log

Etymology 1

From Middle English logg, logge (first recorded in Anglo-Latin as loggum), of uncertain origin, but probably from Old Norse lóg, lág (“felled tree, log”), derived from Old Norse liggja (“to lie”). If so, then cognate with Norwegian låg (“fallen tree”), Dutch loog (“wood, timber, lumber”). Alternatively, directly from Norwegian låg (“fallen tree”), which could have been borrowed through the Norwegian timber trade. However the Old Norse/Middle Norwegian vowel is long while Middle English vowel is short.

noun

1. The trunk of a dead tree, cleared of branches.
   They walked across the stream on a fallen log.
2. Any bulky piece as cut from the above, used as timber, fuel etc.
   Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, "Let me take the speck out of your eye," and behold, the log is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye. 1995, New American Standard Bible: Matthew 7, 3 - 5
3. A unit of length equivalent to 16 feet, used for measuring timber, especially the trunk of a tree.
4. Anything shaped like a log; a cylinder.
   […] it was a thing of sinuous durability, wound around the spirit like a tapeworm around a log of shit. 1999, Glen Duncan, Hope
   Dip both sides in the sauce on the plate and then arrange a log of cheese filling down the middle of the tortilla. 2011, Edward Espe Brown, The Complete Tassajara Cookbook
5. (nautical) A floating device, usually of wood, used in navigation to estimate the speed of a vessel through water.
   1659, Navigation by the Mariners Plain Scale New Plain'd, by John Collins Every Noon the Master and his Mates take the reckoning off the Log-board, and double the Knots run, and then divide the Product, which is the number of Miles run by three, the quotient is the Leagues run since the former Noon, and according to custom the Log is thrown every two hours, and I never knew the course nearer expressed on the Log-board, then to half a point of the Compass.
6. (figurative) A blockhead; a very stupid person.
7. (surfing slang) A heavy longboard.
   1999, Neal Miyake https://web.archive.org/web/20060530122555/http://www.iav.com/~sponge/sesh/new2/sesh213.htm I know he hadn’t surfed on a log much in his childhood
8. (figurative) A rolled cake with filling.
9. (mining) A weight or block near the free end of a hoisting rope to prevent it from being drawn through the sheave.
10. (vulgar) A piece of feces.
11. (vulgar) A penis.

verb

1. (transitive) To cut trees into logs.
2. (transitive) To cut down (trees).
   Since the mid-1980s, when Indonesia first began to clear its bountiful forests on an industrial scale in favour of lucrative palm-oil plantations, “haze” has become an almost annual occurrence in South-East Asia. The cheapest way to clear logged woodland is to burn it, producing an acrid cloud of foul white smoke that, carried by the wind, can cover hundreds, or even thousands, of square miles. 2013-06-29, “Unspontaneous combustion”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8842, page 29
3. (intransitive) To cut down trees in an area, harvesting and transporting the logs as wood.

Etymology 2

From logbook, itself from log (above) + book, from a wooden float (chip log, or simply log) used to measure speed.

noun

1. A logbook, or journal of a vessel's (or aircraft's) progress.
2. A chronological record of actions, performances, computer/network usage, etc.
3. (computer science) Specifically, an append-only sequence of records written to file.

verb

1. (transitive) To make, to add an entry (or more) in a log or logbook.
   to log the miles travelled by a ship
2. (transitive) To travel (a distance) as shown in a logbook.
3. (transitive) To travel at a specified speed, as ascertained by a chip log.

Etymology 3

verb

1. (obsolete) To move to and fro; to rock.

Etymology 4

From Hebrew לֹג.

noun

1. (historical units of measure) A Hebrew unit of liquid volume (about ¹⁄₃ liter).
   In the Hebrew system the log (Lev. xiv. 10) corresponds to the mina. Since the Hellenistic writers equate the log with the Græco-Roman sextarius, whatever these writers say on the relation of the sextarius to other measures applies also to the relation of these measures to the log. The log and the sextarius, however, are not equal in capacity. The sextarius is estimated at .547 liter, while there is no reason to regard the log as larger than the Babylonian mina, especially as other references of the Greek metrologists support the assumption that the log was equal to the mina. The fact that in the Old Testament the log is mentioned only as a fluid measure may be merely accidental, for the dry measures, which are distinguished in all other cases from the liquid measures, also have the log as their unit. The corresponding dry measure may, however, have been known under a different name. 1902, Jewish Encyclopedia, s.v. "Weights and Measures"

Etymology 5

A clipping of logarithm.

noun

1. Synonym of logarithm.
   To multiply two numbers, add their logs.
2. (sciences) A difference of one in the logarithm, usually in base 10; an order of magnitude.
   During the first 24 hr, however, titers of the lightly piliated organisms in the kidney increased by 4 logs, whereas the heavily piliated P. mirabilis were virtually all eliminated. 1978, F. J. Silverblatt, I. Ofek, “Influence of Pili on the Virulence of Proteus mirabilis in Experimental Hematogenous Pyelonephritis”, in The Journal of Infectious Diseases, volume 138, number 5, →DOI