| 释义 |
▪ I. key, n.1|kiː|
Forms: 1 cæᵹ, cæᵹe, (kæᵹe, kaiᵹe), 2 kæie, 3 keiȝe, pl. keyȝen, keien, 4 keyȝe; 3–4 kai, 3–8 kay, (4 cay, kaie, pl. caiss), 4–6 kaye, (5–6 pl. kaies); 3–6 keye, (pl. keis), 3–7 keie, 5–7 kee, 7 kie; 4– key, (pl. 4–6 -es, 4– -s).
[OE. cǽᵹ str. f. (pl. cǽᵹa) and cǽᵹe wk. f. (pl. cǽᵹan) = OFris. kei, kay; not found in the other Teut. languages; ulterior etym. unknown.
The mod. pronunciation |kiː| is abnormal. The other OE. words ending in -ǽᵹ have uniformly mod. |eɪ|, as clǽᵹ clay, grǽᵹ grey, gray, hwǽᵹ whey; and that key had the same vowel as these in ME. is proved not only by the frequent spelling kay, but by its constantly riming with day, way, say, play, etc. This was evidently the standard pron. down to the close of the 17th c.; Dryden has the rime with way more than once in one of his latest works (1700). On the other hand, we find even in 15th c. a (northern) spelling kee; and in Scottish MSS. of the same cent. the form key (pl. keis) shows that the vowel in that dialect was not the same as in day or clay; in somewhat later Scottish (16th–17th c.) the identity of the vowel with that which gives mod. |iː| is established by rimes. In mod. Southern Sc. also, key has the same diphthong |keɪ| as be, me, we, dee, see, tree, etc., proving that it must from an early period have had the same sound as ē, ee had at the time. The vb. weigh has the same history in Sc. |wiː|, but in Eng. remains |weɪ|. The mod. pronunciation |kiː| thus appears to be of northern origin, and it is difficult to know how it came into general Eng. use. Cf. the surname Kaye or Key (Caius) in Caius (i.e. Key's) College, Cambridge.]
I.
1. a. An instrument, usually of iron, for moving the bolt or bolts of a lock forwards or backwards, and so locking or unlocking what is fastened by it; usually fitted on the bit or web with more or less elaborate incisions, etc., adapted to the wards of the lock.
a1000Riddles xliii. 12 (Gr.) Hwylc þæs hordgates cæᵹan cræfte þa clamme onleac. 1018Laws of Cnut ii. c. 76 §1 Þæra cæᵹean heo sceal weardian. c1290S. Eng. Leg. I. 200/14 Þe prior haueth þe keiȝe in warde. a1300Cursor M. 17357 Þai sperd fast wit lok and kai [v.rr. kay, key] Þe seles alssua þai bar away. c1320Sir Beues (MS. A) 3207 A..schette þe dore wiþ þe keie [rime veie (= fey)]. c1375Sc. Leg. Saints xlvii. (Effame) 73 Þo he had þe keys brocht Vith hyme, duris opyn he [ne] mocht. 1463Bury Wills (Camden) 22 A keye of the grete gardeyn gate. 1491–2in Swayne Sarum Church-w. Acc. (1896) 40, j key to the Organ dore & iij keyis to the quer dorys vijd. 1535Coverdale Judg. iii. 25 (For no man opened the perler dore) they toke the keye, and opened it. 1552Huloet, Kaye, clauis. 1596Spenser F.Q. iv. x. 18 Either through gifts, or guile, or such like waies, Crept in by stouping low, or stealing of the kaies. 1632Lithgow Trav. iv. 137 The doore, that he had newly locked, and taken the key with him to the ship. 1700Dryden Sigism. & Guisc. 133 The dame, who long in vain had kept the key, Bold by desire, explored the secret way. Ibid. 156, 294. 1772 Junius Lett. lxviii. 354 A key was found in his room. 1820Keats St. Agnes xli, The key turns, and the door upon its hinges groans. 1877J. M. Porteous Turkey 20 A key was an emblem carried before the troops of the prophet.
b. Phrases and proverbs: † under key, under lock and key (see lock). as cold as a key (cf. key-cold a.). to lay (or put) the key under the door, to shut up house and go away. to get (have) the key of the street (ironical), to be shut out for the night, or have no house to go to. key and book (or bible), used in a method of divination. the King's keys (see quot. 1824).
13..Evang. Nicod. 831 in Herrig Archiv LIII. 406 Yhe keped him vnder kay [rimes day, way, may]. 1390Gower Conf. II. 188 The Priest Thoas, which..the Palladion of Troie Kepte under keie. 1501Douglas Pal. Hon. 674 With quaikand voce and hart cald as a key [rimes fey, pley, etc.]. a1541Wyatt Poet. Wks. (1861) 121 What 'vaileth under kay To keep treasure alway, That never shall see day. a1600Montgomerie Sonn. xli, My lyfe..from my body fled, And left my corps als cold as ony kie [rimes thee, ee, thrie]. 1677A. Yarranton Eng. Improv. 126 The Tenant lays the Key under the Door. 1824Scott Redgauntlet ch. xix, Constables..considered as worthy to use what are called the king's keys. [Cf. Antiq. xxi. note, The king's keys are, in law phrase, the crow-bars and hammers used to force doors and locks, in execution of the king's warrant.] 1837Dickens Pickw. xlvii, It's too late now: you can't get in to-night; you've got the key of the street, my friend. 1894G. Parker Transl. Savage 161 A crossing sweeper early to his task, or holding the key of the street.
c. The representation of a key, in painting, sculpture, etc. St Peter's keys, the cross keys borne in the Papal arms (see 4). Greek key, each of the key-like bends of which the Greek fret consists.
c1450Holland Howlat 345 Twa keyis our croce, of siluer so cleir, In a feild of asure flammit on fold. 15..Sym & his bruder 25 in Laing Anc. Poet. Scot. 315 Thay..clampit vp sanct Peteris keis [rimes leis, weis, sleuis] Bot of ane auld reid gartane. 1688R. Holme Armoury iii. 301/2 He beareth Azure, a key double Bited in Fesse. 1897Westm. Gaz. 2 Sept. 3/2 Its trimmings..running in vertical lines that end in Greek keys.
2. In pregnant sense, with reference to the power of custody, control, admission of others, etc., implied by the possession of the keys of any place; hence as a symbol of office, and fig. the office itself. gold key, the office of groom of the stole.
a900[see 4]. 1297R. Glouc. (Rolls) 3848 Þe conseil of france..ȝolde him vp al þat lond & þe keyen [v.rr. keyȝen, keyes] of parys. c1385Chaucer L.G.W. 2298 (Philomela) Myn yonge doughter..That beryth the keye of al myn hertis lyf. a1400–50Alexander 2147 Þai vnȝarked him þe ȝatis & ȝald him þe keys [MS. D. kees]. 1546J. Heywood Prov. (1867) 30 The kays hang not all by one mans gyrdell. a1548Hall Chron., Hen. VI 162 All the townes in Acquitayne (except Bayon) delivered their keys, and became vassals. 1642G. Mountagu in Buccleuch MSS. (Hist. MSS. Comm.) I. 299 These Lords, Holland and Essex,..accordingly delivered their key and staff respectively to the Lord Falkland. 1676C. Hatton in H. Corr. (Camden) 138 His office of Chamberlaine is here incompatible wth his other character. It is generally beleeved he will lose his Key. 1761Dk. Newcastle Lett. Dk. Devonsh. 13 Mar. in W. E. Manners Mrq. Granby (1899) 196 Lord Bute told me the King wished to give the Gold Key to the Duke of Rutland and the Staff to my Lord Talbot. 1795Southey Joan of Arc vi. 168 Of every captured town the keys Restore to Charles.
II. fig. (often in figurative context).
3. a. Something compared to a key, with its power of locking or unlocking; that which opens up, or closes, the way to something; that which gives opportunity for or precludes an action, state of things, etc.
a1000Cædmon's Exod. 524 ᵹif onlucan wile lifes wealhstod..gastes cæᵹon, run bið ᵹerecenod. c1200Vices & Virtues 7 Hie is kæie of alle oðre sennes non senne ne mai bien idon bute ðurh unhersumnesse. c1450in 3rd Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. (1872) 280/1 And as for Maunce and Mayne, alle lordes and comons in Englond knew well that it was the keye of well faire of alle the kynge's obeisaunce in Fraunce. 1596Drayton Leg. i. 740 His victorious Hand became the Kay, To let yee in, to my rich Treasure. 1642Fuller Holy & Prof. St. iv. xxi. 352 Love, the key of hearts, will open the closest coffers. a1703Burkitt On N.T., Matt. vii. 11 Prayer is the key that opens both His heart and His hand. 1845Ford Handbk. Spain i. 58 A supply of cigars, those keys to Spanish hearts.
b. golden or silver key: Money, employed as a bribe to obtain the opening of a door or to gain a purpose.
[14..Purif. Marie in Tundale's Vis. (1843) 130 Thowgh that sche bare of gold no key To bye a lombe.] 1679Hist. Jetzer 2 The Silver Key will open the strongest Gates of the strictest Monastery. 1705Hickeringill Priest-cr. i. (1721) 63 Will Council open their Mouths without a Golden Key? 1798W. Hutton Autobiog. 41, I was given to understand that the door, contrary to other doors, would not open with a silver key. 1842Tennyson Locksley Hall 100 Every door is barr'd with gold, and opens but to golden keys.
†c. A name for the principal claws of a hawk's foot (see quot.) Obs.
1486Bk. St. Albans A viij, Understond ye also that the longe Senclees be calde the key of the fote, or the Closer. For what thyng som euer it be yt yowre hawke strenyth, open that Sengle, and all the fote is oppen, for the strength ther of fortyfieth all the fote.
