register

Etymology

From Medieval Latin registrum, from Late Latin regesta (“list, items recorded”), from Latin regerere (“to record, to carry back”), from re- + gerero (“to carry, bear”). Compare Latin registoria (“a treasurer”). Some senses influenced by association with unrelated Latin regere (“to rule”).

noun

1. A formal recording of names, events, transactions, etc.
   The teacher took the register by calling out each child's name.
2. A book of such entries.
3. An entry in such a book.
4. The act of registering.
5. A certificate issued by the collector of customs of a port or district to the owner of a vessel, containing the description of a vessel, its name, ownership, and other material facts. It is kept on board the vessel, to be used as evidence of nationality or as a muniment of title.
6. One who registers or records; a registrar; especially, a public officer charged with the duty of recording certain transactions or events.
   a register of deeds
7. A distinct horizontal (or, more rarely, vertical) section of a work of art or inscription that is divided into several such sections.
   The division of the field into an upper and lower register, with decorative motifs in the upper register and a scene with figures in the lower register, as here, is, as has been mentioned, characteristic of Syrian seals from the early second millennium. 1984, Beatrice Teissier, Ancient Near Eastern Cylinder Seals from the Marcopoli Collection, page 70
   The east wall is decorated in raised relief with two registers of scenes above a dado showing a northward fecundity figure procession. 1989, Eleni Vassilika, Ptolemaic Philae, page 76
   The reverse side is divided into three registers. In the first register is the name of Narmer represented as a fish and a chisel inscribed in the serekh. 2005, Abeer El-Shahawy, The Egyptian Museum in Cairo: A Walk Through the Alleys of Ancient Egypt, page 23
8. A device that automatically records a quantity.
9. (telecommunications) The part of a telegraphic apparatus that automatically records the message received.
10. (telecommunications) A list of received calls in a phone set.
11. (computing) A small unit of very fast memory that is directly accessible to the central processing unit, and is mostly used to store inputs, outputs, or intermediate results of computations.
    When the microprocessor decodes the JSR opcode, it stores the operand into the TEMP register and pushes the current contents of the PC ($00 0128) onto the stack. 1992, Michael A. Miller, The 68000 Microprocessor Family: Architecture, Programming, and Applications, page 47
    If you can trace back through the disassembly to where the variable is first loaded into a register, you can often discover its value or its address by inspecting that register. 2014, Jason Gregory, Game Engine Architecture, Second Edition, page 90
12. (printing) The exact alignment of lines, margins, and colors.
13. (printing) The inner part of the mould in which types are cast.
14. (music) The range of a voice or instrument.
15. (music) An organ stop.
16. (linguistics) A style of a language used in a particular context.
    My ex-boss used "let go", in the euphemistic register, when he sacked me.
    It seems equally clear that the ‘Complement + Prepositionʼ order illustrated in (172) (a) is likewise highly marked, and hence subject to heavy restrictions on its use. And sure enough, this does indeed seem to be the case: for one thing, forms such as thereafter, herein, whereby are stylistically highly marked (e.g. they are only used in particular registers such as legal language). 1988, Andrew Radford, chapter 5, in Transformational grammar: a first course, Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, page 275
17. A grille at the outflow of a ventilation duct, capable of being opened and closed to direct the air flow.
    No. 1 chamber, 1 8x12 side wall register for warm air. No. 2 chamber, 1 8x12 side wall register for warm air. 1891, Anson Oliver Kittredge, The Metal Worker Essays on House Heating by Steam, Hot Water and Hot Air: With Introduction and Tabular Comparisons, page 22
    The remaining ceiling register is connected with the main vent shaft containing the smokepipe. Each of the ceiling registers in the lecture hall is controlled by a damper operated by a drain in the boilerroom. 1897, Edward J. Mehren, Henry Coddington Meyer, John M. Goodell, Engineering Record, Building Record and Sanitary Engineer, page 102
    The Ideal Wall Register is not a receptacle for the accumulation of dirt. It avoids the necessity of cutting carpets. It is absolutely fireproof. 1906, Architectural File, page 543
    He went up to the room he shared with Buddy and opened the hot-air register so he could hear what his mother did next. 1984, Stephen King, Gramma
18. (chiefly US) Clipping of cash register.

verb

1. (transitive) To enter in a register; to enlist.
2. (transitive) To sign-up, especially to vote.
   I am running for President to take this country in a new direction. But I can’t do it alone. I need you. Whether it’s the first time, or the first time in a long time, I need you to register and vote on November 4th. 2008, Barack Obama, “Letter to Vibe Magazine”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name)
3. (transitive) To record, especially in writing.
   Tottenham, who lost William Gallas to injury before the end, struggled to find any sort of response and did not register a single shot on target. November 3, 2011, Chris Bevan, “Rubin Kazan 1 - 0 Tottenham”, in BBC Sport
   In every way dinner proved up beyond my expectations, and I registered a note that the cook, whoever or whatever he might be, was a capable man at his trade. 1914, Jack London, chapter VII, in The Mutiny of the Elsinore
4. (transitive, intransitive) To buy the full version of trial software by providing one's details and payment.
   This is a trial version, and will expire in 30 days. Please register!
5. (transitive) To express outward signs.
6. (transitive, mail) To record officially and handle specially.
7. (transitive, especially printing) To make or adjust so as to be properly or precisely aligned.
8. (intransitive) To place one's name, or have one's name placed in a register.
   They registered for school.
9. (intransitive) To make an impression.
10. (intransitive) To be in proper alignment; to align or correspond exactly.
    The slightly smaller hind print may overlap but seldom registers precisely in the front track. 1974, Robert Elman, The Hunter's Field Guide to the Game Birds and Animals of North America
    […] but cat tracks are slightly more staggered, and on each side the back foot registers directly on the track of the front foot. 1992, Dwight R. Schuh, Bowhunter's Encyclopedia: Practical, Easy-to-Find Answers to Your Bowhunting Questions, Stackpole Books, page 279
11. (law) To voluntarily sign over for safe keeping, abandoning complete ownership for partial.