backlog

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The current figurative meaning 'arrears of uncompleted work' is an Americanism from the 1930s which passed rapidly into British use. The original physical meaning 'a log placed at the back of a fire' dates from the 17th century; in between is an earlier meaning 'a reserve supply', which extended in use to abstract things (for example, goodwill) and gave rise to the current meaning. In this meaning it is often used with a preceding noun, e.g. capacity backlog, orders backlog:

Jordan temporarily closes its border with Iraq to ease the refugee backlog—Keesings, 1990

Extra staff brought in to clear the backlog should be kept on until a thorough review is made—J. King et al., 1993

The council has a backlog of 479 appeals from parents dissatisfied with the school their children attend or have been allocated—Manchester Evening News, 2002.

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Value of unfilled orders placed with a manufacturing company.
Whether the firm’s backlog is rising or falling is a clue to its future sales and earnings.

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noun

A supply stored or hidden for future use: cache, hoard, inventory, nest egg, reserve, reservoir, stock, stockpile, store, treasure. Slang stash. See collect/distribute.

Origin: 1684

When the time comes to set a fire in the fireplace, one of the essential ingredients is the backlog, a large log so called because it is set at the back. Increase Mather mentions it in a dramatic scene from his 1684 book Illustrious Providences: "The spit was carried up the chimney, and came down with the point forward, and stuck in the backlog."

Describing a farmhouse in a snowstorm in the 1770s, Hector St. John de Crèvecoeur mentions "an enormous back-log, without which a fire is supposed to be imperfectly made and to be devoid of heat." A thorough description of a fire properly laid is found in Knickerbocker Magazine for February 1852: "The 'log' has been placed; the 'back-log' has surmounted it; the 'top-stick' crowns the apex; the 'forestick' rests against the 'and-irons'; and the intermediate 'cob-house' of timber, fired by the faithful 'kindling-wood,' is all ablaze, and roaring up the chimney."

As fireplaces and backlogs yielded to central heating towards the end of the nineteenth century, backlog began to blaze in figurative use. At first this new backlog just meant "an accumulation," as in an 1883 Boston article about bicycling: "The roads seemed to improve, and, the back-log of raw eggs and milk beginning to take effect, the pace was improved." Later it acquired its modern meaning "accumulation of work unfinished." From the mid-twentieth century, we have a 1947 Chicago Daily News example: "This is hardly attributable to new-car production, which still counts order back-logs in the millions."

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The total value of sales orders waiting to be filled.

Investopedia Says:
This figure is used mainly in the manufacturing industry. Increases or decreases in a company's backlog indicate the future direction of sales and earnings.

Related Links:
Getting big quickly looks good, but companies can get into trouble when they do it too fast. Find out how to spot this trouble. Is Growth Always A Good Thing?
Predicting sales growth can be something of a black art - unless you ask the right questions. Great Expectations: Forecasting Sales Growth

See words rhyming with "backlog."

Dansk (Danish)
n. - uekspederede ordrer
v. tr. - hobe op, samle
v. intr. - hobe sig op

Nederlands (Dutch)
achterstand, houtblok in de haard

Français (French)
n. - arriéré (de travail), retard, accumulation de travail en retard
v. tr. - avoir du retard dans
v. intr. - avoir du retard dans

Deutsch (German)
n. - Rückstand
v. - in Reserve halten, einen Auftrag annehmen und bestätigen, in Rückstand geraten

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - μαζεμένη, καθυστερημένη δουλειά, εκκρεμείς παραγγελίες

Italiano (Italian)
lavoro arretrato, arretrato

idioms:

• catch up on a backlog    ricuperare uno svantaggio

Português (Portuguese)
n. - solicitações (f pl), reserva (f) de pedidos em carteira (Fin.), trabalho (m) acumulado, tora (f) de lenha que arde no fundo da lareira, reserva (f)

idioms:

• catch up on a backlog    fazer um trabalho acumulado que não pode ser feito anteriormente

Русский (Russian)
невыполненная работа

idioms:

• catch up on a backlog    наверстать упущенное

Español (Spanish)
n. - reserva, acumulación, leño en el fondo de la chimenea, trabajo atrasado
v. tr. - reservar, acumular
v. intr. - hacer una reserva o acumulación

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - orderstock, ogjort arbete

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
存货, 备用品, 储备金, 积蓄, 使形成积压, 形成积压

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 存貨, 備用品, 儲備金, 積蓄
v. tr. - 使形成積壓
v. intr. - 形成積壓

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 난로 깊숙이 넣어두는 큰 통나무, 비축물, 잔무
v. tr. - 확보하다
v. intr. - 밀리다

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - やり残し, 注文残高, 滞貨

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) العمل المتراكم‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮פיגורים, הצטברות, הצטברות עבודות במחשב‬
v. tr. - ‮החזיק במלאי‬
v. intr. - ‮הצטבר‬

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