4. Theol. (With allusion to Matt. xvi. 19). Usually pl.: The ecclesiastical authority, held by Roman Catholics to be conferred by Christ on St. Peter, and transmitted to the Popes as his successors. In a wider sense: The disciplinary or spiritual power of priests, as successors of the Apostles.
a900O.E. Martyrol. 210 Þæt he [se papa] heofna rices cæᵹan & helle ᵹeweald ahte. [c1000Ags. Gosp. Matt. xvi. 19 Þe ic sylle heofona rices cæᵹia [Lindisf. cæᵹas, Rushw. kæᵹen; Hatton kaiᵹen.] a1300Cursor M. 26150 He mai þe noþer lese ne bind, forqui þat kay es giuen to nan bot preist. 1340Hampole Pr. Consc. 3838 Þa cays er noght elles to se Bot playn power of his [the Pope's] dignite. 1426Audelay Poems 20 Cal the clarge to ȝour counsel, that beryn Cristis kay. 1552Lyndesay Monarche 4820 Those spiritual keis quhilkis Christ to Peter gaif. 1560J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 437 Whether Priestes onlye have authoritye of the Keyes. 1653Baxter Chr. Concord 43 They that distinguish between the Key of Order and the Key of Jurisdiction, do without question allow the former to the Presbyters. 1681Procl. Privy Counc. in Lond. Gaz. No. 1670/1 The Intrinsick Spiritual Power of the Church, or Power of the Keys, as it was exerced by the Apostles. a1711Ken Hymnotheo Poet. Wks. 1721 III. 131 Jesus to you the ghostly Keys commits, And those you here absolve, in Heav'n acquits. 1849Macaulay Hist Eng. I. iv. 466 Lewis..was in turn accused by the Pope of encroaching on the spiritual power of the keys.
5. A place which from the strategic advantages of its position gives its possessor control over the passage into or from a certain district, territory, inland sea, etc.
c1440J. Capgrave Life St. Kath. i. 71 Therfor þis kyng ryght as for a keye Of all hys kyngdame set hys town þer. a1548Hall Chron., Hen. VI 153 Which towne was the kay and passage over the ryver of Soame, from Fraunce to Normandy. a1600Montgomerie Misc. Poems xlviii. 115 For these tua Castells ar the only kees Of all Turkie, and do divide the sees. 1684Lond. Gaz. No. 1954/3 A very Important place, which is the Key of Sclavonia. 1735Berkeley Querist §266 Whether the sea-ports of Galway, Limerick, Cork, and Waterford are not to be looked on as keys of this kingdom? 1838Thirlwall Greece II. xv. 291 He had now the key of Northern Greece in his hands. 1838Penny Cycl. XI. 214/2 (Gilbraltar) Henry IV, king of Castile..gave it the arms it still bears, viz. a castle with a key hanging to the gate, alluding to its being the key to the Mediterranean.
transf.1869Huxley in Sci. Opin. 5 May 506/1 And yet this is the key of the whole position.
6. a. That which serves to open up, disclose, or explain what is unknown, mysterious, or obscure; a solution or explanation.
c897K. ælfred Gregory's Past. xv. 90 Ðæt word ðære ðreaunge is cæᵹ, forðæm hit oft onlycð & ᵹeopenað ða scylde þe se him self ær nyste se hie ðurhteah. c1000ælfric Gram. Pref. (Z.) 2 Stæfcræft is seo cæᵹ ðe ðæra boca andᵹit unlicð. 1382Wyclif Luke xi. 52 Woo to ȝou, wyse men of lawe, for ȝe han take awey the keye of kunnynge. c1422Hoccleve Learn to Die 12 Thow of al science berst the keye. 1597Montgomerie Cherrie & Slae 411 Euer Curage keipis the keyis Of knawledge at his belt. 1642Fuller Holy & Prof. St. iii. iv. 158 Get the Language (in part) without which Key thou shalt unlock little of moment. 1712Addison Spect. No. 435 ⁋6, I have one general Key to the Behaviour of the Fair Sex. 1788F. Burney Diary 21 July, I felt his meaning, though I had no key to it. 1883S. C. Hall Retrospect II. 305 It was the key to his success; he knew the value of time.
b. spec. The alphabet or explanatory scheme for the interpretation of a cipher, an allegorical statement, or other composition of hidden or veiled meaning; any scheme explaining the features of a picture, identifying the persons represented, etc.; an outline or simplified map or chart, intended to make a full map, etc., more intelligible; a work containing solutions of mathematical or other problems; a translation of a book or exercise in a foreign language, to facilitate the work of learners.
1605[implied in key-cipher, sense 17 a below]. 1675Essex Papers (Camden) I. 290 'Tis most of it in cypher, wch y⊇ Key will unfolde. 1711Addison Spect. No. 37 ⁋2 The New Atalantis, with a Key to it. 1753Scots Mag. Apr. 208/2 A burlesque upon some late..transactions; but seems to want a key. 1800Dk. Wellington Let. to Lieut. Col. Close in Gurw. Desp. (1837) I. 151, I beg also that you will send me a key of the cipher. 1826Syd. Smith Wks. (1867) II. 102 Some of the best Greek and Roman classics should be immediately published, with keys. 1827Hare Guesses Ser. ii. (1873) 296 Poetry is the key to the hieroglyphics of nature. 1870A. R. Hope My Schoolboy Fr. (1875) 52 Where the master used a Key to Henry's Exercises.
c. Chess. (a) In full key move. The first move in the solution of a set problem, upon which depends the style of the whole solution. Also attrib. or as adj. (b) The whole solution of a set problem.
1827W. Lewis Chess Probl. Pref., I defer for the present publishing the Solutions, that the reader may solve the Problems without being tempted to refer to the Key. 1846Chess Player's Chron. VI. 65 Amateurs wanting either time or perseverance to undertake the solution themselves,..may obtain the key by addressing a note to the Editor. 1878S. Loyd Chess Strategy 60 Key-moves which threaten an easy mate. Ibid. 201 There is always a great deal of chance in solving a problem, such as hitting upon the key by accident. 1923B. G. Laws Artistry of Chess Probl. 5 Key, continuations and principal mates are all of the first order... The key abandoning an important protective Pawn..is little short of being superb. 1938C. S. Kipping Chess Probl. Sci. I. 51 This was followed by six dis. checks..with a check key, and J. L. Millins showed that it could be done with a quiet key... Ua Tane, using White King diagonal battery and Pawn promotion key showed that six were possible. Ibid. 56 Petrovic's astounding triple task has not a key which will appeal to everyone. 1945Chess in Schools (Chess Educ. Soc.) 27 Problems, composed positions in which a key move is to be found, after which mate is forced in a specified number of moves. 1958Mansfield & Harley Mod. Two-Move Chess Probl. 19 The solver's attention is drawn to it, and Key possibilities are limited. Ibid., Such a Key is thematic and good.
d. The device used to ‘key’ an advertisement (see key v. 5). orig. U.S.
1905Calkins & Holden Art of Mod. Advertising xi. 266 A variation of the ‘key’ in advertising is the coupon. 1915H. W. Hess Productive Advertising xiii. 199 Accounts may be opened charging up to each key not only (1) number of inquiries, but (2) amount spent on that particular key, [etc.]. 1957Clark & Gottfried University Dict. Business & Finance (1967) 201/1 The key may be a special street or box number, or a department to which the reply is to be addressed, or it may be a number or letter code included in the reply coupon if one is used.
7. Mus.
†a. [after Guido Aretino's use of clāvis.] The lowest note or tone of a scale or sequence of notes; the key-note. Obs. Hence,
b. A scheme or system of notes or tones definitely related to each other, according to (or in) which a piece of music is written; such scheme being based upon and named after some particular note (the key-note), as the key of C. Hence,
c. The sum of melodic and harmonic relations existing between the tones of such a system; tonality.
major, minor, natural (etc.) key: see these words.
[There is app. some relationship between this sense and 11, but its precise nature is not clear; its origin prob. lies outside Eng., in the use, in mediæval music, of L. clāvis (whence, also, through Fr., clef, q.v.).
1880A. J. Hipkins in Grove Dict. Mus. I. 369 The word clavis, key, in the solmisation system of Guido d'Arezzo, was used for note or tone.]
1590Shakes. Mids. N. iii. ii. 206 Both warbling of one song; both in one key. 1597Morley Introd. Mus. 4 Now I praie you shew me all the seuerall Keyes wherein you may begin your sixe Notes [i.e. hexachords]. 1609Douland Ornith. Microl. 7 A Key is the opening of a Song, because like as a Key opens a dore, so doth it the Song. 1674Playford Skill Mus. i. xi. 57 To shew in what Key the Song was set, and how each Musical Key had relation one to another. 1694W. Holder Harmony (1731) 119 Draw a second Scale..but let the Key, or First Note be D Sol re. 1731Keller Rules for Thorow-Bass in Holder Harmony 192 The extream Sharp in a sharp [i.e. major] Key, is the half Note [i.e. semitone] below the Key. 1787Wolcott (P. Pindar) Ode upon Ode Wks. 1812 I. 421 To hear her pompously demand the Key Of every piece Musicians play. 1826Baroness Bunsen in Hare Life I. vii. 268, I have often practised writing out parts in the different keys. 1898Stainer Dict. Mus. Terms 253/2 The key of C requires no flats or sharps for this purpose, hence it is called the normal key.
8. transf. and fig.
a. transf. (High or low) tone (of the voice); pitch.
