释义 |
register actnow historical nounAny of several acts, dating from the late 17th cent., that made provision for the registration of the ships and seamen of the British merchant navy.- The first Act of 1696 provided for a voluntary register of seamen. Though tried in the late 17th cent. and the mid 19th cent. as a means of augmenting the Navy in time of war, the registration of seamen was never successful, and was abandoned. The first effective Act for the registration of ships was passed in 1786, from which date registration has been continuous and is still required by law. The Merchant Shipping Act (1854, revised 1894) consolidated previous acts, and is the basis of the modern system. See R. Temperley Merchant Shipping Acts (ed. 3) (1922) pp. 156–7..
OriginLate 18th century; earliest use found in The London Magazine. |