Log , v. i. 1. To
engage in the business of cutting or
transporting logs for timber; to get out logs. [U.S.]
2.
To move to and fro; to rock. [Obs.]
Log , v. t. [imp. & p. p. Logged (?); p. pr. &
vb. n. Logging
(?).]
(Naut.), To enter in a ship's log book; as, to
log the miles run. J. F.
Cooper.
Log (?), n. [Icel. lāg a
felled tree, log; akin to E. lie. See Lie to lie
prostrate.]
1. A bulky piece
of wood which has not
been shaped by hewing or sawing.
2. [Prob. the same word
as in sense
1; cf. LG. log, lock, Dan. log, Sw. logg.] (Naut.) An apparatus for measuring the rate of a ship's motion through the water.
&fist; The common log consists of the log-chip, or logship, often exclusively
called the log, and the log
line, the former being commonly a thin wooden quadrant of five or six
inches radius, loaded with lead on the arc to make it float with
the point up. It is attached
to the log line by cords from each corner. This line is divided into equal spaces, called knots, each bearing the same proportion to a mile that half a minute
does to an hour. The line is wound
on a reel which is so held as to let it run off freely. When the log
is thrown, the log-chip
is kept by the water from being drawn forward, and the speed
of the ship
is shown by
the number of knots run out
in half a minute. There are improved logs, consisting of a piece of mechanism which, being towed astern, shows the distance actually gone through by the ship, by
means of the revolutions of a fly, which are registered on a dial plate.
3. Hence: The record of the
rate of ship's speed
or of her daily progress; also, the full nautical record of a ship's cruise
or voyage; a
log slate; a
log book.
4. A record and tabulated statement of the work done
by an engine, as of
a steamship, of the coal
consumed, and of other items relating to the performance of machinery during a given time.
5. (Mining) A weight or block near the free end
of a hoisting rope to prevent it from being drawn through the sheave.
Log board (Naut.),
a board consisting of two parts shutting together like a book, with
columns in which are entered the direction of the wind, course of the
ship, etc., during each hour of
the day and
night. These entries are transferred to the log book.
A folding slate is now
used instead. -- Log
book, or Logbook
(Naut.), a book in which is
entered the daily progress of a
ship at sea,
as indicated by the log, with notes on the weather and incidents of the voyage; the contents of the log board. Log cabin, Log house, a cabin or house made of
logs. -- Log canoe,
a canoe made by shaping and hollowing out a single log. -- Log glass (Naut.), a small sandglass used to time the running out of the log line. -- Log line (Naut.), a line or cord
about a hundred and fifty fathoms long, fastened to the log-chip. See Note under 2d Log, n., 2.
-- Log perch
(Zoöl.), an
ethiostomoid fish, or darter (Percina caprodes); -- called also hogfish and rockfish. --
Log reel (Naut.),
the reel on which the
log line is
wound. -- Log slate. (Naut.) See
Log board (above). -- Rough log (Naut.), a first draught of a record of the cruise
or voyage. -- Smooth log (Naut.),
a clean copy of the rough log. In
the case of
naval vessels this copy is forwarded to the proper
officer of the government. -- To heave the
log (Naut.), to cast the log-chip into
the water; also, the whole process of ascertaining a vessel's speed by the
log.
Log (?), n. [Heb. lōg.]
A Hebrew measure of liquids, containing
2.37 gills. W. H. Ward.
Hear it pronounced