log1

 
Pronunciation: /lɒg/

noun

  • 1a part of the trunk or a large branch of a tree that has fallen or been cut off: she tripped over a fallen log [as modifier]: a roaring log fire
  • 2 (also logbook) an official record of events during the voyage of a ship or aircraft: a ship’s log
  • a regular or systematic record of incidents or observations: keep a detailed log of your activities
  • 3an apparatus for determining the speed of a ship, originally one consisting of a float attached to a knotted line that is wound on a reel, the distance run out in a certain time being used as an estimate of the vessel’s speed.

verb (logs, logging, logged)

[with object]
  • 1enter (an incident or fact) in the log of a ship or aircraft or in another systematic record: the incident has to be logged
  • (of a ship, aircraft, or pilot) achieve (a certain distance, speed, or time): she had logged more than 12,000 miles since her launch
  • make a systematic recording of events, observations, or measurements: the virus can log keystrokes that you make when you log on to all sorts of services
  • 2cut down (an area of forest) in order to exploit the timber commercially: there are plans to log 250,000 hectares of virgin rainforest

Phrases

(as) easy as falling off a log

informal very easy.

Phrasal Verbs

log in (or on)

go through the procedures to begin use of a computer, database, or system.

log off (or out)

go through the procedures to conclude use of a computer, database, or system.

Origin:

Middle English (in the sense 'bulky mass of wood'): of unknown origin; perhaps symbolic of the notion of heaviness. log1 (sense 3 of the noun) originally denoted a thin quadrant of wood loaded to float upright in the water, whence 'ship's journal' in which information derived from this device was recorded