SYNONYMS FOR key
QUIZZES
DISCOVER THE INFLUENCE OF PORTUGUESE ON ENGLISH VIA THIS QUIZ!
We’ve gathered some interesting words donated to English from Portuguese … as well as some that just don’t translate at all. Do you know what they mean?
Question 1 of 11
Which of the following animal names traces its immediate origin to Portuguese?
Idioms for key
power of the keys, the authority of a pope in ecclesiastical matters, vested in him as successor of St. Peter.
Origin of key
1First recorded before 900; Middle English key(e), kay(e),Old English cǣg, cǣge; cognate with Old Frisian kei, kai
Words nearby key
Kew garden fever, kewl, Kewpie, Kewpie Doll, kex, key, keyboard, keyboardist, keyboard warrior, key card, key case
Definition for key (2 of 4)
Origin of key
2First recorded in 1690–1700; from Spanish cayo, probably from Arawak
Definition for key (3 of 4)
key3
[ kee ]
/ ki /
noun, plural keys.Slang.
a kilogram of marijuana or other narcotic drug.
Origin of key
3An Americanism dating back to 1965–70; shortening and respelling of kilogram
Definition for key (4 of 4)
Key
[ kee ]
/ ki /
noun
Francis Scott, 1780–1843, U.S. lawyer: author of The Star-Spangled Banner.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
Example sentences from the Web for key
British Dictionary definitions for key (1 of 3)
key1
/ (kiː) /
noun
adjective
of great importance; cruciala key issue
verb (mainly tr)
Derived forms of key
keyless, adjectiveWord Origin for key
Old English cǣg; related to Old Frisian kēi, Middle Low German keie spear
British Dictionary definitions for key (2 of 3)
British Dictionary definitions for key (3 of 3)
Key
/ (kiː) /
noun
John (Phillip). born 1961, New Zealand politician; prime minister from 2008
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for key
key
[ kē ]
See cay.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Cultural definitions for key
key
The main or central note of a piece of music (or part of a piece of music). Each key has its own scale, beginning and ending on the note that defines the octave of the next scale. The key of C-major uses a scale that starts on C and uses only the white keys of the piano. In a piece composed in the key of C, the music is likely to end on the note C, and certain combinations of notes based on C will predominate.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Idioms and Phrases with key
key
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.