Since 1992
Print and digital marketing
By Barbara McAllister
Word of the Day: Login
“Login” or “logon” became a one-word noun around the 1980s when home computers gained wide use. The verb remains two words as in “to log in.” It’s interesting that the practice of signing on to a modern computer references a nautical term from a practice used in the 1500s. Whether you log in or log on to your computer, Smart Phone, Facebook account or any of the 21st century high-tech devices, you’re referencing an operation from a time when the log from login was from a tree.
To navigate by estimating a ship’s speed and distance, early mariners dropped a piece of wood or floating object over the ship’s bow and counted the time before the object passed the stern. This was known as a common log. By the late 16th century, sailors were using a chip log, or wedge-shaped piece of wood, tied by a rope and dropped overboard. The rope was knotted at regular intervals and played out freely for a specific time measured with an hourglass. Counting the number of knots let out over a measured time gave the ship’s speed in knots, a reference still used today for nautical speed. By combining the speed in knots and the amount of time the ship had sailed, navigators could determine distance travelled east or west distance with varying degrees of accuracy. Recording these numbers on a log board was a critical part in the daily operation and navigation of the ship. Eventually these numbers were transferred or logged in to a daily book which became known as the logbook.
Today a logbook or log refers to any detailed record keeping. A computer is just a modern logbook that automatically records users when they login to the system. Computers have amazing capabilities, but the old manual system had the advantage of not requiring the endless memorization of confusing passwords.
