protocol
//ˈpɹəʊtəˌkɒl//
Forms
- Plural
- protocols
Definitions
1.An amendment to an official treaty.
- The 1992 Protocol amended the definitions of other terms, including ‘ship’, ‘oil’ and ‘incident’: Art. 2.
2.The first leaf of a roll of papyrus, or the official mark typically found on such a page.
- They marked the beginning of each scroll with their protocol, a practice that continued in the papyrus trade in the Byzantine Empire [..] into the Islamic period, when there were bilingual protocols in Greek and Arabic.
3.The official formulas which appeared at the beginning or end of certain official documents such as charters, papal bulls etc.
- The protocol of the bull contains elements that appear to be formulaic by the time of John XVIII 's pontificate.
4.The original notes of observations made during an experiment.
- The following is an abstract of the protocol of the experiment: Tumour extract., A measured 16 c.c. of minced Rous Sarcoma tissue was ground with sand and extracted with 400 c.c. of 0.8-per-cent. saline.
Frequency
Overall
Uncommon· #3951
By learning goal
- Everyday conversation
- Rare
- General reading & writing
- Uncommon
- Academic
- Uncommon
- Literature
- Rare
Etymology
Borrowed from Middle French protocolle, protocole (“document, record”)
From Late Latin protocollum (“the first sheet of a volume (on which contents and errata were written)”)
From Byzantine Greek πρωτόκολλον (prōtókollon, “first sheet glued onto a manuscript”)