%key%

n. An instrument for tightening the parts of a bedstead. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ D. blik tin. ] A tin dinner pail. [ Local, U. S. ] Bartlett. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ D. bokaal. ] A bowl or vessel made from a gourd. [ Local, New York ] Bartlett. [ 1913 Webster ]

(Zool.) A large, edible, gregarious bird of Australia (Talegalla Lathami) of the family Megapodidæ. Also applied to several allied species of New Guinea. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ The brush turkeys live in the “brush, ” and construct a common nest by collecting a large heap of decaying vegetable matter, which generates heat sufficient to hatch the numerous eggs (sometimes half a bushel) deposited in it by the females of the flock. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. (Bot.) A name given to several American trees and shrubs of the same genus (Æsculus) as the horse chestnut. [ 1913 Webster ]

The Ohio buckeye, or
Fetid buckeye, is Aesculus glabra. --
Red buckeye is Aesculus Pavia. --
Small buckeye is Aesculus paviflora. --
Sweet buckeye, or
Yellow buckeye, is Aesculus flava. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A cant name for a native or resident of Ohio. [ U.S. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Buckeye State, Ohio; -- so called because buckeye trees abound there. [ 1913 Webster ]

. A key adapted to open only one of a set of locks; -- distinguished from a master key. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

{ } a. 1. Tending to choke or suffocate, or having power to suffocate. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Inclined to choke, as a person affected with strong emotion. “A deep and choky voice.” Aytoun. [ 1913 Webster ]

The allusion to his mother made Tom feel rather chokey. T. Hughes. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ From cock to turn up. ] A squinting eye. Forby. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Mach.) The socket in the ball of a millstone, which sits on the cockhead. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ } n. See Cooky. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. A bunch of the keys or samaras of the ash tree. Wright. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. An English meadow plant, perhaps the columbine or the bluebell squill (Scilla nutans). [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

A girl cropping culverkeys and cowslips to make garlands. Walton. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Any small bird; as, adults talking to children sometimes call small birds dickeybirds. [ informal ]
Syn. -- dickybird. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

{ } n. 1. 1. A false detachable shirt front or bosom. [ Also spelled dickie. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A gentleman's shirt collar. [ Local, U. S. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

3. A hat; esp., in U. S., a stiff hat or derby; in Eng., a straw hat. [ Slang ] [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

4. (a) A seat for the driver (In a carriage); -- called also dickey box or dickie seat. (b) A seat at the back for servants. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

5. One of various animals; specif.: (a) A donkey. (b) Any small bird; -- called also dickeybird or dickey bird. [ Colloq. ] (c) The hedge sparrow. [ Dial. Eng. ] (d) The haddock. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

n. a person who plays records or compact disks of recorded music; especially, a person who selects and plays recorded music for broadcast over the radio, often making comments about the music or other topics and also announcing commercial advertising messages; also, one who plays recorded music at a dance or social gathering, especially as a profession. [ Also spelled disk jockey. ]
Syn. -- DJ. [ PJC ]

v. i. to comment on music to be played.
Syn. -- DJ. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. same as disc jockey.
Syn. -- DJ. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n.; pl. Donkeys [ Prob. dun, in allusion to the color of the animal + a dim. termination. ] 1. An ass; or (less frequently) a mule. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A stupid or obstinate fellow; an ass. [ 1913 Webster ]

Donkey engine, a small auxiliary engine not used for propelling, but for pumping water into the boilers, raising heavy weights, and like purposes. --
Donkey pump, a steam pump for feeding boilers, extinguishing fire, etc.; -- usually an auxiliary. --
Donkey's eye (Bot.), the large round seed of the Mucuna pruriens, a tropical leguminous plant. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. a Mexican plant (Sedum morganianum) bearing small rose-colored flowers; called also burro's tail, horse's tail, and lamb's tail. RHUD [ PJC ]

n. a very long time; ages. [ informal ] [ PJC ]

n. hard menial routine work.
Syn. -- drudgery, grind, scut work. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. Any object, usually a tool or other device, whose name is forgotten, or not known.
Syn. -- thingumbob, whatchamacallit, whachamacallit. [ PJC ]

n. [ Cf. Hocus-pocus. ] [ Also spelled hanky-panky. ] 1. Professional cant; the chatter of conjurers to divert attention from their tricks; hence, jugglery. [ Colloq. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Illegal or unethical behavior, usually surreptitious; as, the boss got suspicious when profits seemed lower than expected, and hired an investigator to see if any hankey-pankey was going on. [ Informal ] [ PJC ]

3. Extramarital sexual relations, especially adultery. [ Colloq. ] [ PJC ]

n. See Hockey. Holloway. [ 1913 Webster ]

