pro|to|col

pro|to|col «PROH tuh kol, -kl», noun, verb, -colled, -col|ling.

–n.

1. the rules of etiquette of the diplomatic corps.

2. rules for any procedure.

3. a first draft or record from which a document, especially a treaty, is prepared.

4. a formal or official statement of a proceeding or transaction, such as a clinical report, or a report on a scientific experiment or on the preparation and testing of a drug.

5. set procedures that permit communication between two or more computer systems: »

He points out that the asynchronous protocol used by most personal-computer communications packages has a higher potential of interference errors than synchronous…protocols (Personal Computing).

6. U.S. the original record of a Spanish land grant made in parts of the Southwest and West.

–v.i.

to draw up protocols.

–v.t.

to embody in a protocol.

╂[< Old French protocolle minutes of a document, learned borrowing from Medieval Latin protocollum < Greek prōtókollon a first leaf (with date and contents) glued onto a papyrus roll < prôtos first + kólla glue]