Log in is an action you take to record or enter information. Login is a noun or adjective to describe the information or data you are entering into something. Log-in is simply login with a hyphen.
- What's the difference between login and logon?
- Is logging in the same as signing in?
- Why is it called log in?
What's the difference between login and logon?
Some Web sites require users to register in order to use the site; registered users can then enter the site by logging on. Logon is also used as a modifier as in "logon procedure." The verb form is two words: to log on. In UNIX-based operating systems, logon is called login.
Is logging in the same as signing in?
In computing, sign in and log in are synonyms. Both mean "to open a session with an account that is already created". There is one difference: the derived noun login "a username; a session under that username" exists, but there is no such noun as *signin.
Why is it called log in?
Computer systems keep a log of users' access to the system. The term "log" comes from the chip log historically used to record distance traveled at sea and was recorded in a ship's log or log book. To sign in connotes the same idea, but it's based on the analogy of manually signing a log book or visitors book.