1599B. Jonson Cynthia's Rev. iv. i. Wks. (Rtldg.) 84/1 There's one speaks in a key, like the opening of some Justice's gate, or a postboy's horn. 1623Massinger Dk. Milan ii. i. Plays (1868) 74/1 I'll speak to her, And in a high key too. 1709Berkeley Th. Vision §46 Men speak in a high or a low key. 1748J. Mason Elocut. 10 Carefully to preserve the Key (that is, the Command) of your Voice. 1877Black Green Past. xxxv. (1878) 282 Loudly discoursing—in a high shrill and plaintive key—of his troubles.
b. fig. Intensity or force, ‘pitch’ (of feeling or action); tone or style (of thought or expression); sometimes, prevailing tone or idea, ‘key-note’. Phr. in key (with): in harmony (with); in a style that matches; out of key (with): out of harmony (with); not matching; unsuitable.
1594Nashe Unfort. Trav. 36 As for my cariage, he knew hee was to tuene it at a key, either high or low, as he list. 1599Daniel Musoph. Wks. (1601) B v, His passions set to such a pleasing kay. 1621Quarles Div. Poems, Esther (1717) 131 Let peace and love exalt your Key of mirth. 1646Evance Noble Ord. 16 Which is the right Key of obedience. 1770Langhorne Plutarch (1879) II. 904 2 The key of politics, which he first touched, he kept to without variation. 1816Keatinge Trav. (1817) I. 234 He returned in a high key of spirits in consequence of the reception he was favoured with. 1875Stubbs Const. Hist. I. xiv. 129 The writs to the barons..are shorter but in the same key. 1919B. Ruck Disturbing Charm ii. xiv. 287 Everything in that drawing-room was in key with that mantelpiece. 1920E. Pound Hugh Selwyn Mauberley i. 9 For three years, out of key with his time, He strove to resuscitate the dead art Of poetry. 1931E. Wilson Axel's Castle ii. 34 We shall be thrown fatally out of key with reality. 1934H. G. Wells Exper. Autobiogr. II. vii. 489 That was entirely out of key with James's assumptions.
c. Tone or relative intensity (of colour).
1851H. Wilson Compos. Light & Shade 65 Pictures, painted in a ‘light key’, possess many advantages. 1876Ruskin Arrows of Chace (1880) I. 174 Their harmonies of amber-colour and purple are full of exquisite beauty in their chosen key.
III. Applied to various mechanical devices, in function or form suggesting the key of a lock.
9. A piece of wood or metal which is inserted between other pieces; usually, a pin, bolt or wedge fitting into a hole or space contrived for it so as to lock various parts together; a cotter.
Also, in special senses: (a) A piece of timber framed between floor-joists by mortice and tenon. (b) A piece of wood let into the back of a board or set of boards, across the grain, to prevent warping. (c) In stone-work: the piece or wedge of iron used to secure a dovetail in a hole, or driven between two ‘feathers’ to split a stone (see quots. 1793). (d) In bookbinding: a metal U-shaped instrument by which each band is secured in the sewing-press.
[1408–19Acc. Roll in Raine Brief Acc. Durh. Cath. (1833) 88, 4d. each for 280 ‘keys’, or bosses for the crossings of the beams.] c1440Promp. Parv. 269/2 Key, or knyttynge of ij. wallys, or trees yn an vnstabylle grownde,..loramentum. 1497Naval Acc. Hen. VII (1896) 84 Boltes forlokkes kayes lynces and a taile pynne for the said Curtowe. 1523Fitzherb. Husb. §5 The bodye of the wayne..the crosse somer, the keys and pikstaues. 1603–4in Swayne Sarum Church-w. Acc. (1896) 152 Boltes and kayes for the belles. 1660Boyle New Exp. Phys. Mech. ii. 37 The brass Key (formerly described as a stopple in the brass Cover). 1730A. Gordon Maffei's Amphith. 213 The Stones..are pieced together..with Keys of Iron or Stones left projecting out in what was already built, the better to join them. Ibid. 215 Keys or Cramps of Metal. 1787Winter Syst. Husb. 312 Take out the pins or keys which fasten the iron work of the brass collars. 1793Smeaton Edystone L. §51 The iron stanchions..were not fixed into the rock in the method of Key and Dovetail..but were fixed in with club ends. Ibid. §147 A method sometimes used..for the division of hard stones, called the Key and Feather..The Key is a long tapering wedge..The Feathers are pieces of iron, also of a wedge like shape. 1838Simms Pub. Wks. Gt. Brit. 15 Two wrought iron keys for fixing the rail in the chair. 1857–62Nicholson Dict. Archit. II. 86 When a key is passed through..two or more thicknesses of metal or other material.. it is customary to clasp them together by gibbs, previous to inserting the key. 1892D. A. Low Machine Draw. 22 Keys are wedges, generally rectangular in section, but sometimes circular; they are made of wrought iron or steel, and are used for securing wheels, pulleys, cranks, &c., to shafts.
¶ In the following passages L. clāvus tiller, rudder, is confused with clāvis key.
c1374Chaucer Boeth. iii. pr. xii. 81 (Camb. MS.) He is as a keye [L. clauus] and a stiere by which þat the edifice of this world is I-kept stable. 1423Jas. I Kingis Q. c, O anker and keye of oure gude auenture.
10. a. That which completes or holds together the parts of any fabric; esp. the key-stone of an arch, which by its position and wedged form locks the other stones and holds together the structure.
Also (a) the last board laid in a floor (Nicholson Dict. Archit. (1857–62); (b) the bent bar of iron which in well-boring supports the train of rods (Knight Dict. Mech. 1875).
1523Fitzherb. Husb. §3 The sharebeame, the whiche is the keye and the chiefe bande of all the plough. 1624Wotton Archit. in Reliq. (1651) 290 If the great Doore be Arched with some brave Head, cut in fine Stone or Marble for the Key of the Arch. 1703Moxon Mech. Exerc. 273 The under side of the Arch at the Key to rise in height 18 Inches from the level of the place, whence you begin to spring the Arch. 1723Chambers tr. Le Clerc's Treat. Archit. I. 52 Keys..ought to be..a real support, and not stand for mere Ornaments as they frequently do. 1892Daily News 22 Nov. 3/1 The hole will be lined all the way round with an iron plate two inches thick. This will be laid all round in 14 segments, and a ‘key’ at the top.
†b. fig. The leading person or mainstay of a society, etc.; one of the best dogs in a pack; a cardinal point or principle. Obs.
1559Mirr. Mag., Dk. Clarence xviii, Where decayed the kayes of chiualrie. 1578T. N. tr. Conq. W. India 319 The key of all these wars consisted in this victory. c1620A. Hume Brit. Tongue vii. 18 That general, quhilk I called the keie of orthographie..that is the congruence of the symbol and sound symbolized. 1652Culpeppper Eng. Physic. (1809) 336 The one must keep his credit, and the other get money, and that is the key of the work. 1693Evelyn De la Quint. Compl. Gard. I. 103 Which..are among our Fruits that which those called the Keys in a Pack of Hounds are in Hunting.
c. That portion of a first coat of wall-plaster which passes between the laths and secures the rest; the hold which plaster has on a wall by means of roughnesses in the surface; the roughness of a wall-surface which enables plaster to adhere to it; the roughing on the under-side of a veneer, giving the glue a better hold.
1825J. Nicholson Operat. Mechanic 612 The plaster is crossed all over with the end of a lath, to give it a tie or key to the coat which is afterwards to be laid upon it. 1842–76Gwilt Archit. (ed. 7) §1899 A better key is obtained upon the bricks and mortar. 1888C. F. Mitchell Build. Constr. i. vii. (1889) 104 Tredgold recommends the arrises of wide timbers to be taken off, so as not to interrupt the key for plaster.
11. a. In the organ, pianoforte, and other (‘keyboard’) instruments: Each of the levers, or more usually only the exposed front end of each of these, which are pressed down by the fingers in playing, and actuate the internal mechanism so as to produce the various notes.[This sense appears to be confined to Eng. It is app. related in origin to 7: see the note there.] c1500Prov. in Antiq. Rep. (1809) IV. 407 He must handill the keyes all lyke. 1513in Kerry Hist. St. Lawr., Reading (1883) 60 Payd for y⊇ lokks to the same organs, one for the stopps and the oþer for the keyes. 1626Bacon Sylva §158 In Clericalls, the Keyes are lined. 1632Quarles Div. Fancies 1 The unseen Bellows, nor the hand that plays Upon th' apparant note-dividing Kayes. 1664Pepys Diary 5 Oct., The new instrument..the Arched Viall..played on with kees like an organ. 1785F. Burney Diary 16 Dec., ‘Are you sure you never play?—never touch the keys at all?’ 1876F. E. Trollope Charming Fellow II. i. 4 [She] began to run her fingers over the keys of the piano. 1896Hipkins Pianoforte 28 The lower keys are called the naturals and, where seen, are covered with ivory; the visible ends of the shorter upper keys, called sharps, are raised to the height required by blocks of ebony glued upon them.
b. In some wind instruments, as the flute, oboe, clarinet, concertina, etc.: Each of the small metal levers, actuated by the fingers, which cover or uncover the holes so as to modify the length of the vibrating column of air and thus produce the various notes.
1765Croker, etc. Dict. Arts, etc. s.v. Flute, Stopped and opened by the little finger's pressing on a brass, or sometimes, a silver key, like those in hautboys, bassoons, &c. 1829Specif. Patent 5803 Finger keys have also been added to such instruments [as the concertina]. 1851Illustr. Catal. Gt. Exhib. 1105 D flute of ebony, with keys..Clarionets in B and D, in German silver, with all the keys.
†c. Each of the vibrating steel tongues of a musical box. Obs.
1823J. Badcock Dom. Amusem. 67 Long bits of steel called the keys of the instrument.
