"sloping timber of a roof," c. 1200, from Old English ræftras (West Saxon), reftras (Mercian), both plural, "a beam, pole, rafter of a building," related to Old Norse raptr "log," from Proto-Germanic *raf-tra-, from PIE *rap-tro-, from root *rep- "stake, beam."

"ascertaining of the position of a ship by measurement of the distance run" (without observation of heavenly bodies), 1610s, perhaps from nautical abbreviation ded. ("deduced") in log books, but it also fits dead (adj.) in the sense of "unrelieved, absolute."

also dug-out, 1722, "primitive type of canoe," consisting of a log with the interior hollowed out, American English, from past participle of dig (v.) + out (adv.). Baseball sense is recorded by 1914, from earlier meaning "rough shelter excavated in the side of a bluff or bank" (1855).

type of paste made from fermented soya beans and barley or rice malt, used in Japanese cooking, by 1727 (from 1615 as misso in the log-book of English pilot William Adams, published in 1916), from Japanese, of uncertain etymology; said to be from Middle Korean myècwú, the name of a comparable sauce.

1660s, "an ant," from first element of pismire (q.v.) + ant. Meaning "contemptible, insignificant person" is from 1903.

[B]y sun-down [the gals] come pourin out of the woods like pissants out of an old log when tother end's afire. ["Dick Harlan's Tennessee Frolic," in collection "A Quarter Race in Kentucky," Philadelphia, 1846]

"a shoot, sucker," c. 1600, from Latin stolonem (nominative stolo) "a shoot, branch, sucker," cognate with Greek stēlē "standing block," stelekhos "trunk, stem, log;" from PIE *stol-on-, suffixed form of root *stel- "to put, stand, put in order," with derivatives referring to a standing object or place.

Old English holt "woods, forest, grove, thicket," common in place names, from Proto-Germanic *hultam- (source also of Old Frisian, Old Norse, Middle Dutch holt, Dutch hout, German Holz "a wood, wood as timber"), from PIE *kldo- (source also of Old Church Slavonic klada "beam, timber;" Russian koloda, Lithuanian kalada "block of wood, log;" Greek klados "twig;" Old Irish caill "wood"), from root *kel- "to strike, cut."

Old English screade "piece cut off, cutting, scrap," from Proto-Germanic *skraudōn- (source also of Old Frisian skred "a cutting, clipping," Middle Dutch schroode "shred," Middle Low German schrot "piece cut off," Old High German scrot, "scrap, shred, a cutting, piece cut off," German Schrot "log, block, small shot", Old Norse skrydda "shriveled skin"), from PIE *skreu- "to cut; cutting tool," extension of root *sker- (1) "to cut."

"any structure that affords passage over a ravine or river," Old English brycge, from Proto-Germanic *brugjo (source also of Old Saxon bruggia, Old Norse bryggja, Old Frisian brigge, Dutch brug, Old High German brucca, German Brücke), from PIE root *bhru "log, beam," hence "wooden causeway" (source also of Gaulish briva "bridge," Old Church Slavonic bruvuno "beam," Serbian brv "footbridge").

The original notion is of a beam or log. Compare Old Church Slavonic mostu, Serbo-Croatian most "bridge," probably originally "beam" and a loanword from Germanic, related to English mast (n.1). For vowel evolution, see bury. Meaning "bony upper part of the nose" is from early 15c.; of stringed instruments from late 14c. The bridge of a ship (by 1843) originally was a "narrow raised platform athwart the ship whence the Captain issues his orders" [Sir Geoffrey Callender, "Sea Passages"].

Bridge in steam-vessels is the connection between the paddle-boxes, from which the officer in charge directs the motion of the vessel. [Smyth, "The Sailor's Word-book," 1867]