Not just in layman's term. That is what a protocol is: a specification for communication. With reference to the OSI model, HTTP is an application layer protocol. TCP is a network layer protocol.

Edit: oh, screw me, the article actually says 'HTML'. I didn't register that and saw 'HTTP'. I'm guessing the author meant that: didn't you ever write HTML when you meant HTTP and didn't catch it until the third reading?

Edit2: interestingly enough, the above said 'ISO' instead of 'OSI'...