referendary
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English[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From Latin referendarius, from Latin referendus (“to be referred”), gerundive of referre. Compare French référendaire. See refer.
Noun[edit]
referendary (plural referendaries)
- (obsolete) One to whose decision a cause is referred; a referee.
- 1625, Francis [Bacon], “Of Suitors”, in The Essayes […], 3rd edition, London: […] Iohn Haviland for Hanna Barret, →OCLC:
- let him choose well his referendaries , for else he may be led by the nose
- (historical) An officer who delivered the royal answer to petitions.
- 1941, The Cambridge Historical Journal:
- In the writs of Merovingian kings , the king normally signed his name first , and his referendary followed
- 1992, P. S. Barnwell, Emperor, Prefects & Kings: The Roman West:
- referendaries were involved in the presentation of petitions to the king
- (obsolete) An officer of state charged with the duty of procuring and dispatching diplomas and decrees.
References[edit]
“referendary”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.