protocol

Forms

protocol n (plural protocoale)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French protocole, with German Protokoll beside it, as DEX and Wiktionary give it.^[2][1] MDA2, the DLR and Tiktin add learned Latin protocollum, and Ciorănescu names French alone.^{[2][1][3][4][5][6]} The Latin word is from Byzantine Greek πρωτόκολλον (prōtókollon), formed from Ancient Greek πρῶτος (prôtos, “first”) and κόλλα (kólla, “glue”).^[7][8] It first named the sheet glued to the front of a papyrus roll with the details of its making, then other dated records, and in Medieval Latin a register of minutes.^[8][7] The diplomatic sense comes from French.^[8] Scriban relates the word to coală.^[9]

Earliest recorded meaning

Tiktin dates the first record to 1593.^[5] MDA2 and the DLR quote a document of 1742 in Iorga's collection, where court papers are entered la protocol “in the register”.^[3][4] The early sense is an official form or register for public acts.^[4][2]

Semantic evolution

In the 18th and early 19th centuries the word meant an official register or formulary;^[10] DEX and the DLR now label this sense old and regional.^[4][2] Negulici (1848) defines it as the book containing all the acts.^[10] Costinescu (1870), following French, adds the minutes of a congress or diplomatic conference.^[11] The diplomatic act with the force of an international agreement and the ceremonial of official occasions came next;^[9] Scriban also records the figurative sense, the code of good manners.^[9][2] A regional phrase a se pune la protocol meant to enter one's names in the parish register before a wedding.^[3] Ciorănescu lists the adjective protocolar, from French protocolaire, and the verb protocoli, from German protokollieren.^[6]

Timeline

• 1593 – the first record, according to Tiktin.^[5]
• 1742 – la protocol “in the register” in a document in Iorga's collection.^[3][4]
• 1848 – in Negulici, “the book containing all the acts”.^[10]
• 1870 – the minutes of a diplomatic conference, in Costinescu.^[11]
• 1939 – the diplomatic ceremonial and good manners, in Scriban.^[9]

Meanings

Noun

1. A document recording the decisions of a meeting, debate or international conference; a diplomatic document with the force of an international agreement.^[2][3]
2. (dated, regional) An official form for public acts; by extension a register.^[2][4]
3. (singular) The forms and practices of ceremonial at official occasions in diplomacy; the office that organises it.^[2][12]
4. By extension, rules of etiquette to be observed in society.^[2][9]

Word family

• protocolar

Usage notes

The plural is protocoale; older texts also have protocoluri.^[3][6]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 889
3. ^ a b c d e f Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 2, 577
4. ^ a b c d e f Academia Română (1965–2010), Dicționarul limbii române (DLR), serie nouă, tom I–XIX, București: Editura Academiei Române, p. s.v. protocol
5. ^ a b c Tiktin, Hariton (2000–2005), Rumänisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., revised by Paul Miron and Elsa Lüder, 3 vols., Cluj-Napoca: Clusium, p. s.v. protocol
6. ^ a b c Ciorănescu, Alexandru (1958–1966), Diccionario etimológico rumano, La Laguna: Universidad de La Laguna (Romanian ed.: Dicționarul etimologic al limbii române, București: Saeculum, 2001), p. s.v. protocol
7. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
8. ^ a b c Kluge, Friedrich; Seebold, Elmar (2011), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache, 25th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter, p. 728
9. ^ a b c d e Scriban, August (1939), Dicționaru limbii românești (etimologii, înțelesuri, exemple, citațiuni, arhaizme, neologizme, provincializme), Iași: Presa Bună, p. 1068
10. ^ a b c Negulici, I. D. (1848), Vocabular romînesc de toate vorbele streine întroduse pînă acum în limba romînească și de toate cuvintele ce s-ar mai putea introduce încă, București
11. ^ a b Costinescu, Ion (1870), Vocabularu romano-francesu, 2 vols., Bucuresci, p. 2, 373
12. ^ Marcu, Florin (2000), Marele dicționar de neologisme, București: Saeculum Vizual, p. s.v. protocol