key
Part of speech: noun
adj
Morphological type: simple
Topics: advertising
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Etymology: From Middle English keye, kaye, keiȝe, from Old English cǣġ (“key, solution, experiment”) (whence also Scots key and kay (“key”)), from Anglo-Frisian Proto-West Germanic *kaiju, of uncertain origin. The only sure cognates are Saterland Frisian Koai (“key”), West Frisian kaai (“key”), and North Frisian kai, koie (“key”). Possibly from Proto-Germanic *kēgaz, *kēguz (“stake, post, pole”), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵogʰ-, *ǵegʰ-, *ǵegʰn- (“branch, stake, bush”), which would make it cognate with Middle Low German kāk (“whipping post, pillory”), and perhaps to Middle Dutch keige (“javelin, spear”) and Middle Low German keie, keige (“spear”).
For the semantic development, note that medieval keys were simply long poles (ending in a hook) with which a crossbar obstructing a door from the inside could be removed from the outside, by lifting it through a hole in the door. Liberman has noted, however, "The original meaning of *kaig-jo- was presumably '*pin with a twisted end.' Words with the root *kai- followed by a consonant meaning 'crooked, bent; twisted' are common only in the North Germanic languages."
Inflected forms:
form: keys
pos: noun
tags: plural
form: keyer
pos: adj
tags: comparative
form: more key
pos: adj
tags: comparative
form: keyest
pos: adj
tags: superlative
form: most key
pos: adj
tags: superlative
Senses:
gloss: An object designed to open and close a lock.
pos: noun
tags: countable
examples: We tiptoed into the house, up the stairs and along the hall into the room where the Professor had been spending so much of his time. 'Twas locked, of course, but the Deacon man got a big bunch of keys out of his pocket and commenced to putter with the lock.
gloss: An object designed to fit between two other objects (such as a shaft and a wheel) in a mechanism and maintain their relative orientation.
pos: noun
gloss: A crucial step or requirement.
pos: noun
examples: The key to solving this problem is persistence.
the key to winning a game
Those who are accustomed to reason have got the true key of books.
who keeps the keys of all the creeds
The PEOPLE'S DAILY today front pages a news item in column one in the experience of Yuhsi County in Yunnan which "mastered the law of agricultural field management, and found the key to increasing autumn grain production."
gloss: A small guide explaining symbols or terminology, especially the legend on a map or chart.
pos: noun
examples: The key says that A stands for the accounting department.
gloss: A guide to the correct answers of a worksheet or test.
pos: noun
examples: Some students cheated by using the answer key.
gloss: One of several small, usually square buttons on a typewriter or computer keyboard, mostly corresponding to text characters.
pos: noun
examples: Press the Escape key.
gloss: In musical instruments, one of the valve levers used to select notes, such as a lever opening a hole on a woodwind.
pos: noun
gloss: In instruments with a keyboard such as an organ or piano, one of the levers, or especially the exposed front end of it, which are depressed to cause a particular sound or note to be produced.
pos: noun
gloss: A scale or group of pitches constituting the basis of a musical composition.
pos: noun
examples: the key of B-flat major
A girl, it is true, has always lived in a glass house among reproving relatives, whose word was law; she has been bred up to sacrifice her judgments and take the key submissively from dear papa; and it is wonderful how swiftly she can change her tune into the husband's.
gloss: A scale or group of pitches constituting the basis of a musical composition.
pos: noun
gloss: A scale or group of pitches constituting the basis of a musical composition.
pos: noun
gloss: A scale or group of pitches constituting the basis of a musical composition.
pos: noun
gloss: A scale or group of pitches constituting the basis of a musical composition.
pos: noun
gloss: The general pitch or tone of a sentence or utterance.
pos: noun
tags: figuratively
examples: 2. Queen.[…]Deere Glasse of Ladies
Bid him that we whom flaming war doth scortch,
Vnder the shaddow of his Sword, may coole us:
Require him he advance it ore our heades;
Speak't in a womans key: like such a woman
As any of us three; weepe ere you faile; lend us a knee;
But touch the ground for us no longer time
Then a Doves motion, when the head's pluckt off:
Tell him if he i'th blood cizd field, lay swolne
Showing the Sun his Teeth; grinning at the Moone
What you would doe.
