Key
Even native speakers of
English sometimes have trouble with words because of a confusing feature:
multiple meanings. If a word is old enough, it probably will have accumulated
layers of meaning—sometimes astonishingly contradictory.
Richard from Empire,
Michigan, pointed out that such a word is key. The meaning that comes to mind immediately is
the notched metal device used to lock or unlock a door or other barrier. From
there, it becomes a wild ride. Branching meanings include
- spiritual authority (Matthew 16:19)
- a symbol of office
- a symbol of access, as in key to the city
- a means to a desired objective
- a position with strategic advantages
- a bribe or inducement
- a solution or explanation
- a means of decrypting a code or cipher
- the part of a textbook that contains solutions
- a list containing an explanation of symbols,
abbreviations, etc.
- in botany and zoology, descriptive features
used in identification
- an essential element
- in chess, the first move in the solution of
a problem
- a central stone in an arch
- a piece of wood or metal that locks parts
together
- a dry fruit
- an instrument for turning tuning pegs of a
stringed instrument
- an instrument for winding a clock
- a component that opens or closes a valve
- the roughness of a surface that enables
plaster to adhere to it
- the free-throw lane and circle in basketball
- a note or a tone
- the tenor of a piece of writing
- the prevailing tones in a painting
- a lever on a musical instrument
- a lever on a telegraph, computer, etc.
- something of crucial importance
Then there’s the key
that means a low-lying island or reef and the slang use of key that means a
kilogram of an illegal drug,
Now I’m all keyed up.
Available from McFarland & Co.: Word Parts
Dictionary, 2nd edition
Nook edition
Nook edition
Listen to Mike’s program
in real time every Tuesday morning, 9:10 - 10:00 a.m. EST, by going to
wtcmradio.com and clicking on Listen Now. You’ll also find about a month’s worth of podcasts there under The
Ron Jolly Show.
posted by Michael J. Sheehan at 10:11 AM
4 Comments:
Isn't the key that is the low lying island or reef spelled quay?
Think Key West, Key Largo, Florida Keys. The OED defines quay as "A man-made bank or landing stage, typically built of stone, lying alongside or projecting into water for loading and unloading ships."
Not to belabor this, but couldn't these New World "keys" be derived from the Old World "quay" instead of being an entirely new meaning for key?
PS Key for illegal drugs is shorthand for kilo, shorthand for kilogram.
The direct antecedent of key was cay, and if you track variations back to Anglo-French, it had a variety of spellings, including quai, which is obviously related to quay. So in a non-linear way, all three are actually the same form. Than ks for elucidaing, Librarian Judy.
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