patent log

noun Nautical.

any of various devices for determining the speed of a ship by means of a vaned rotor streamed at the end of a log line upon which it exerts a torsion transmitted to a registering device on board.
Also called screw log.

Origin of patent log

First recorded in 1875–80

Words nearby patent log

patent fastener, patent flour, patent foramen ovale, patent hammer, patent leather, patent log, patent medicine, patent office, patent right, patent rolls, patent still

Example sentences from the Web for patent log

  • He could find his way along the coast by compass and patent-log, but to steer an ocean course was another thing.

    Wyndham's Pal |Harold Bindloss

British Dictionary definitions for patent log

patent log

noun

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