?, William Cowper, Conversation
You fall at once into a lower key.
gloss: A modification of an advertisement so as to target a particular group or demographic.
pos: noun
examples: Another popular way to key ads and mailings is to use a suite number, room number, department number, desk number, etc. as part of the ordering address. With a classified ad, using such a key may increase your ad cost.
gloss: An indehiscent, one-seeded fruit furnished with a wing, such as the fruit of the ash and maple; a samara.
pos: noun
gloss: A manual electrical switching device primarily used for the transmission of Morse code.
pos: noun
tags: historical
gloss: A piece of information (e.g., a password or passphrase) used to encode or decode a message or messages.
pos: noun
gloss: A password restricting access to an IRC channel.
pos: noun
tags: Internet
examples: if you know someone who is in the channel, you can query them and ask for the key.
gloss: In a relational database, a field used as an index into another table (not necessarily unique).
pos: noun
gloss: A value that uniquely identifies an entry in a container.
pos: noun
gloss: Any of various tools comparable to a wrench (spanner) or driver, or, in some cases, also called a wrench or driver.
pos: noun
examples: radiator key
clock key
hex key
Torx key
gloss: A series of logically organized groups of discriminating information which aims to allow the user to correctly identify a taxon.
pos: noun
gloss: A piece of wood used as a wedge.
pos: noun
gloss: The last board of a floor when laid down.
pos: noun
gloss: A keystone.
pos: noun
gloss: That part of the plastering which is forced through between the laths and holds the rest in place.
pos: noun
gloss: A wooden wedge, driven sideways between a bullhead rail and a cast-iron chair, to keep the rail securely in position.
pos: noun
gloss: The degree of roughness, or retention ability of a surface to have applied a liquid such as paint, or glue.
pos: noun
examples: The door panel should be sanded down carefully to provide a good key for the new paint.
gloss: The thirty-third card of the Lenormand deck.
pos: noun
gloss: The black ink layer, especially in relation to the three color layers of cyan, magenta, and yellow. See also CMYK.
pos: noun
gloss: A color to be masked or made transparent.
pos: noun
examples: You can easily create this type of user interface by creating a bitmap with certain portions set to a predefined color you want to use as the transparency key.
There are key controls that adjust the “slice level” or the level at which the key kicks-in and starts cutting a hole for the “fill” […] Chroma key is another form of keying, which derives the key cutter or hole from a selected color.
gloss: The free-throw lane together with the circle surrounding the free-throw line, the free-throw lane having formerly been narrower, giving the area the shape of a skeleton key hole.
pos: noun
examples: He shoots from the top of the key.
gloss: A key position player (a tall forward or defender).
pos: noun
examples: "It just means that one of them here and there will need to play on a small-to-medium forward (instead of Riewoldt) which is fine. Our keys are pretty agile."
gloss: Indispensable, supremely important.
pos: adj
tags: not-comparable
usually
examples: He is the key player on his soccer team.
Paradoxically enough, however, in general only the parties of the Left have done most to spread the belief that it was the numerical strength of the opposing material interests which decided political issues, whereas in practice these same parties have regularly and successfully acted as if they understood the key position of the intellectuals.
Lukas intimates that one of Disney's key attractions was "Main Street USA,” which "mimicked a downtown business district just as Southdale" had done.
The question of the plausibility of the counter-factual is seen as key in all three discussions of allohistorical fiction (as it is in Demandt's and Ferguson's examinations of allohistory) (cf. Rodiek 25–26; Ritter 15–16; Helbig 32).
The enemy is moving troops through a key area. Distrupt their activities to open some holes in their defenses.
gloss: Important, salient.
pos: adj
tags: not-comparable
usually
examples: She makes several key points.
Throughout the 1500s, the populace roiled over a constellation of grievances of which the forest emerged as a key focal point. The popular late Middle Ages fictional character Robin Hood, dressed in green to symbolize the forest, dodged fines for forest offenses and stole from the rich to give to the poor. But his appeal was painfully real and embodied the struggle over wood.
With the north London derby to come at the weekend, Spurs boss Harry Redknapp opted to rest many of his key players, although he brought back Aaron Lennon after a month out through injury.
