patent log

American  

[pat-nt lawg, log] / ˈpæt nt ˌlɔg, ˌlɒg /

noun

Nautical.

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.

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patent log British  

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

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Etymology

Origin of patent log

First recorded in 1875–80

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

patent log

By the distance we had run, as shown by the patent log and compared with the chart, there had been a current against us of more than a knot an hour.

From Narrative of the surveying voyages of His Majesty's ships Adventure and Beagle, between the years 1826 and 1836 Volume I. - Proceedings of the First Expedition, 1826-1830 by Fitzroy, Robert

She was loaded well down, yet an hour after the patent log had been put overboard it recorded a run of seventeen knots.

From Under the Ensign of the Rising Sun A Story of the Russo-Japanese War by Lumley, Savile

Comparing the distance run by observation and by patent log, there was a difference of sixteen miles and a third.

From The Story of the Atlantic Telegraph by Field, Henry M. (Henry Martyn)

To see him skipping along through green sea water in his dress-pumps, to look at the patent log, was a revelation of human improvidence.

From Captain Macedoine's Daughter by McFee, William

Mile after mile was covered as shown by the patent log.

From Under the Ocean to the South Pole Or, the Strange Cruise of the Submarine Wonder by Rockwood, Roy