. Iowa; -- a nickname of obscure origin. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

n. 1. (Elec.) A device used to adapt a lighting fixture for mounting in an outlet box, or on a pipe. [ PJC ]

2. A red mark on the skin, caused by a passionate, sucking kiss at that location. [ slang ] [ PJC ]

3. a doohickey. [ informal ] [ PJC ]

n. [ From Hook, n. ] 1. A game in which two parties of players, armed with sticks curved or hooked at the end, attempt to drive any small object (as a ball or a bit of wood) toward opposite goals. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. The stick used by the players. [ Written also hookey and hawkey. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. See Hockey. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Same as hooky, n.. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. A professional rider and trainer of race horses. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A trainer and dealer in horses. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Same as jimdandy.
Syn. -- jimdandy, crackerjack. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

v. i. 1. To play or act the jockey; to cheat. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To maneuver oneself aggressivley or skillfully so as to achieve an advantage; as, he jockeyed himself into position to be noticed. [ PJC ]

n.; pl. Jockeys [ Dim. of Jack, Scot. Jock; orig., a boy who rides horses. See 2d Jack. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. A professional rider of horses in races. Addison. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A dealer in horses; a horse trader. Macaulay. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. A cheat; one given to sharp practice in trade. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Jockeyed p. pr. & vb. n. Jockeying. ] 1. “ To jostle by riding against one.” Johnson. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To play the jockey toward; to cheat; to trick; to impose upon in trade; as, to jockey a customer. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To maneuver; to move in an intricate manner so as to avoid obstacles; as, to jockey a large cabinet up a winding staircase. [ PJC ]

n. The act or management of one who jockeys; trickery. Beaconsfield. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The practice of jockeys. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The art, character, or position, of a jockey; the personality of a jockey. [ 1913 Webster ]

Go flatter Sawney for his jockeyship. Chatterton. [ 1913 Webster ]

Where can at last his jockeyship retire? Cowper. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. pl. [ from a Tradename. ] A type of men's underpants without legs, fitting tightly and held by an elastic waistband; also called briefs. Originally a tradename, the term has become common for that type of underpants. [ PJC ]

n. [ OE. keye, key, kay, AS. cæg. ] 1. An instrument by means of which the bolt of a lock is shot or drawn; usually, a removable metal instrument fitted to the mechanism of a particular lock and operated by turning in its place. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A small device which is inserted into a mechanism and turned like a key to fasten, adjust, or wind it; as, a watch key; a bed key; the winding key for a clock, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. One of a set of small movable parts on an instrument or machine which, by being depressed, serves as the means of operating it; the complete set of keys is usually called the keyboard; as, the keys of a piano, an organ, an accordion, a computer keyboard, or of a typewriter. The keys may operate parts of the instrument by a mechanical action, as on a piano, or by closing an electrical circuit, as on a computer keyboard. See also senses 12 and 13. [ 1913 Webster +PJC ]

4. A position or condition which affords entrance, control, pr possession, etc.; as, the key of a line of defense; the key of a country; the key of a political situation. Hence, that which serves to unlock, open, discover, or solve something unknown or difficult; as, the key to a riddle; the key to a problem. Similarly, see also senses 14 and 15. [ 1913 Webster ]

Those who are accustomed to reason have got the true key of books. Locke. [ 1913 Webster ]

Who keeps the keys of all the creeds. Tennyson. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. That part of a mechanism which serves to lock up, make fast, or adjust to position. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. (Arch.) (a) A piece of wood used as a wedge. (b) The last board of a floor when laid down. [ 1913 Webster ]

7. (Masonry) (a) A keystone. (b) That part of the plastering which is forced through between the laths and holds the rest in place. [ 1913 Webster ]

8. (Mach.) (a) A wedge to unite two or more pieces, or adjust their relative position; a cotter; a forelock. See Illusts. of Cotter, and Gib. (b) A bar, pin or wedge, to secure a crank, pulley, coupling, etc., upon a shaft, and prevent relative turning; sometimes holding by friction alone, but more frequently by its resistance to shearing, being usually embedded partly in the shaft and partly in the crank, pulley, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

9. (Bot.) An indehiscent, one-seeded fruit furnished with a wing, as the fruit of the ash and maple; a samara; -- called also key fruit. [ 1913 Webster ]

10. (Mus.) (a) A family of tones whose regular members are called diatonic tones, and named key tone (or tonic) or one (or eight), mediant or three, dominant or five, subdominant or four, submediant or six, supertonic or two, and subtonic or seven. Chromatic tones are temporary members of a key, under such names as “ sharp four, ” “flat seven, ” etc. Scales and tunes of every variety are made from the tones of a key. (b) The fundamental tone of a movement to which its modulations are referred, and with which it generally begins and ends; keynote. [ 1913 Webster ]

