In log4net, an appender is an output destination for a log such as a file, the console, a database or even e-mail.
An appender looks something like this:
<appender name="console" type="log4net.Appender.ConsoleAppender">
<layout type="log4net.Layout.PatternLayout">
<conversionPattern value="%date %level %logger - %message%newline" />
</layout>
</appender>
This will output any log message you write via the log4net-Logger to the console attached to your application.