The line fastened to the log (q.v.), and wound round a reel in
the ship's gallery. The whole line (except some five fathoms
next the log, called stray line) is divided into equal lengths
called knots, each of which is marked with a piece of coloured
tape or bunting. Suppose the captain wishes to know the rate of
his ship; one of the sailors throws the log into the sea, and
the reel begins to unwind. The length of line run off in half a
minute shows the rate of the ship's motion per hour. Source:
Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, E. Cobham Brewer, 1894 More on
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