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definitions

minor key

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noun Music.

a key or mode based on a minor scale.
a less jubilant or more restrained mood, atmosphere, or quality: The conversation shifted to a minor key with news of the defeat.

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Nearby words

  1. minor canon,
  2. minor coin,
  3. minor duodenal papilla,
  4. minor element,
  5. minor hysteria,
  6. minor league,
  7. minor mode,
  8. minor order,
  9. minor orders,
  10. minor party

Origin of minor key

First recorded in 1810–20
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for minor key

  • And then, turning into the fourth page, she came on a passage which checked all minor-key reflections instantly.

    Angela's Business|Henry Sydnor Harrison
British Dictionary definitions for minor key

minor key

noun

music a key based on notes taken from a corresponding minor scale
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