12. Hence
a. In telegraphy, A mechanical device for breaking and closing an electric circuit.
b. In a typewriter or similar instrument, each of a set of levers pressed by the fingers in the same manner as the keys of a pianoforte or organ.
1837Specif. Patent No. 7390. 4 Giving signals..by..pressure of his..fingers upon suitable buttons or finger keys. 1846Penny Cycl. 1st Suppl. II. 616/1 In M. Alexander's instrument, a set of keys resembling those of a pianoforte, and corresponding to the number of needles, were arranged on a frame or table. 1867Sabine Electric Telegraph 41 The transmitting key used by Morse in his later apparatus..consisted of a lever. 1876Preece & Sivewright Telegraphy 58 To send dots and dashes by this key it is only necessary to tap or move it as one would the key of a piano.
13. a. An instrument for grasping a square or polygonal-headed screw, peg, or nut, and turning it by lever action; esp. (a) for winding a clock, watch, or clock-work machine; (b) for turning the wrest-pins of stringed instruments; a tuning-hammer; (c) for turning a valve or stop-cock; (d) for turning a nut; a screw-wrench or spanner.
The reference in quot. 1610 is somewhat uncertain. In quot. 1659 applied to the plug of a cock or tap.
1610Shakes. Temp. i. ii. 83 Thy false vncle..hauing both the key, Of Officer, and office, set all hearts i'th state To what tune pleas'd his eare. 1659J. Leak Waterwks. 14 The Cock D; whose barrel is pierced..to the end that the key C turning either one way or the other,..the Water..may run when the hole of the key C shall agree with one or the other of them. 1729Swift Direct. Servants Wks. (1879) 559/2 Hide the key of the jack. 1755Johnson Dict., Key..3. An instrument by which something is screwed or turned. 1783Phil. Trans. LXXIII. 443 Those stop-cocks must be turned by means of a key adapted to their square tops. 1828Webster s.v., The key of a watch or other chronometer. 1851Illustr. Catal. Gt. Exhib. 1147 Ordinary tuning-keys are generally formed in one piece of hard iron. 1884F. J. Britten Watch & Clockm. 131 Capable of being wound without a key.
b. An instrument for extracting teeth, consisting of a firm handle, with a claw, beak, or hook at right angles to it, and moving upon a pivot.
1854–67C. A. Harris Dict. Med. Terminol. 377/2 Since the time of Garengeot, the key has undergone a number of improvements..almost every dentist has felt the necessity of modifying the instrument. 1856R. Druitt Surgeon's Vade M. 450 The key is..often employed for the extraction of the biscuspides and molars.
IV.
14. A dry fruit with a thin membranous wing, usually growing in bunches, as in the ash and sycamore.
1523Fitzherb. Surv. xxix. (1539) 51 Ye may gette the Keys of asshes, nuttes, and suche other. 1562Turner Herbal ii. 6 They are called in Englishe ashe Keyes, because they hangh in bunches after the maner of Keyes. 1664Evelyn Sylva (1679) 4 Oaklings, young beeches, ash, and some others, spring from the self-sown mast and keys. 1789G. White Selborne (1853) 387 Many ash-trees bear loads of keys every year. 1880Gray Struct. Bot. (ed. 6) 294 The Samara, sometimes called in English a Key, is an indehiscent one-seeded fruit provided with a wing.
15. key of the sea, the pelican's foot shell.
1854Zoologist XII. 4425 Aporrhais pes-pelecani..This common shell is popularly known as the ‘key of the sea’.
16. [Respelling of ki in kilo.] A kilogramme of a drug. U.S. slang.
1968–70Current Slang (Univ. S. Dakota) III–IV. 76 Key, kilo of any narcotic; a measurement for marijuana, 215 lbs, $300.00 +. 1970Time 13 Apr. 36 A $10 or $20 ‘key’ of Lebanese hash can fetch $1,500 or more in the U.S. 1972J. Wambaugh Blue Knight (1973) iv. 45 On her coffee table she had at least half a key and that's a pound of pot and that's trouble.
V. attrib. and Comb.
17. a. General combs., as (sense 1), key-basket, key-maker, key-rack; key-headed adj.; (sense 6) key-book, key-cipher, key-list, key-map, key-sentence; (sense 7) key-centre, key-change, key-relationship, key-signature, key-system; (senses 9 and 10) key-beam, key-course, key-log, key-piece, key-pile.
1888–9Century Mag. XXXVII. 841 A mob-cap covering her grey hair, and *key-basket in hand.
1865R. Hunt Pop. Rom. West Eng. (1896) 112 (E.D.D.) They were playing all sorts of pranks on the *key-beams and rafters.
1826E. Irving Babylon I. i. 54 These two *key-books [Daniel and Revelations] and the treasure-books, which they unlock.
1940Scrutiny Sept. 122 Without establishing a *key-centre the fluctuating basses eventually soar..into another homophonic passage.
1931G. Jacob Orchestral Technique iii. 24 The choice..should..rest entirely on simplicity of key—the piece as a whole with all its modulations and sectional *key-changes being taken into consideration. 1959‘F. Newton’ Jazz Scene 115 The free and continual key changes. 1973J. Wainwright Pride of Pigs 175 He rippled through a key-change bridge passage, then moved into the beat.
1605Bacon Adv. Learn. ii. xvi. §6 The kinds of Ciphers..are many, according to the nature or rule of the infolding; Wheel-ciphers, *Key-ciphers, Doubles, &c.
1703Moxon Mech. Exerc. 282 The middle of the *Key-course will be the middle of the Arch.
1859C. Forster Primev. Lang., Mon. Assyria 13 Clavi-formed or nail-headed, cleidi-formed or *key-headed, cuneiform or wedge-shaped.
1868Harper's Mag. XXXVI. 423 The most vulnerable point, the *key-log of the jam is sought.
1483Cath. Angl. 200/1 A *kay maker, clauicularius, clauicularia. 1851in Illustr. Lond. News (1854) 5 Aug. 119 Key-maker.
1872Proctor Ess. Astron. xxviii. 346 This chart..with photo-lithographed *keymaps. 1895Bookman Oct. 26/2 Single page plans of small districts on a fair scale with a key-map for reference.
1891Pall Mall G. 7 Nov. 2/1 Fourteen segments and a *keypiece will make up a ring 2½ ft. wide.
1882Stevenson New Arab. Nts. (1884) 297 The landlord..rose from a business table under the *key-rack.
1881Broadhouse Mus. Acoustics 371 So many stumbling-blocks, in the way of understanding *key-relationship.
1859C. Forster Primev. Lang., Mon. Assyria 207 The inscriptions terminated with their *key-sentence.
1875Stainer & Barrett Dict. Mus. Terms (1898) 404/2 The *key signatures, including the clefs, are usually written on every stave.
1934C. Lambert Music Ho! i. 28 His [sc. Debussy's] destruction of the *key-system. 1959D. Cooke Lang. Mus. ii. 44 All the modes eventually became major and minor scales..; and so arose our key-system.
1879Stainer Music of Bible 164 The different versions begin and end in the same *key-tonality.
b. Passing into adj. in the sense of ‘dominant’, ‘controlling’, ‘chief’, ‘essential’; esp. designating some person or thing that is of crucial importance to others. See also key man (sense 18 below).
1913E. C. Bentley Trent's Last Case xi. 207 When chance or effort puts one in possession of the key-fact in any system of baffling circumstances, one's ideas seem to rush to group themselves anew in relation to that fact. 1916Economic Jrnl. XXVI. 24 We are asked to learn one essential lesson from the war, and that is, not to be caught short of any ‘Key’ industry. 1926D. L. Colvin Prohibition in U.S. 509 Occupants of key offices such as the Presidency or the Attorney-Generalship. 1927W. E. Collinson Contemp. Eng. 94 Greek was said to occupy a key-position. 1928J. Boon Victorians, Edwardians & Georgians I. 203 There had been considerable difficulty in getting hold of a key witness. 1931C. A. Lejeune Cinema 4 A study of these key-names, unobscured by any commercial considerations of box-office value. 1934C. Lambert Music Ho! ii. 110 It is Stravinsky who is the key-figure of our times. 1941Hutchinson's Pict. Hist. War 19 Mar.–13 May 103 German airmen..were ensconced in key positions. 1945K. R. Popper Open Soc. I. viii. 135 The key-passage of the philosopher king. 1946Sun (Baltimore) 6 Mar. 1/6 The news was spread all over front pages with photographs of the key figures. 1955Ann. Reg. 1954 256 Investments in the key industries were to be gradually reduced. 1959Times Rev. Industry June (London & Cambridge Econ. Bull.) p. i/1 The key factor in an assessment of the economic position and prospects of the country is Mr. Amory's Budget. 1963Times 12 Feb. 7/4 A small number of key-workers among the affected men stayed away from work. 1964English Studies XLV. 243 One wonders..how many of their key-questions will in fact gain in coherence. 1966Illustr. London News 30 July 27/2 Australia and North America are key areas. 1969Times 16 July 5/8 Key abbreviations used by mission control and the astronauts. 1970J. Ardagh New France xi. 529 It was in 1943 that Sartre brought out his key philosophical work. 1970Physics Bull. Nov. 493/1 Two ideas were key in the discovery of the kinoform. 1971Black Scholar Dec. 55/2, I viewed myself as assisting everything that was done, and you must recognise that this is what's key in the liberation of women.
