notary

/ˈnoʊtəɹi/

//ˈnoʊtəɹi// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"notary" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“notary” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #25,152. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#25,152
frequency rank, English
24,391
“N” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
3
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - 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' beh...

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

notary vs notify
67% similar
notary vs nary
67% similar
notary vs notably
71% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for notary
PropertyValue
Headwordnotary
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈnoʊtəɹi/
Letters6
Frequency rank#25,152
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs3
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “notary” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). notary lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around notary (IPA /ˈnoʊtəɹi/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #25,152 among 24,391 “N” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for notary, with forms such as "nnotary", "noatry", and "notarry". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 3 confusable-pair relationships, "notify", "nary", "notably", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English notarie, from Old French notarie (French notaire), from Latin notārius. The correct English form is notary, spelled N-O-T-A-R-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    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.
  2. 2
    A public notary, a legal practitioner who prepares, attests to, and certifies documents, witnesses affidavits, and administers oaths.
  3. 3
    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.

Etymology

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

Synonyms

civil law notaryLatin notarynotary-at-law

This word in other languages

notario(Español)notaire(Français)Notar(Deutsch)notário(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • nnotary
  • noatry
  • notarry
  • notaryy
  • notayr
  • notray
  • nottary
  • ntoary
  • ontary

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of notary - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

nnotary1noatry2notarry1notaryy1notayr2notray2nottary1ntoary2
Edit distance from "notary"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "notary"?
"notary" is spelled N-O-T-A-R-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈnoʊtəɹi/.
What does "notary" mean?
As a noun, "notary" means: 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' beh...
What words are commonly confused with "notary"?
"notary" is commonly confused with "notify", "nary", "notably". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "notary"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "notary" is /ˈnoʊtəɹi/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "notary"?
From Middle English notarie, from Old French notarie (French notaire), from Latin notārius. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “notary”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is N-O-T-A-R-Y - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /ˈnoʊtəɹi/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “notify” - see the side-by-side comparison. notary vs notify
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words

Same frequency band

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list