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protocol

 - 8 dictionary results

pro⋅to⋅col

[proh-tuh-kawl, -kol, -kohl]
–noun
1. the customs and regulations dealing with diplomatic formality, precedence, and etiquette.
2. an original draft, minute, or record from which a document, esp. a treaty, is prepared.
3. a supplementary international agreement.
4. an agreement between states.
5. an annex to a treaty giving data relating to it.
6. Medicine/Medical. the plan for carrying out a scientific study or a patient's treatment regimen.
7. Computers. a set of rules governing the format of messages that are exchanged between computers.
8. Also called protocol statement, protocol sentence, protocol proposition. Philosophy. a statement reporting an observation or experience in the most fundamental terms without interpretation: sometimes taken as the basis of empirical verification, as of scientific laws.
–verb (used without object)
9. to draft or issue a protocol.

Origin:
1535–45; earlier protocoll < ML prōtocollum < LGk prōtókollon orig., a leaf or tag attached to a rolled papyrus manuscript and containing notes as to contents. See proto-, colloid


pro⋅to⋅col⋅ar [proh-tuh-kol-er] , pro⋅to⋅col⋅a⋅ry, pro⋅to⋅col⋅ic, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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pro·to·col   (prō'tə-kôl', -kōl', -kŏl')   
n.  
    1. The forms of ceremony and etiquette observed by diplomats and heads of state.

    2. A code of correct conduct: safety protocols; academic protocol.

  1. The first copy of a treaty or other such document before its ratification.

  2. A preliminary draft or record of a transaction.

  3. The plan for a course of medical treatment or for a scientific experiment.

  4. Computer Science A standard procedure for regulating data transmission between computers.

intr.v.   pro·to·coled or pro·to·colled, pro·to·col·ing or pro·to·col·ling, pro·to·cols
To form or issue protocols.

[French protocole, from Old French prothocolle, draft of a document, from Medieval Latin prōtocollum, from Late Greek prōtokollon, table of contents, first sheet : Greek prōto-, proto- + Greek kollēma, sheets of a papyrus glued together (from kollān, to glue together, from kolla, glue).]
pro'to·col'ar (-kŏl'ər), pro'to·col'a·ry (-kŏl'ə-rē) adj.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

protocol 
1541, as prothogall "draft of a document," from M.Fr. prothocole (c.1200), from M.L. protocollum "draft," lit. "the first sheet of a volume" (on which contents and errata were written), from Gk. protokollon "first sheet glued onto a manuscript," from protos "first" + kolla "glue." Sense developed in M.L. and M.Fr. from "official account" to "official record of a transaction," "diplomatic document," and finally, in Fr., to "formula of diplomatic etiquette." Meaning "diplomatic rules of etiquette" first recorded 1896, from French; general sense of "conventional proper conduct" is from 1952. "Protocols of the (Learned) Enders of Zion," Rus. anti-Semitic forgery purporting to reveal Jewish plan for world domination, first published in Eng. 1920 under title "The Jewish Peril."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Legal Dictionary

Main Entry: pro·to·col
Pronunciation: 'prO-t&-"kol
Function: noun
1 : an original draft, minute, or record of a document or transaction
2 a : a preliminary memorandum often formulated and signed by diplomatic negotiators as a basis for a final convention or treaty b : the records or minutes of a diplomatic conference or congress that show officially the agreements arrived at by the negotiators
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: pro·to·col
Pronunciation: 'prOt-&-"kol, -"kOl, -"käl
Function: noun
1 : an official account of a proceeding;especially : the notes or records relating to a case, an experiment, or an autopsy protocols was made … for patients who died with majordisease of the central nervous system —Journal of the American Medical Association>
2 : a detailed plan of a scientific or medical experiment or treatment protocol by the hospital's human studies committee are required before implementing any research on human subjects>
Medical Dictionary

protocol pro·to·col (prō'tə-kôl', -kōl')
n.
The plan for a course of medical treatment or for a scientific experiment.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Science Dictionary
protocol   (prō'tə-kôl', -kōl')  Pronunciation Key 
  1. The plan for a course of medical treatment or for a scientific experiment.

  2. A set of standardized procedures for transmitting or storing data, especially those used in regulating data transmission between computers or peripherals.


The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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Computing Dictionary

protocol
A set of formal rules describing how to transmit data, especially across a network. Low level protocols define the electrical and physical standards to be observed, bit- and byte-ordering and the transmission and error detection and correction of the bit stream. High level protocols deal with the data formatting, including the syntax of messages, the terminal to computer dialogue, character sets, sequencing of messages etc.
Many protocols are defined by RFCs or by OSI.
See also handshaking.
[The Jargon File]
(1995-01-12)

The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, © 1993-2007 Denis Howe
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