18. Special combs.: key-action, the mechanism by which sounds are produced in musical instruments that have a keyboard; † key-band Mech, a pin or wedge used in tightening machinery; key-bed Mech., the part of a shaft on or in which a key rests (see quot.); key-bit = bit n.1 7; key-block, (a) a block, usu. of wood, also of metal or, in lithography, stone, used in the printing of chiaroscuro and colour pictures to give the outline, and to provide a guide for the accurate registration of the tint or colour blocks; (b) in limestone and marble quarrying, the first block or blocks to be removed from a new layer of stone; key-bolt Mech., a bolt which is secured in its place by a key or cotter (Hamersly Naval Encycl. 1881); key-bone, (a) the collar-bone, clavicle (nonce-use); (b) a bone forming the key of a structure; key-chain, a chain to which a key or keys may be attached; key-check (see quot.); key-chord Mus., the common chord of the key-note; † key-clock, ? a pine cone (cf. clock n.1 9); key-colour, the leading colour in a picture; key-desk Mus., the case enclosing the keys and stops of an organ; key-dovetailing, a method of joining two pieces of wood, etc., by means of a key dovetailed into each; key-drawing, (a) in lithography and colour printing, an outline drawing which is transferred on to the key-plate and used as a guide to printing the colours; (b) Cinematogr. (see quot. 1940); key-drop, an external keyhole-guard, which falls by its own weight; key-fastener, any device to prevent a key from being turned in a lock (Knight Dict. Mech. 1875); a wedge securing the breech-block of a gun (Cent. Dict.); key-file, a flat file, of the same thickness throughout, used in filing the wards of keys; key-frame = keyboard n. 2; key-fruit = key 14; key-groove Mech. = key-seat: hence key-grooving machine; † key-gun, = key-pistol; key-hammer, a hammer for driving in keys or wedges; † key-herd Obs. = key-keeper; key-holder, (a) ‘an electric-lamp holder or socket containing a switch’ (Webster 1909); (b) a person who keeps the key or keys of a workshop, factory, etc.; key-loader, a workman who balances the wooden keys of a musical instrument by the insertion of lead pellets; † key-locks, lock and key; key-log Logging, a log which is so caught or wedged that a jam is formed and held by it; key man, key-man, (a) Logging, a man who finds and dislodges the key-logs in a jam (U.S. obs.); (b) an operator of telegraph keys (U.S. obs.); (c) one who plays a leading or important role in a group, an industry, etc.; key-money, a payment required from the tenant of a house before he is allowed to have the key; key move (see sense 6 c above); key-movement, the mechanism of the keys of an organ; key-pattern, a fret or meander; key-pin, the pin on which a pianoforte or organ key is centred; key-pipe, in a lock, the tubular opening in which the shank of the key turns; † key-pistol, a small pistol disguised in the form of a key; key-plate, (a) a key-hole escutcheon; (b) in colour-printing from a metal surface, the outline plate answering to a keystone in lithography; key-point = sense 5 (also fig.); key-ring, (a) a finger-ring having a small key combined with it; (b) a ring on which a number of keys are hung; key-screw = sense 13; key-seat Mech., a key-bed or key-way (see quot. for key-bed); hence key-seated a.; † key-shot, shot consisting of a bunch of pieces of metal; key-stop, a key fitted to a violin to assist in stopping the strings (Cent. Dict.); key-stringed a., having strings which are sounded by means of keys; key-tail, the part of a piano or organ key which lies behind the key-pin; key-trumpet, a trumpet fitted with keys; key-way Mech., a groove cut in a shaft, or in the boss of a wheel, to receive a key (see quot. for key-bed); key-winding a., of a watch, that is wound up with a key; key-word, (a) a word serving as a key to a cipher or the like; (b) a word or thing that is of great importance or significance; spec. in information-retrieval systems, any informative word in the title or text of a document, etc., chosen as indicating the main content of the document; so key-word-in-context, used attrib. of an index or concordance in which key-words are listed alphabetically, preceded and followed by a fixed amount of the immediate context.
1881Edwards Organs vi. (Heading) 67 *Key Action.
1734Phil. Trans. XXXVIII. No. 434 Engraving, The Screw or *Key-band to confine all close and tight.
1892D. A. Low Machine Draw. 22 The part of the shaft upon which a key rests is called the *key bed or key way, and the recess in the boss of the wheel or pulley into which the key fits is called the key way; both are also called key seats.
1875Ure's Dict. Arts III. 142 By turning the handle, the *key-bit..is brought into contact with the works of the lock, so as to shoot and withdraw the bolt.
c1870A. Ashley in Jrnl. Printing Hist. Soc. (1969) V. 73 *Key blocks. 1910R. M. Burch Colour Printing v. 126 Baxter's process was simply the colouring of an impression from an outline or key block, which could be either a copper, zinc or steel plate, or a litho stone..by successive impressions from colour blocks of wood or metal, one for each tint used. 1934O. Bowles Stone Industries ii. ix. 212 In opening up a new floor the first blocks to be removed are known as ‘key blocks’. 1937Discovery Mar. 77/1 In order to get the colours fitting accurately, prints are taken from the first or key-block and pasted on to each successive block. 1966Berry & Poole Ann. Printing 241/1 They vary in quality, many being spoiled by the heavy impression from the wood key block. 1967Amer. Speech XLII. 290 Once this first troublesome block, called the key block, is out, further quarrying becomes much easier.
1791Cowper Iliad v. 171 One with his huge falchion smote Fast by the *key-bone. 1854Owen Skel. & Teeth in Circ. Sc., Organ. Nat. I. 206 It..completes the neural arch, as its crown or key-bone.
1895Montgomery Ward Catal. 86/2 Polished steel *key chains, 18 inches long. 1950F. P. Walkup Dressing the Part (rev. ed.) 368 A ridiculous fad..was the ‘zoot suit’..adorned with a keychain that swept the ground. 1973K. Giles File on Death ii. 42 He locked the door... He had a housekeeper-like key chain attached to the top button of his fly.
1875Stainer & Barrett Dict. Mus. Terms (1898) 341 The pieces of wood on each side of the manual, to which the pin-rails are firmly fixed, are called *key-checks.
Ibid. 2/4 C, E, G is the *key-chord of C.
1577B. Googe Heresbach's Husb. (1586) 95 The Pine..is planted not muche unlike to the Almond, the Kernels of the *Keie clockes being set as the Almond is.
1899Westm. Gaz. 21 Jan. 4/2 The console or *key-desk is movable.
1847Smeaton Builder's Man. 90 The first method..is called, amongst workmen, keying together; the second..*key-dovetailing.
1937Discovery Oct. 300/1 The use of several colours, flat or stippled, combined with a black or dark-coloured *key drawing. 1940Chambers's Techn. Dict. 475/2 Key drawing (Cinema). In animated cartoon production, key drawings indicate situations at special instants, such as at beats in the bar of music, after which the in-between drawings are made to fit with the timing. 1951D. Bland Illustration of Bks. ix. 133 The artist first makes his key drawing in black, regardless of whether it is intended finally to print in black. From this non-actinic prints are prepared, one for each colour, showing the key drawing in a pale blue colour that will not photograph.
1851Cassell's Illustr. Exhibitor 52 [Foucault's] Printing *key frame by which the blind may write.
1835Ure Philos. Manuf. 21 The dexterous hands of the filer and driller are now superseded by the planing, the *key-groove cutting, and the drilling machines.
1663Davenant Siege Rhodes Wks. (1673) 65, I hope he wears no charms About him, *Key Guns or Pistols charg'd with White Powder.
1884Mil. Engineering I. ii. 59 The tools required are..1 rammer, 1 *key-hammer, 2 beaters.
c725Corpus Gloss. 490 Clavicularius, *caeᵹhiorde. c1200Trin. Coll. Hom. 193 Ðe heuenliche keiherde sainte peter.
1928Daily Tel. 11 May 5/6 Workmen were waiting outside ready to begin work for the day... The *key-holder had not arrived. 1970P. Laurie Scotland Yard iii. 66 The Inspector calls the nick to check the keyholder's register and see who can let us in. Ibid., The keyholder is the caretaker of the flats.
1886Standard 10 May 2/6 He had worked..as a *key-loader.
1018Laws of Cnut ii. c. 76 §1 Buton hit under þæs wifes *cæᵹ-locan ᵹebroht wære, sy heo clæne. a1687Cotton Poet. Wks. (1765) 7 And here, in House, with her own Key-locks, She us'd to keep her Coach and Peacocks.
1851J. S. Springer Forest Life & Forest Trees 166 It may be thought best to cut off the *key-log, or that which appears to be the principal barrier. 1902S. E. White Blazed Trail xxxii. 211 By pulling out or chopping through certain ‘key’ logs which locked the whole mass. a1951B. Cronin in Austral. Short Stories (1951) 173 Half-way up the kiln a key-log had swung loose.
1851in C. M. Wilson Aroostook (1937) 104 The *key man then commences prying while they are pulling. 1907Washington Star 30 Sept. 9 Some of the leading keymen are sounding as their shibboleth the cry of ‘government ownership of the telegraph systems’. 1921Daily Colonist (Victoria, B.C.) 15 Oct. 1/1 Following the conference of ‘Key’ men of the G.W.V.A. last July, arrangements were advanced to have in attendance at the convention the foremost leaders of the navies and armies of the allied nations in the Great War. 1949I. Deutscher Stalin 143 The ‘handful’ of Bolsheviks consisted of well-organized and disciplined ‘key-men’. 1963Times 18 Feb. 8/3 One of the key men in this new method of assessing needs and opportunities is the local prefect.
1898Daily News 19 Dec. 6/7 The rent was higher than was stated on the rent book and the *key money exorbitant. 1906Westm. Gaz. 28 Mar. 5/2 Some house-agents would still extort ‘key-money’ from tenants. 1963Times 21 Feb. 5/2 A former property manager was alleged at Southend-on-Sea Magistrates' Court today to have exploited the housing shortage to extort key money. 1969R. Rendell Best Man to Die iii. 26 They'd had to find the key money for the flat themselves.
