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

1
before 900; Middle English key(e), kay(e), Old English cǣg, cǣge; cognate with Old Frisian kei, kai

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH key

cay key quay

British Dictionary definitions for key up (1 of 4)

key up

verb

(tr, adverb) to raise the intensity, excitement, tension, etc, of

British Dictionary definitions for key up (2 of 4)

key 1
/ (kiː) /

noun

adjective

of great importance; crucial a key issue

verb (mainly tr)

See also key in, key up

Derived forms of key

keyless, adjective

Word Origin for key

Old English cǣg; related to Old Frisian kēi, Middle Low German keie spear

British Dictionary definitions for key up (3 of 4)

key 2
/ (kiː) /

noun

a variant spelling of cay

British Dictionary definitions for key up (4 of 4)

Key
/ (kiː) /

noun

John (Phillip). born 1961, New Zealand politician; prime minister from 2008

Scientific definitions for key up

key
[ kē ]

See cay.

Cultural definitions for key up

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.

Idioms and Phrases with key up (1 of 2)

key up

Make intense, excited, or nervous. For example, The excitement of the gallery opening has really keyed her up. This usage alludes to key in the sense of “wind up a spring-driven mechanism such as a clock.” [Late 1800s]

Idioms and Phrases with key up (2 of 2)

key