Related words: key card
key chain
key change
key fob
key ring
key signature
public-key cryptography
clef
scale
Key in the Encyclopædia Britannica (11th edition, 1911)
Derived words: accelerator key
a golden key can open any door
Allen key
alt key
answer key
arrow key
autokey
barrel key
bedkey
bis key
boss key
bump key
business key
card key
car key
CD key
change key
check key
Chinese keys
chroma-key
chroma key
chuck key
clustering key
Command key
composite key
compound key
content key
control key
Cross Keys
Cuban Keys
culverkey
cursor key
dead key
dichotomous key
disk on key
electronic car key
enter key
escape key
false key
fin key
function key
Greek key
hashkey
hex key
high-key
home key
hot key
hotkey
housekey
identification key
ignition key
I lost my keys
in a major key
in a minor key
in key
I've lost my keys
jiggle key
jiggler key
keyable
key alike
key art
key artwork
key back
keybed
key bed
keybind
key binding
key bit
keyboard
key bolt
keybounce
key bounce
keyboy
key-bugle
key bump
keybutton
keycap
keycard
key catcher
keycatcher
keychain
keyclick
key club
keycode
key-cold
key combo
key currency
key defender
key desk
key down
key drive
key encapsulation mechanism
keyer
key exchange
key finder
keyfob
key forward
keyframe
key frame
key-fruit
key fruit
Key Green
key grip
keyguard
key harp
keyholder
key holder
keyholding
keyhole
key interest rate
key into
keykeeper
key-keeper
Key Largo
keyless
keylet
key light
keylike
keyline
keylock
key log
keylogger
key logger
keylogging
keymaker
keyman
key man risk
keymap
keymapping
keymask
keymaster
key-money
key money
keyness
keynote
key of the door
Key of the Mediterranean
key of the street
keypad
key pair
keypair
keypal
key party
keypath
key performance indicator
key person insurance
key person risk
keyphone
keyplate
keypoint
key press
keypress
keypunch
key rate
keyring
keyscan
key seat
keyseat
keysender
keysending
keyserver
key server
keyset
key set identifier
keysigning
keysmash
keysmith
keys of the kingdom
keyspace
key spoke
key stage
keystone
keystore
keys to the kingdom
keystream
key stretching
keystring
keystrip
keystroke
keyswitch
keytainer
keytap
keytop
key to the city
key to the door
key to the midway
key up
key-value
key visual
keyway
key word
keyword
key-word
keywork
keyworker
key worker
key wrench
latch-key
latchkey
latch key
latch-key child
lock key
lock someone up and throw away the key
lowkey
low-key
low key
maple key
master key
meta key
mid-key
miskey
modifier key
multikey
natural key
nose key
off-key
out of key
parallel key
passkey
personal unblocking key
PF key
piano keys
pipe key
pre-shared key
private key
programmed function key
public key
public key certificate
public key cryptography
railway key
rekey
relative key
return key
rose key
screw key
secret key
serial key
shift key
shortcut key
skate key
slack key
slack-key
soft key
sortkey
split key
spoke key
start key
stream key
subkey
sub-key
Super key
superkey
surrogate key
tenkey
theoretical key
throw away the key
tipsy key
tooth key
tuning key
turn-key
turnkey
under lock and key
unkey
USB key
Walpole Cross Keys
water key
Windows key
wine key
wine-key
Winkey
witkey
Woodruff key
Translations:
lang: Bulgarian
word: шпи́лка
roman: špílka
lang: Bulgarian
word: шпо́нка
roman: špónka
lang: Finnish
word: kiila
lang: Finnish
word: akselikiila
lang: Greek
word: κλειδί
roman: kleidí
lang: Hungarian
word: kapocs
lang: Hungarian
word: pecek
lang: Hungarian
word: csap
lang: Japanese
word: キー
roman: kī
lang: Russian
word: чека́
roman: čeká
lang: Russian
word: шпо́нка
roman: špónka
lang: Russian
word: клин
roman: klin
lang: Spanish
word: cuña
lang: Swahili
word: ufungu
lang: Udmurt
word: нарва
roman: narva
lang: Welsh
word: allwedd
lang: Afrikaans
word: toonaard
lang: Basque
word: doinu
lang: Bulgarian
word: ключ
roman: ključ
lang: Chinese Mandarin
word: 調 /调
roman: diào
lang: Czech
word: tónina
lang: Danish
word: nøgle
lang: Dutch
word: toonsoort
lang: Dutch
word: toonaard
lang: Esperanto
word: tonalo
lang: Estonian
word: helistik
lang: Finnish
word: sävellaji
lang: French
word: tonalité
lang: Georgian
word: ტონალობა
roman: ṭonaloba
lang: German
word: Tonart
lang: Greek
word: κλειδί
roman: kleidí
lang: Hebrew
word: סולם \ סֻלָּם
roman: sulám
lang: Hungarian
word: hangnem
lang: Icelandic
word: tóntegund
lang: Indonesian
word: kunci
lang: Irish
word: gléas
lang: Italian
word: chiave
lang: Japanese
word: 調
roman: chō
lang: Khmer
word: គន្លឹះ
roman: kɔɔkŭənlɨh
lang: Korean
word: 조
roman: jo
lang: Latvian
word: atslēga
lang: Latvian
word: tonalitāte
lang: Lithuanian
word: raktas
lang: Lithuanian
word: tonacija
lang: Macedonian
word: тоналите́т
roman: tonalitét
lang: Macedonian
word: ска́ла
roman: skála
lang: Manx
word: gleaysh
lang: Māori
word: paeoro
lang: Iranian Persian
word: کِلید
roman: kelid
lang: Iranian Persian
word: کَلید
roman: kalid
lang: Polish
word: tonacja
lang: Portuguese
word: clave
lang: Romanian
word: gamă
lang: Russian
word: тона́льность
roman: tonálʹnostʹ
lang: Russian
word: лад
roman: lad
lang: Scottish Gaelic
word: gleus
lang: Spanish
word: clave
lang: Swedish
word: tonart
lang: Vietnamese
word: điệu
lang: Vietnamese
word: âm điệu
lang: Welsh
word: cywair