1881Edwards Organs vi. (Heading) 67 The Claviers and *Key Movement.
1876Humphreys Coin-Collector's Man. iv, The figure known in Greek ornament as the ‘*key pattern’. 1887J. R. Allen Early Chr. Symbol. 111 The cross..is enclosed in a rectangular frame of key-pattern.
1655Marquis of Worcester Cent. Inv. Index p. iv, A *Key-pistol [art. 44..a Key of a Chamber door, which..shall become a perfect pistol].
1903T. A. Strange Hist. Guide French Interiors 326 The *key plate is formed as a vase-shaped burning lamp. 1909R. E. Le Blond Let. in H. G. Clarke Baxter Colour Prints (1919) 103 These prints were first engraved on a steel plate, a key-plate, or, as I should call, a master-plate. 1969J. Gloag Short Dict. Furnit. (rev. ed.) 317 (caption) The simplest type of escutcheon, pivoted to cover the key-plate. 1970Jrnl. Printing Hist. Soc. VI. 73 A key plate of the design was printed in black or brown, usually from an..engraved steel or copper plate.
1870Lowell Study Wind. 256 They have not learned the art of concentrating their force on the *key-point of their hearers' interest.
1889Cent. Dict. III. 3280/2 *Key-ring. 1. A finger-ring from which projects a tongue or blade which is either fixed or movable on a hinge, and serves as the key to a lock. Such key-rings were formerly common, and were often of rich design. 2. A ring used for keeping a number of keys together by being passed through their bows. 1906E. Nesbit Story of Amulet xi. 261 Jane added a key-ring. 1967Economist 11 Feb. 512 An advertising firm..has now been hired to show that gaullism washes whiter. It has begun to do so in American fashion with badges, key-rings, drum-majorettes and all.
1874Raymond Statist. Mines & Mining 509 Upon the upper end of the sleeve..a *key-seat of from four to six feet in length is cut..; over this sleeve a pinion..also key-seated, is slipped.
1652Sea-Fight betw. Eng. & Dutch (30 Nov.) 4 So close and thick did they ply the enemy with *Key-shot, long Chains, and Bolts of Iron.
1875Stainer & Barrett Dict. Mus. Terms (1898) 253 The striking apparatus of a *key-stringed instrument.
1870Eng. Mech. 18 Mar. 652/3 The driving shaft is cut with a feather groove or *key way. 1893Pall Mall G. 2 Jan. 5/2 He drilled three keyways out of solid steel in the collars and fitted steel bolts into them.
1884F. J. Britten Watch & Clockm. 240 The square in *key-winding watches by means of which the hands are set to time.
1859C. Forster Primev. Lang., Mon. Assyria 40 The *key-word of these inscriptions. 1885Merriam Sam. Bowles II. xxxiv. 66 The key-word of life is ‘Thy will be done’. 1922J. C. H. Macbeth tr. Langie's Cryptogr. iv. 166 Suppose the key-word to be ‘bankruptcy’. 1926Encycl. Brit. II. 822/1 As to shop detail, the keyword to mass production is simplicity. 1948Blunden Shakespeare to Hardy (1964) 211 The key-word is the 116th of the Sonnets. 1956E. W. F. Tomlin in A. Pryce-Jones New Outl. Mod. Knowl. 91 Let us take the keyword ‘science’. 1967Cox & Grose Organiz. Bibliogr. Rec. by Computer iv. 82 The system can process documents represented by a set of keywords. 1971New Scientist 1 Apr. 32/2 ‘Keywords’..are supposed to describe the content of the document as concisely and exactly as possible.
1959*Key-word-in-context [see KWIC (K 4 f)]. 1969Computers & Humanities IV. 23 Current book catalogs of John Wiley and Sons..among many others, already contain all the elements of data proposed for the data bank except a key-word-in-context index. 1971Ibid. VI. 32 Indices and concordances..can be unlemmatized, like the key-word in context concordance to Livy. 1975Studies in Eng. Lit.: Eng. Number (Tokyo) 121 The concordance employs the KWIC (key-word-in-context) principle: Each index word appears, separated by appropriate spacing, in the middle of a line, with its context extending to the left and right.
Sense 6 d in Dict. becomes 6 e. Add: [II.] [6.] d. Bot. and Zool. [tr. L clāvis key (e.g. Linnaeus Systema Natura (ed. 6, 1748) 78).] A set of descriptive statements designed so that selecting those which apply to a particular specimen leads to its identification or its attribution to a particular taxon.
1836G. Bentham Labiatarum Genera et Species p. xi, The same object may, perhaps, be better answered by an Analysis, or Conspectus Specierum, prefixed to each genus. This I have endeavoured to do, both as a key to the species and as a test of the validity of species. 1856A. Gray Man. Bot. Northern U.S. (ed. 2) p. xi, By means of an Analytical Artificial Key to the Natural Orders..I enable the student very readily to refer any of our plants to its proper Family. This Key is entirely remodelled in the present edition. 1872E. Coues Key to N. Amer. Birds 53 The key conducts to a genus, by presenting in succession, certain alternatives. 1928Forestry II. 63 Considerable experience is necessary in recognizing structural differences between woods and in the preparation of keys as an aid to identification. 1946J. Hutchinson Common Wild Flowers (rev. ed.) p. vi, We should be fairly well qualified to use the simple type of key beginning on page xi. 1987N. J. W. Kreger-van Rij in Rose & Harrison Yeasts (ed. 2) I. ii. 19 The characteristics in the key which lead to a species name do not give a complete description of the species. 1989C. A. Stace Plant Taxon. & Biosystematics (ed. 2) ix. 207 Multi-access keys are usually produced not on pages in a book, but on separate punched cards.
▸ colloq. (orig. U.S.). a. to lock (a thing) up and throw away the key and variants: to consign (a thing) to oblivion; to abandon and forget; to confine permanently. Freq. as part of an extended metaphor.
1867N.Y. Times 12 Apr. 2/2 They should shut up sectionalism in their darkest and strongest cellar and throw away the key. 1889A. Sergeant Under False Pretences xl. 331, I have locked up my lesson books and thrown away the key. 1927R. A. Taylor Leonardo the Florentine i. v. 51 It is as if at this time he had at least put his secret soul in prison and thrown away the key. 2002Mercury (Hobart) (Nexis) 27 Apr. Locking up an area of land and trees and throwing away the key is not the answer to maintaining conservation values.
b. to (lock (a person) up and) throw away the key and variants: to commit a person to prison, esp. for life; to punish a person severely for a crime.
1911N.Y. Times 7 Dec. 4/3 If Gompers is arrested on this contempt charge now pending against him in Washington, it will be in the interest of organized labor—decent labor—to lock him up and throw away the key. 1933E. O'Neill Ah, Wilderness! i. 26 Miller... You'd better not repeat such sentiments outside the bosom of the family or they'll have you in jail. Sid And throw away the key. 1949S. Kingsley Detective Story i. 35 Brody: How many burglaries you committed here?.. O'Brien: Why not get the agony over with? Callahan: If you don't, we're gonna get the D.A. to throw away the key. 1982R. L. Woodson in J. A. Meyer Meeting Human Needs iv. 407 As a result of past failures to reach these youths, a consensus appears to be forming toward hard-core offenders—to ‘lock them up and throw away the key’. 1996Times 26 Apr. 3/2 I'd say ‘Throw away the key’ if I thought he'd done it.
c. (lock-them-up-and-)throw-away-the-key adj.: of or designating (a desire or support for) legislation which imposes severe penalties, esp. long custodial sentences, for many offences.
1976N.Y. Times 3 May 30/2 The ‘lock 'em up and throw away the key’ methods now being advanced in the Legislature would mean post-graduate courses in ‘schools for crime’ without any possibility of rehabilitation. 1978Contemp. Sociol. 7 579 They ascribe such limited prospects for a ‘lock-them-up-and-throw-away-the-key’ policy to the small proportion of violent crimes cleared by arrest or conviction. 1997New Yorker 24 Feb. 70 The throw-away-the-key fever really took off in 1988. 2001Nation 8 Jan. 16/2 When you start passing throw-away-the-key bills, you're effectively eliminating the death penalty.
▸ Basketball. Shortened ‹keyhole n. = keyhole n. Also: the free-throw lane (used esp. with reference to a rule prohibiting players from occupying this space for more than three seconds at a time).
1949Mansfield (Ohio) News-Jrnl. 15 Dec. 18/7 Tom Tupps a layup for Lexington, Distl from the corner, Cline from the key, Distl on a rebound. 1965J. McPhee Sense of where you Are (1978) v. 135 He made two foul shots and a jumper from the top of the key. 1977Nevada State Jrnl. 20 Jan. 11/2 The wheelchair variety is played much the same way leg basketball is played. The only rules applying especially to that mode of travel are..you are allowed five seconds, not three, in the key. 2004Sporting News 19 Jan. 23 (caption) He made only one shot from inside the key—a wide-open, highlight-reel dunk in the closing seconds.
▸ key escrow n. Cryptogr. (a system involving) the holding, by an independent agency, of decryption keys to encrypted data, for controlled access by authorized people (freq. attrib.); cf. Clipper n.3
1993N.Y. Times 17 Apr. i. 36/3 Clipper would have two keys and..they would be kept separate in two ‘*key-escrow’ data bases to be established by the Attorney General. 1994Internet World July–Aug. 92/3 To understand how the chip works, you need to look at what officials call its key escrow encryption method. 2000Econ. Affairs 20 26/2 So, the decryption key was not to be held by trusted third parties (as key escrow would have demanded), but parties must provide unscrambled e-mails on receipt of a ‘decryption notice’.
