Emily Dickinson Lexicon

PRO'TO-COL, n. [Low L. protocollum; Gr. πρωτος, first, and κολλα, glue; so called perhaps from the gluing together of pieces of paper, or from the spreading of it on tablets. It was formerly the upper part of a leaf of a book on which the title or name was written.]

1. The original copy of any writing. [Not now used.] – Ayliffe.
2. A record or registry.