pro·to·col / ˈprōtəˌkôl; -ˌkäl/ • n. 1. the official procedure or system of rules governing affairs of state or diplomatic occasions: protocol forbids the prince from making any public statement in his defense. ∎  the accepted or established code of procedure or behavior in any group, organization, or situation: what is the protocol at a conference if one's neighbor dozes off during the speeches? ∎  Comput. a set of rules governing the exchange or transmission of data electronically between devices. 2. the original draft of a diplomatic document, esp. of the terms of a treaty agreed to in conference and signed by the parties. ∎  an amendment or addition to a treaty or convention: a protocol to the treaty allowed for this Danish referendum. 3. a formal or official record of scientific experimental observations. ∎  a procedure for carrying out a scientific experiment or a course of medical treatment. ORIGIN: late Middle English (denoting the original record of an agreement, forming the legal authority for future dealings relating to it): from Old French prothocole, via medieval Latin from Greek prōtokollon ‘first page, flyleaf,’ from prōtos ‘first’ + kolla ‘glue.’ Sense 1 derives from French protocole, the collection of set forms of etiquette to be observed by the French head of state, and the name of the government department responsible for this (in the 19th cent.).

protocol A set of rules and a vocabulary that define how two computers on a network communicate with each other. In order to understand this, a good analogy can be made with the way chess players communicate, either by correspondence or over a computer network. Each move in a game of chess is defined by a notation that specifies the piece that is moved, its initial position, and its final position. This notation, together with the rules used to define what is or what is not a valid move, represents a protocol for playing chess. Protocols are used in a network in the same way. For example, a protocol known as HTTP governs the interaction between a WEB SERVER and CLIENTS which are running BROWSERS that view WEB PAGES. This protocol enables a browser to communicate with the server in order, for example, to let the server know which page the user of the browser requires. There are also a wide variety of protocols used for the provision of email services. These control functions such as the reading, sending, and deletion of emails. Protocols also use facilities provided by other protocols. For example, the FILE TRANSFER PROTOCOL, used to transfer files over a network, employs the TCP-IP protocol that is at the heart of the Internet. The use of one protocol by another has given rise to the term PROTOCOL STACK.

protocol , term referring to rules governing diplomatic conduct or to a variety of written instruments. Examples of the latter are authenticated minutes of international conferences; preliminary agreements, or statements of principle, which eventuate in a formal treaty; and agreements that do not require ratification. Sometimes the term protocol is applied to an agreement that in all essentials of form or content is similar to a treaty; an example of this was the Geneva Protocol approved by the Assembly of the League of Nations in 1924, which branded aggressive war an international crime. It provided that no signatory would engage in war with other signatories who observed their international obligations. Signatories were to participate in an international disarmament conference. The protocol was supported by most nations, but British refusal to support it in the League Council prevented it from coming into force. The Locarno Pact and the Kellogg-Briand Pact were later agreements having the general tenor of the Geneva Protocol. Diplomatic protocol is the code of international courtesy governing the conduct of those in the diplomatic service or otherwise engaged in international relations. It is basically concerned with procedural matters and precedence among diplomats. Each office of foreign affairs (or equivalent body) has an official in charge of protocol.

Bibliography: See J. T. Shotwell, Plans and Protocols to End War (1925); J. R. Wood, Diplomatic Ceremonial and Protocol (1970); J. E. Lott, Practical Protocol: A Guide to International Courtesies (1973); P. Kattenburg, Diplomatic Practices (1980); M. McCaffree and P. Innes, Protocol (rev. ed. 1985).

Protocols of the Elders of Zion a fraudulent document that reported the alleged proceedings of a conference of Jews in the late 19th cent., at which they discussed plans to overthrow Christianity through subversion and sabotage and to control the world. The Protocols first appeared in their entirety in Russia in 1905. They were widely disseminated in the 1920s and became a classic defense for anti-Semitism. First published in the United States in 1920, the Protocols were championed by Henry Ford in his newspaper, the Dearborn Independent, and cited throughout the 1930s by some anti-Roosevelt and fascist groups. As early as 1921, the English journalist Philip Graves exposed the similarity between the Protocols and a political satire by Maurice Joly, Dialogue aux enfers entre Machiavel et Montesquieu (1864). Subsequent investigation showed the original document to be a forgery written by members of the Russian secret police.

Bibliography: See H. Bernstein, The Truth about the Protocols of the Elders of Zion (1935, repr. 1972); N. Cohn, Warrant for Genocide (1967, repr. 1970).

protocol An agreement that governs the procedures used to exchange information between cooperating entities. More specifically, a protocol is such an agreement operating between entities that have no direct means of exchanging information, but that do so by passing information across a local interface to so-called lower-level protocols, until the lowest, physical, level is reached. The information is transferred to the remote location using the lowest-level protocol, and then passes upward via the interfaces until it reaches the corresponding level at the destination. In general, a protocol will govern the format of messages, the generation of checking information, and the flow control, as well as actions to be taken in the event of errors.

A set of protocols, governing the exchange of information between (physically remote) communicating entities at a given level, and the set of interfaces governing the exchange between (physically adjacent) protocol levels, are collectively referred to as protocol hierarchy or a protocol stack.

See also seven-layer reference model.

protocol the official procedure or system of rules governing affairs of state or diplomatic occasions. The word is recorded from late Middle English, denoting the original minute of an agreement, forming the legal authority for future dealings relating to it; it comes via Old French and medieval Latin from Greek prōtokollon ‘first page, flyleaf’.

The current sense also derives directly from French protocole, the collection of set forms of etiquette to be observed by the French head of state, and the name of the government department responsible for this (in the 19th century).
Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion a fraudulent, anti-Semitic document printed in Russia in 1903 and purporting to be a report of a series of meetings held in 1897 to plan the overthrow of Christian civilization by Jews and Freemasons.

PROTOCOL

A brief summary; the minutes of a meeting; the etiquette of diplomacy.

Protocol refers to a summarized document or the minutes of a meeting that are initialed by the parties present to indicate the accuracy of the document or minutes.

Protocol is a section of the department of state that is responsible for advising the government, the president, the vice president, and the secretary of state on matters of diplomatic procedure governed by law or international custom and practice. Protocol is the method of officially ranking or receiving government officials.

protocol original note or minute of a transaction XVI; original draft or record of a diplomatic document XVII; etiquette of precedence, etc. XIX. orig. prothocoll (in earliest use Sc.) — OF. prothocole (mod. protocole) — medL. prōtocollum — Gr. prōtókollon first leaf of a volume, fly-leaf glued to the case and containing an account of the contents, f. PROTO- + kólla glue.

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