key

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a kilogram of a narcotic drug

   they were carrying two keys of heroin

2. 2
   verb

   harmonize with or adjust to

   key one's actions to the voters' prevailing attitude

3. 3
   verb

   vandalize a car by scratching the sides with a key

   My new Mercedes was keyed last night in the parking lot.

4. 4
   verb

   provide with a key

   We were keyed after the locks were changed in the building

5. 5
   noun

   pitch of the voice

   They spoke in a low key.

6. 6
   noun

   something crucial for explaining

   the key to development is economic integration

7. 7
   noun

   a generic term for any device whose possession entitles the holder to a means of access

   a safe-deposit box usually requires two keys to open it

8. 8
   noun

   a list of answers to a test

   some students had stolen the key to the final exam

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”) a…