Etymology

clef

C3L1E1F4

Today it means: A symbol found on a musical staff that indicates the pitches represented by the lines and the spaces on the staff Full definition →

Middle French clef ← Latin clāvis
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The story

  1. Latin · derived fromclāvis“a key”
  2. Middle French · borrowed fromclef
  3. English todayclef

Borrowed from Middle French clef, from Latin clāvis (“a key”). Doublet of clave and clavis.

Words from the same roots

Latinclāvis all →

enclaveclaveautoclaveclavierclavesclavisclaviatureclaviformclavilux

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.