protocol

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Pluralprotocols (some meanings)

15 meanings of protocol

1
noununcountable
The unwritten rules about how to behave in a certain place or group.
Like the good manners you use at a special dinner, but for a place or group.
Office protocol says you should knock before entering a room.
Following protocol, she stood up when the judge walked in.
Similaretiquette, convention, decorum, custom
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2
noununcountable
The official rules that leaders and their officials follow when dealing with other countries.
Like the special rules for who walks first and who speaks first at a big ceremony.
Protocol requires the visiting president to be met by an honor guard.
The ambassador studied protocol before her first state dinner.
Similaretiquette
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3
nouncountable
A set of rules that lets computers send and share data with each other.
Like two people agreeing to speak the same language so they can understand each other.
The two devices use the same protocol to talk to each other.
Email relies on a protocol to move messages between servers.
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4
nouncountable
A set of medical instructions that doctors and nurses follow to start, change, or stop care.
Like a recipe that doctors follow so everyone treats the illness the same safe way.
The nurse followed the hospital protocol for giving the medicine.
Doctors changed the treatment protocol after reviewing her results.
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5
nouncountable
The exact steps scientists follow to run an experiment the same way each time.
Like the steps in a board game that every player must follow the same way.
The students followed the protocol to mix the chemicals safely.
Each lab uses the same protocol so the results can be compared.
Similarprocedure, method
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6
nouncountable
In some computer languages, a type that lists what a class must include to work.
Like a checklist of jobs that something must be able to do before it can join in.
The class must follow the protocol or the code will not run.
He wrote a protocol that lists the methods every shape needs.
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7
nouncountable
A change or addition made to an official treaty.
Like adding a new rule to a club's rulebook that everyone agrees to.
The nations signed a protocol to update the old treaty.
A new protocol added rules about pollution to the agreement.
Similaramendment, addendum
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8
nouncountable
The first written notes of what was seen during an experiment.
Like a diary where you write down what happened right as it happens.
She kept the protocol of everything she saw during the test.
The protocol showed exactly when each change happened.
Similarrecord, log
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9
nounhistoricalcountable
The official written record of a deal or talks, used as the legal base for later agreements.
Like the official paper that proves what two people agreed to.
The clerk read the protocol aloud so both sides could check the terms.
They signed the protocol that recorded the sale of the land.
Similarrecord
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10
nouncountable
The set phrases written at the start or end of old official papers like charters.
Like the same greeting and sign-off you always put at the start and end of a letter.
The scribe wrote the protocol at the top before the main text.
Every charter began with the same protocol naming the king.
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11
nouncountable
The first sheet of a papyrus roll, or the official mark found on it.
Like the cover page of a notebook that has a special stamp on it.
The clerk stamped the protocol before the roll was sold.
Each roll's protocol carried the maker's official mark.
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12
nouncountable
The opening part of a church prayer that comes right after a set call and response.
Like the opening lines of a song that always come after the same intro.
The priest sang the protocol just after the people answered him.
The choir joined in once the protocol of the preface began.
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Less common meanings

13
nounarchaiccountable
The official record of a diplomatic meeting, and later a draft of terms to be made into a treaty.
Like writing down what everyone agreed on before making it into a real deal.
The envoys drew up a protocol after the meeting.
The terms of this protocol formed the basis for the Treaty of London signed by the British, French and Russian governments on 6 July 1827.
1970, Matthew Smith Anderson, The Great Powers and the Near EastHere, protocol means a draft of terms agreed in diplomatic talks.
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14
verbobsoletetransitive
To write something down as an official record.
Like writing down in an official book everything that was decided.
The clerk would protocol every agreement the council reached.
They asked him to protocol the sale at once.
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15
verbobsoleteintransitive
To write protocols or first drafts, or put out official records.
Like writing in an official notebook as your everyday job.
The young clerk learned to protocol during his first year at the office.
Serene Highnesses, who sit there protocolling and manifestoing, and consoling mankind!
1837, Thomas Carlyle, The French RevolutionHere, protocolling means writing and putting out official papers and drafts.
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Practice

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Origin

It came through Middle French from Late Latin and originally meant the first sheet of a book. This came from Greek words meaning "first" and "glue," since it was the first sheet glued onto a manuscript.