryman, Rogelio Pérez-Perdomo, The Civil Law Tradition, 3rd edition, page 107
   It is not known whether any Puebla residents did go to the capital to bid for properties in their state because in such cases the purchases would have been formalized before a notary in Mexico City, … 2008, Alienation of Church Wealth in Mexico: Social and Economic Aspects, page 63
2. (common law) A public notary, a legal practitioner who prepares, attests to, and certifies documents, witnesses affidavits, and administers oaths.
3. (law, Canada, US) A notary public, a public officer who serves as an impartial witness to the signing of important documents, but who is not authorised to practise law.
   The giving of legal advice by notaries and others who are not admitted to practice law is, in its opinion, dangerous to the welfare of the community, because such persons have not demonstrated their capacity … 1904, The Bulletin of the Commercial Law League of America, volumes 9-18, page 29
   Although signed by a notary in New York, it lacked a physical description or documentation. It could have been issued to anyone, or resold to anyone willing to change his name. 2001, Christopher H. Pyle, Extradition, Politics, and Human Rights, page 33
   "In 1961, there was a case Torcaso v. Watkins, in which a public notary in Maryland refused to take the oath, “so help me God,” and the court said he wasn't required to acknowledge God [although] the Maryland law said you were." 2004, Richard J. Rolwing, My Daily Constitution, volume IV, page 182
   This was completely unofficial, of course, since a notary in Vermont can only swear in people who plan to be working in Vermont, and they might as well have stayed in bed, but for a public relations ploy you couldn't beat it, […] 2007, Barbara Holland, Hail to the Chiefs, page 175