Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Notify

Notify , transitive verb

[French notifier, Latin notificare; notus known (past participle of noscere to known) + -ficare (in comp.) to make. See Know, and -fy.]

1.
To make known; to declare; to publish; as, to notify a fact to a person.
No law can bind till it be notified or promulged. — Sowth
2.
To give notice to; to inform by notice; to apprise; as, the constable has notified the citizens to meet at the city hall; the bell notifies us of the time of meeting.
The President of the United States has notified the House of Representatives that he has approved and signed the act. — Journal of the Senate, U. S

This application of notify has been condemned; but it is in constant good use in the United States, and in perfect accordance with the use of certify.