datary

1 of 2

noun (1)

da·ta·ry

ˈdātərē

plural -es

: the cardinal who is head of the datary

datary

2 of 2

noun (2)

plural -es

: an office of the Roman Curia charged especially with investigating the fitness of candidates for papal benefices

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

from (assumed) Medieval Latin datarius datary, official of the Roman Curia who added dates to papal letters (whence New Latin), from Late Latin data date of a letter + Latin -arius -ary (person)

Noun (2)

from (assumed) Medieval Latin dataria datary, office of the Roman Curia where dates were added to papal letters (whence New Latin), from Late Latin data date of a letter + Latin -aria -ary (thing)