Sentence:  Originally an official of the medieval European ecclesiastical courts, the <WSD>notary</WSD> 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 <WSD>notary's</WSD> 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 <WSD>notaries</WSD> "making" and "passing" contracts, the common law left that to the parties. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  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 clients' behalf.