Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
⚓ A speed-measuring rope 💻 A record entry
log line

log line

9.9
A knotted rope on a reel attached to a wooden block used to measure a ship's speed
  • noun
  • /lɔg laɪn/
  • Archaic
translation icon : línea de registro
  • The sailors threw the log line overboard to determine their ship's speed.

Examples

  • Before modern instruments, a log line was essential for every long sea voyage.

  • After retrieving the log line, the navigator recorded the number of knots let out.

  • The sailor checked the log line for accuracy.

  • A long log line was used to measure speed.

  • The sailors threw the log line overboard to determine their ship's speed.

  • After retrieving the log line, the navigator recorded the number of knots let out.

  • Before modern instruments, a log line was essential for every long sea voyage.

Synonyms

line
vslog line
∞ 1.1

A long thin rope or wire used to carry things

is the specific knotted cord used to measure ship speed, not a general rope
log
vslog line
  • Archaic
24 9.7

A floating object on a knotted line used from a ship to measure speed

is the cord component attached to wood used in that measuring device

Surface Forms

log line singular
log lines plural

Morphology

log + line

The compound is compositionally predictable if the learner knows the technical sense of log = 'record' (record + line → a single entry in a log), so in that case the meaning follows directly from the constituents. However, log is polysemous (the provided constituent definition is the nautical tool) and the computer/record sense is domain-specific, so a B1 learner who only knows the non-technical sense would not reliably infer the MWE meaning without exposure.

Etymology

Log line comes from an old sailor tool: a piece of wood called a log tied to a knotted rope, the line, which sailors threw overboard to see how fast the ship moved. By counting the knots they let out, they measured the ship's speed, so the name means the tool for measuring speed.