notary public
/ˈnəʊtəɹi ˈpʌblɪk/ noun
Forms notaries public notaries publics
- noun (law) An officer who can administer oaths and statutory declarations, witness and authenticate documents and perform certain other acts varying from jurisdiction to jurisdiction.
Synonyms
Etymology
Anglo-Norman/Law French, on model of notaire publique, hence the unusual order of adjective following noun, instead of idiomatic English *public notary. Compare attorney general, court martial, fee simple, secretary general, surgeon general.
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 — from the Wiktionary entry “notary public”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details