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 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 ★★ 1984 (PG)

A series of comic accidents lead a Washington cocktail waitress into the U.S. State Department's employ as a protocol official. Once there she is used as a pawn to make an arms deal with a Middle Eastern country. Typical Hawn comedy with an enjoyable ending. 100m/C VHS, DVD . Goldie Hawn, Chris Sarandon, Andre Gregory, Cliff DeYoung, Ed Begley Jr., Gail Strickland, Richard Romanus, Keith Szarabajka, James Staley, Kenneth Mars, Kenneth McMillan, Archie Hahn, Amanda Bearse; D: Herbert Ross; W: Nancy Meyers, Harvey Miller, Charles Shyer, Buck Henry; C: William A. Fraker; M: Basil Poledouris.

protocol •boll, Chabrol, Coll, doll, Guignol, haute école, loll, moll, pol, poll, skol, sol, troll, vol •obol • aldol • Panadol • Algol • argol •Gogol • googol • alcohol • glycol •protocol • paracetamol •ethanol, methanol •Sebastopol • Interpol • folderol •cholesterol • Lysol • Limassol •parasol • aerosol • girasol • entresol •atoll •Dettol, metol •sorbitol • capitol • Athol • menthol •benzol