key

key · noun, adjective, verb¹

1. Proto-West Germanic*kaiju
2. Old Englishcǣġ
3. Middle Englishkeye
4. English todaykey

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”) and Middle Low German keie, keige (“spear”). For the semantic development, note that medieval keys were simply long poles (ending in a hook) with which a crossbar obstructing a door from the inside could be removed from the outside, by lifting it through a hole in the door. Liberman has noted, however, "The original meaning of *kaig-jo- was presumably '*pin with a twisted end.' Words with the root *kai- followed by a consonant meaning 'crooked, bent; twisted' are common only in the North Germanic languages."

key · noun²

1. Taíno · derived fromcayo“small island”
2. Spanish · derived fromcayo
3. English todaykey

Variant of cay, from Spanish cayo, from Taíno cayo (“small island”)

key · noun³

Clipping of kilogram or kilo.

key · noun⁴

Clipping of key position.

Words from the same roots