slack-key

adjective

(of a string instrument or a manner of playing one) Performed with loosened strings, such that all of the strings play in the same key (most often G major).

OriginHawaiian kī hōʻalu →
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Meanings

adjectiveslack-key (not comparable)

alternative slack key

  1. not comparableentertainment(of a string instrument or a manner of playing one) Performed with loosened strings, such that all of the strings play in the same key (most often G major).

    Spanish-style guitars played in the standard position, though probably in altered tunings slack-key fashion.

    2007, Tim Brookes, Guitar: An American Life, page 56

Origin

  1. Hawaiiankī hōʻalu“loosen the [tuning] key”
  2. Englishslack-key

From a translation of the Hawaiian kī hōʻalu (“loosen the [tuning] key”).

More words from Hawaiian

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

slack-key. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/slack-key

MLA

“slack-key.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/slack-key. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “slack-key,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/slack-key.

Source: slack-key on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.