Definition of PROTOCOL

protocol

Meanings

Plural: protocols

Noun

  • (computer science) rules determining the format and transmission of data
  • forms of ceremony and etiquette observed by diplomats and heads of state
  • code of correct conduct
    • "safety protocols"
    • "academic protocol"
  • The minutes, or official record, of a negotiation or transaction; especially a document drawn up officially which forms the legal basis for subsequent agreements based on it.
  • An official record of a diplomatic meeting or negotiation; later specifically, a draft document setting out agreements to be signed into force by a subsequent formal treaty.
  • An amendment to an official treaty.
  • The first leaf of a roll of papyrus, or the official mark typically found on such a page.
  • The official formulas which appeared at the beginning or end of certain official documents such as charters, papal bulls etc.
  • The original notes of observations made during an experiment.
  • The precise method for carrying out or reproducing a given experiment.
  • The official rules and guidelines for heads of state and other dignitaries, governing accepted behaviour in relations with other diplomatic representatives or over affairs of state.
  • An accepted code of conduct; acceptable behaviour in a given situation or group.
  • A set of formal rules describing how to transmit or exchange data, especially across a network.
  • The set of instructions allowing a licensed medical professional to start, modify, or stop a medical or patient care order.
  • The introduction of a liturgical preface, immediately following the Sursum corda dialogue.
  • In some programming languages, a data type declaring a set of members that must be implemented by a class or other data type.

Verb

  • To make a protocol of.
  • To make or write protocols, or first drafts; to issue protocols.

Origin / Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French protocolle, protocole (“document, record”), from Late Latin protocollum (“the first sheet of a volume (on which contents and errata were written)”), from Byzantine Greek πρωτόκολλον (prōtókollon, “first sheet glued onto a manuscript”), from πρῶτος (prôtos, “first”) + κόλλα (kólla, “glue”). Doublet of collage, collagen, and colloid.

Synonyms

communications protocol, interface, policy, procedure

Scrabble Score: 12

protocol is a valid Scrabble (US) TWL word
protocol is a valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
protocol is a valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 15

protocol is a valid Words With Friends word