patent log

[ pat-nt lawg, log ]

nounNautical.
  1. any of various devices for determining the speed of a ship by means of a vaned rotor streamed at the end of a logline upon which it exerts a torsion transmitted to a registering device on board.

Origin of patent log

1
First recorded in 1875–80
  • Also called screw log [skroo-lawg, log]. /ˈskru ˌlɔg, ˌlɒg/.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

British Dictionary definitions for patent log

patent log

noun
  1. nautical any of several mechanical devices for measuring the speed of a vessel and the distance travelled, consisting typically of a trailing rotor that registers its rotations on a meter: Compare chip log

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012