▸ key grip n. orig. U.S. the technician in a film or television crew who acts as chief of the grips (grip n.1 Additions), usually assuming primary responsibility for the adjustment and maintenance of production equipment on the set, esp. the camera tracks and dollies.
1966N.Y. Times 22 July 18/2 He had received similar complaints from other producers, one of whom had prepared the following table to show the difference in weekly wages between the East Coast and West Coast: Cameraman..New York $900.00. Hollywood $766.00... *Key Grip..410.00..306.22. 1984S. King Thinner (1985) xviii. 168 He had a feeling that he could look behind things and see the lights, the cameras, the key grips, and some unimaginable ‘real world’. 2001D. Mitchell Number 9 Dream 362 The movie finishes and the audience files out. I stay and watch the credits. The key grips, the animal trainers, the caterers.
▸ keypal n. a person with whom a friendship is established and continued mainly or exclusively by the exchange of emails; cf. pen pal n.
1991Globe & Mail (Toronto) 13 Mar. a7/2 His students each paid $1.25 to a Finnish organization to set them up with pen-pals around the world, but are also hoping to communicate via computer with ‘*key pals’ at a computer club in Vilnius, Lithuania. 2003Mod. Lang. Jrnl. 87 507/1 During two 3-hour sessions in which her language students prepared and input email messages for ‘keypal’ exchanges, they were ‘so concentrated and engaged’.
▸ key stage n. Educ. each of four age-related stages (more fully key stage 1, key stage 2, etc.) into which a child's compulsory education is divided under the national curriculum for state schools in England and Wales.
1988Educ. Reform Act c. 40 i. i. §2/2 The knowledge..which pupils..are expected to have by the end of each *key stage. 1995School Sci. Rev. June 124/1 This pack provides support for those who use the ‘Locktronics’ system of circuit boards for their work on electricity at Key Stage 4. 2001School Sci. Rev. Sept. 33/1 From September 2002 a new subject is added to the National Curriculum for key stages 3 and 4, ‘Citizenship’.
▪ II. key, n.2|kiː|
Now written quay. Forms: 4–5 keye, 4–9 key; also 5–8 kay, (5–6 kaie, 6 kaye, keay, 8 kea).
[a. OF. kay, kai, cay (1311 in Godef. Compl.), whence also Du. kaai (earlier kad, kae, kaeye), Ger. and Da. kai, Sw. kaj. Cognate with the OF. word is Sp. cayo shoal, reef (see next): for the ultimate etymology see cay. In Eng., 14–18th c., usually written key (less freq. kay), which latterly underwent the same change of pron. as key n.1 In early 18th c., the spelling quay was introduced, after later F. quai, but did not finally supersede kay, key till nearly a century later; in spite of this change of spelling the pronunciation remains that of key (kiː).]
A wharf, a quay.
[1306Rolls Parlt. I. 200/2 Per exaltationem Caye & diversionem aquæ.] a1400Sir Beues (MS.S) 141/3056 Sir Saber..went him forth also bliue Tille þe keye þere þe schip scholde ryue. 1467Ord. Worcester in Eng. Gilds 374 That the slippe and the keye, and the pavyment ther, be ouerseyn and repared. 1495Naval Acc. Hen. VII (1896) 265 Ankers Receyved at the Kay in Hampton. a1548Hall Chron., Hen. VIII, 209 The water rose three foote above the wharfe, where the Key stode in Andwarpe. 1593Norden Spec. Brit., M'sex i. 34 Billingsgate is a harbor or kaye for shipping. 1621Quarles Div. Poems, Esther (1717) 8 The Keel begins t' obey Her gentle Rudder, leaves her quiet Key. 1628Wither Brit. Rememb. i. 75 At her Ports and Keyes, Take in the wealth of Kingdomes and of Seas. 1718Freethinker No. 16 ⁋4 A young Fellow..fell from a Key into the River, and was drowned. 1721Perry Daggenh. Breach. 24 To lade and unlade their Goods..at the Keas of the City. 1759Martin Nat. Hist. Eng. II. Suffolk 48 It is clean, and has a good Kay on the River Ald. 1773Brydone Sicily ii. (1809) 25 The key [at Messina] exceeds anything I have yet seen, even in Holland. 1779–81Johnson Lives, Drake Wks. 1787 IV. 413 The people..ran in crowds to the key with shouts and congratulations. 1809R. Langford Introd. Trade 132 Key, kay, or quay, a wharf for loading or unloading vessels.
fig.1666Dryden Ann. Mirab. ccxxxi, A Key of fire ran all along the shore, And lightened all the river with a blaze.
†b. transf. A harbour, haven. nonce-use.
1621Quarles Argalus & P. (1678) 41 That thou maist safely slide Into the bosome of thy quiet Key, And quit thee fairly of th'injurious Sea.
c. attrib. and Comb., as key-duty, key-gate, key-master, key-side, key-wall; key-wood, wood landed at a quay (see quot. 1467).
1425MS. Found. Chart. Thornton's Hosp., Newcastle, A via regia voc. le keyside. 1467E.E. Gilds 383 That better gouernaunce and rule be hadd, and better ouersight, vppon keywood, crates, and colez. 1477Waterf. Arch. in 10th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. App. v. 313 To stoppe the saide key yate with lyme and stone. 1638Plan walls Newcastle in Archæol. æliana XII. Pl. xiii. 230 The Newe Key Wall. 1764Newcastle Chron. No. 1. 2/2 Capt. Giles, Key-master here. 1778Eng. Gazetteer (ed. 2) s.v. Watchet, The late Sir William Wyndham built the pier of the harbour, and had the key-duties.
▪ III. key, n.3|kiː|
Also 8–9 kay.
[var. of cay, ad. Sp. cayo shoal, reef. The spelling and pron. are due to the influence of prec.]
A low island, sand-bank, or reef, such as those common in the West Indies or off the coast of Florida. Cf. the place-name Key West.
1697W. Dampier Voy. I. 22 These Islands or Keys, as we call them, were first made the Rendezvous of Privateers in the year 1679. Ibid. 249 A mile and half from the shore there is a small Key, and within it is a very good Harbour. 1726G. Roberts 4 Yrs. Voy. 345 The Rock is..flat on the Top like a Key, which the Inhabitants call Kaay. 1761Descr. S. Carolina 63 There a pretty many Indians among the Kays, about the Cape of Florida. 1828W. Irving Columbus (1831) 167 He soon got entangled in a complete labyrinth of small islands and keys. 1885C. F. Holder Marvels Anim. Life 22 The group, comprising seven or eight Keys, made up of coral, is surrounded by a long reef.
b. Special Comb. key deer, a subspecies of the North American white-tailed deer, Odocoileus virginianus clavium, found in the Florida keys.
1955Sci. News Let. 29 Oct. 277/2 The Key deer is the smallest of all North American deer, only about 26 to 29 inches tall, 38 inches from nose to tail, and averaging only about 30 pounds. 1964L. S. Crandall Managem. Wild Mammals in Captivity 590 Size seems to decrease from north to south, ranging..down to tiny creatures such as the Florida key deer.
▸ Key lime n. orig. and chiefly U.S. (also with lower-case initial) a variety of lime naturalized in the Florida Keys and distinguished by its small size, greenish-yellow colour, high acidity, and strong aroma; (also) the tree bearing this fruit, Citrus aurantifolia.
1914New Smyrna (Florida) News 10 July 1/6 Lack of moisture reduced the *key lime crop one-half this year. 1948N.Y. Times 29 July 18/1 The small Key lime has more bouquet. 1968Science 160547/3 The solution was lyophilized to yield..polymer having a key lime-yellow color. 2000R. McFarland Stranger in Town 14 You can imagine..the humid air heavy with key lime blossoms or nightblooming cereus if in season.
▸ Key lime pie n. orig. and chiefly U.S. an open pie with a lime-flavoured filling typically containing lime juice (traditionally from Key limes), egg yolks, and sweetened condensed milk, often served in a crust made of crushed biscuits and with a whipped cream or meringue topping.
[1940N.Y. Times 14 July x. 11/2 We have eaten lobster and crabs in New England, albacore in Los Angeles, turtle steak and lime pie in Key West.] 1946Amer. Naturalist 80 215/2 One of the chief objectives of the trip was the search for..a small hotel on Great Pine Key where..the preparation of *Key lime pies was a highly developed art. 1970Times 30 June 3/4 (advt.) Discover turtle steaks and Key lime pie. 2003K. Lederer Poker Face xii. 130 The fluorescent Key lime pie, the dripping, fresh-hewn steak, even the boatloads of wilted pink shrimp were off-limits to us.
▪ IV. † key, n.4
Obs. pl. of cow, q.v. Hence † keywhit (= -quit), money paid in lieu of the tithe of milk.
1507Pilton Church-w. Acc. (Som. Rec. Soc.) 54 Item Receved of Willyam Townysende and Iohn Dore for Key Whyt..ixs vd.
▪ V. key, v.|kiː|
[ME. keiȝe(n, keie(n, etc. f. keiȝe, key n.1 An OE. cǽᵹᵹian is alleged by Somner.]
1. trans. To lock with a key; to lock up; to fasten securely. Also fig. rare.
1362Langl. P. Pl. A vi. 103 Þe dore I-closet, I-keiȝet and I-kliketed, to kepe þe þer-oute. c1425Disp. Mary & Cross 241 in Leg. Rood (1871) 205 Heuene gate was keiyed [printed keiþed] clos. 1433Lydg. St. Edmund i. 1072 Cloos in his herte ech uertu was I-keied [v.r. ykeyed]. 1555Abp. Parker Ps. cxix. 352 Keyd fast thy word: was so to me: in hope that I have done. 1780Newgate Cal. V. 201 Mrs. Penleaze swore that the windows were constantly barred and keyed every night. 1791Cowper Odyss. xxi. 286 Be the palace-door Thy charge,..key it fast.
