The forms of ceremony and etiquette observed by diplomats and heads of state.
A code of correct conduct: safety protocols; academic protocol.
The first copy of a treaty or other such document before its ratification.
A preliminary draft or record of a transaction.
The plan for a course of medical treatment or for a scientific experiment.
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.