2. a. To fasten by means of a pin, wedge, bolt, or wooden cross-piece.
1577Harrison England ii. xi. (1877) i. 227 An ax, keied or fastened with iron into the wood. 1654Whitelocke Jrnl. Swed. Emb. (1772) I. 196 The bodyes of great trees squared, and..keyed togither by other great pieces of timber. 1793Smeaton Edystone L. §302 To key home the plates of the cupola to the ribs. 1839R. S. Robinson Naut. Steam Eng. 57 It is keyed or wedged in, and rusted in so as to be immoveable. 1881Young Every Man his own Mechanic §550 Immovably keyed upon the cranked shaft is a heavy wooden cone pulley.
b. To cause (plaster) to adhere (to laths).
1881Young Every Man his own Mechanic §1383 When the mortar is put over the laths, part of it penetrates between them, and when hard keys, as it were, the plaster to the laths and renders it difficult of removal.
c. To cause (glued surfaces, pigments, etc.) to adhere.
1922Encycl. Brit. XXX. 34/2 Roughing of the surfaces to be glued was adopted to secure keying. 1963R. R. A. Higham Handbk. Papermaking ix. 226 Adhesives are used in coating to ‘key’ the pigment to the surface of the paper.
3. a. To regulate the pitch of the strings of a musical instrument. Hence fig.: To give a certain tone or intensity (to feelings, thoughts); to key up, to stimulate, to raise to a high pitch; also, to render (someone) nervous or tense, freq. as keyed-up ppl. adj.; so to key down: to lower in pitch or intensity.
1636Heywood Challenge Beautie Prol., And Poets strive to key their strings more loud. 1655H. Vaughan Silex Scint. i. Affliction 36 Thus doth God key disorder'd man..Tuning his brest to rise or fall. 1866Alger Solit. Nat. & Man iv. 257 The fervid quickness and strength of Rousseau's feelings keyed him on so high a pitch that [etc.]. 1888Hurlbert Irel. under Coerc. I. i. 46 If Mr. Balfour keys up the landlords to stand out. 1889Cent. Dict. s.v., Keyed up, high-strung; excited. 1904Ade True Bills 35 He was all keyed up for Matrimony, and the next thing to do was to choose the Lucky Bride. 1922R. S. Woodworth Psychol. vii. 126 It is the state of excitement, or of being ‘all keyed up’. 1923D. H. Lawrence Phoenix II (1968) 251 Everything that everybody feels is keyed down, and muted, so as not to impinge on anybody else's feelings. 1926H. Crane Let. 5 Jan. (1965) 231 One really has to keep one's self in such a keyed-up mood for the thing. 1927Daily Tel. 16 Aug. 12/5 He has keyed down his playing to such a pitch that we get no impression at all of his character as a man. 1961C. McCullers Clock without Hands ix. 187 Although he was emotionally keyed up, Sherman yawned.
b. To fix the strings of a musical instrument upon the pegs or keys.
1872W. Skeen Early Typogr. 90 They were as useless to him as unstrung harp-strings are unmusical until they are keyed and stretched and tuned.
4. To insert the keystone in (an arch). Also with in.
1735J. Price Stone-Bridge Thames 8 After the Arches are thus turn'd and key'd. 1751C. Labelye Westm. Br. 75 The last Arch was key'd in. 1770Chron. in Ann. Reg. 97/2 The new bridge..fell down after it was key'd in.
5. To distinguish (an advertisement) by some device which will identify responses to it. orig. U.S.
1905Calkins & Holden Art of Mod. Advertising xi. 264 The advertiser likes to know which particular mediums pull best. To accomplish this the advertising is ‘keyed’. Some form of address is used which can be varied in each magazine. 1927Daily News 7 June 5/5 Advertisers who key their advertisements report their best results from the ‘Daily News’. 1943C. S. Forester Ship 56 How often had he devised ingenious methods by which to ‘key’ advertisements to discover which had the greatest pulling power. 1952Economist 20 Sept. 718/1 This ‘coupon sales’ technique in a limited area..has the virtue in terms of publicity of being elaborately ‘keyed’; the sales technicians can follow the success of their advertising and promotion schemes round by round. 1967Times Rev. Industry Oct. 82/2 One keys advertisements and measures returns.
6. Electronics.
a. To switch on or off, or from one state to another, by means of a key or relay, as in telegraphic transmission.
b. To provide (electronic equipment) with means by which it may be switched abruptly from one state to another. Cf. keying vbl. n. 1.
1929K. Henney Princ. Radio xvii. 443 (heading) Keying a transmitter. 1930Proc. IRE XVIII. 1691 The transmitters are started or stopped and keyed locally or from Burnham. 1933K. Henney Radio Engin. Handbk. xviii. 460 Keying the output is accomplished by means of a magnetic modulator. 1943F. E. Terman Radio Engineers' Handbk. ix. 629 Unless the oscillator is keyed, the low-power portions of the transmitter operate continuously. 1954E. Molloy Radio & Television Engineers' Ref. Bk. ix. 16 Means must be found..to minimize any ‘thumps’ in the receiver when the transmitter is keyed. 1961Gray & Graham Radio Transmitters vi. 137 Where ‘break-in’ is needed it may be necessary to key the transmitter oscillator to avoid generating an interfering signal..in the receiver. 1966M. Schwartz et al. Communication Syst. & Techniques vii. 280 The carrier is ‘keyed’ on and off to describe the two telegraph states.
7. To cause (something) to fit in with something else or into a group, pattern, etc. Also intr.
1947Sun (Baltimore) 13 Nov. 18/2 (heading) Mr. Reuther's victory keys into a world-wide pattern. Ibid., The Socialist Premier..went so far as to speak of an invisible ‘orchestra leader’ keying these strikes into a symphonic program whose purpose seemed clear. 1949Ibid. 14 Feb. 8/4 (heading) Keying labor law into the facts of life. 1958Times Lit. Suppl. 14 Mar. 133/3 It [sc. the Book of Mormon] is much longer than the New Testament. Moreover, it is elaborately ‘keyed-in’ to the Bible. 1960E. Bowen Time in Rome i. 14 Lean young skyscrapers..key in with Rome's general virtuosity. 1969Guardian 21 July 1/4 A carefully planned schedule which keys into the two-hourly orbit of their mother craft.
8. trans. To operate on (esp. to transfer (data) or to set (copy)), or to produce, by manipulating the keys of a keyboard. Also with various advbs.
1963Gregory & Van Horn Automatic Data-Processing Syst. (ed. 2) v. 145 The user makes an inquiry by keying in an address in high-speed or bulk storage. 1964C. Dent Quantity Surveying by Computer vii. 100 Checking can be done using a comparator machine or by reading over the print-out against the dimensions; this last method has the advantage of requiring the data to be keyed only once, instead of twice. 1967Cox & Grose Organiz. Bibliogr. Rec. by Computer iv. 101 Messages requesting search information are printed out directly on the console typewriter. The search criteria are then keyed back through the console and the keyword file is searched. 1972Physics Bull. Sept. 531/3 Instead of manually selecting individual type slugs from a case..the compositor keys in the copy at a specially laid out keyboard.
Senses 6–8 in Dict. become 7–9. Add: 6. Chiefly Bot. a. trans. To arrange or set out in a key (*key n.1 6 d) for the purposes of identification; to devise a key for. Also, to cause (a species, etc.) to be reached when a key is used. Usu. const. out.
1925A. S. Hitchcock Methods Descr. Systematic Bot. v. 25 Out of the numerous characters pertaining to the several species to be keyed out, an author, in devising a key, strives to select constant characters, and, as a rule, relatively conspicuous ones. 1954Proc. Bot. Soc. Brit. Isles I. 202 Two species and one variety are recognised in Belgium, keyed as follows. 1967Adv. Appl. Microbiol. IX. 245 Very short rods ought to be ‘keyed-out’ both as cocci and rods before final classification. 1972Watsonia IX. 197 Plants with an overall superficial similarity do not necessarily belong to the same species..and may be easily confused. In our experience this confusion often arises..because specimens are carelessly keyed and compared with descriptions. 1981Wigginton & Graham Guide to Identification Difficult Plant Species (Nature Conservancy Council) 90 It was found necessary to key out several species (whose characters widely overlap) at more than one place in the key. 1989C. A. Stace Plant Taxon. & Biosystematics (ed. 2) ix. 206 In practice it is often better to key out very distinctive taxa first (e.g. the banana in Fig. 9.3).
b. intr. To be identified by a key. Usu. const. out.
1961Watsonia IV. 277 A[maranthus] clementii, although it keys out near A. quitensis H.B.K. on account of the leafless apical part of its inflorescence.., is probably not at all closely related to A. quitensis. 1965Proc. Bot. Soc. Brit. Isles VI. 50, In most British floras B[runnera] macrophylla keys down to Omphalodes verna! 1979Bot. Soc. Brit. Isles News Oct. 16 V. hirsuta (beware how this Br. species tends to key out as V. vicioides in the Flora Europaea 2 key).
▸ trans. To scratch the paintwork of (a vehicle) with a key, as an act of vandalism.
1987Chicago Tribune 12 Nov. i. 28/1 Say your car was ‘keyed’—you know, the paint job marred by some jerk running a set of car keys across the finish. 1998Independent (Nexis) 23 July 9 It wasn't just the unwanted attention of the traffic cops that got Barlow down. Hardly a week went by when the car was not keyed. 2001C. Fowler Devil in Me (2005) 107 It was New Year's Eve, and the three of us had blazed a trail of destruction down Ferris Road, doing the jeeps, keying the sides of BMWs.
▪ VI. key
var. kay a., left (hand or foot). |