Both warbling of one song, both in one key. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

11. Fig: The general pitch or tone of a sentence or utterance. [ 1913 Webster ]

You fall at once into a lower key. Cowper. [ 1913 Webster ]

12. (Teleg.) A metallic lever by which the circuit of the sending or transmitting part of a station equipment may be easily and rapidly opened and closed; as, a telegraph key. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

13. any device for closing or opening an electric circuit, especially as part of a keyboard, as that used at a computer terminal or teletype terminal. [ PJC ]

14. A simplified version or analysis which accompanies something as a clue to its explanation, a book or table containing the solutions to problems, ciphers, allegories, or the like; or (Biol.) a table or synopsis of conspicuous distinguishing characters of members of a taxonomic group. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

15. (Computers) A word or other combination of symbols which serves as an index identifying and pointing to a particular record, file, or location which can be retrieved and displayed by a computer program; as, a database using multi-word keys. When the key is a word, it is also called a keyword. [ PJC ]

Key bed. Same as Key seat. --
Key bolt, a bolt which has a mortise near the end, and is secured by a cotter or wedge instead of a nut.
Key bugle. See Kent bugle. --
Key of a position or
Key of a country. (Mil.) See Key, 4. --
Key seat (Mach.), a bed or groove to receive a key which prevents one part from turning on the other. --
Key way, a channel for a key, in the hole of a piece which is keyed to a shaft; an internal key seat; -- called also key seat. --
Key wrench (Mach.), an adjustable wrench in which the movable jaw is made fast by a key. --
Power of the keys (Eccl.), the authority claimed by the ministry in some Christian churches to administer the discipline of the church, and to grant or withhold its privileges; -- so called from the declaration of Christ, “I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven.” Matt. xvi. 19. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Keved p. pr. & vb. n. Keying. ] 1. To fasten or secure firmly; to fasten or tighten with keys or wedges. Francis. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Computers) To enter (text, data) using keys, especially those on a keyboard; to keyboard; as, to key the data in by hand. [ PJC ]

3. To adjust so as to be maximally effective in a particular situation; -- of actions, plans, or speech; as, to key one's campaign speech to each local audience. [ PJC ]

4. To furnish with a key or keys. [ PJC ]

To key up. (a) (Arch.) To raise (the whole ring of an arch) off its centering, by driving in the keystone forcibly. (b) (Mus.) To raise the pitch of. (c) Hence, (fig.), to produce nervous tension in; as, the whole team was keyed up for the championship game. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Essential; most important; as, the key fact in the inquiry; the president was the key player inthe negotiations. [ PJC ]

n. [ OF. caiage, F. guayage. See 1st Key, Quay. ] Wharfage; quayage. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The whole arrangement, or one range, of the keys{ 3 } of an organ, piano, typewriter, etc.; that part of a device containing the keys{ 3 } used to operate it. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Cold as a metallic key; lifeless. [ Formerly, a proverbial expression. ] Shak. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Furnished with keys; as, a keyed instrument; also, set to a key, as a tune. [ 1913 Webster ]

Keyed bugle. See Kent bugle. [ 1913 Webster ]

. (Bot.) A samara. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

n. 1. A hole or apertupe in a door or lock, for receiving a key. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (a) (Carp.) A hole or excavation in beams intended to be joined together, to receive the key which fastens them. (b) (Mach.) a mortise for a key or cotter. [ 1913 Webster ]

Keyhole limpet (Zool.), a marine gastropod of the genus Fissurella and allied genera. See Fissurella. --
Keyhole saw, a narrow, slender saw, used in cutting keyholes, etc., as in doors; a kind of compass saw or fret saw. --
Keyhole urchin (Zool.), any one of numerous clypeastroid sea urchins, of the genera Melitta, Rotula, and Encope; -- so called because they have one or more perforations resembling keyholes. [ 1913 Webster ]

adj. lacking or not requiring a key; as, a keyless lock operated by a series of pushbuttons. Opposite of keyed. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

prop. n. John Maynard Keynes, the british economist (1883-1946) whose book “The General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money” (Macmillan, 1936) had a strong influence on views of the government's role in the economy through the 1970's. See Keynesian.
Syn. -- John Maynard Keynes. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

adj. 1. Of or pertaining to John Maynard Keynes; conforming to the theories of Keynesianism; -- especially, the term is used to refer to the macroeconomic theories and politico-economic policies proposed by Keynes and his followers, especially in regards to their advocacy of governmental action to maintain low unemployment through government spending. Keynes's book “The General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money” (Macmillan, 1936) had a strong influence on views of the government's role in the economy through the 1970's. [ wns=1 ] [ WordNet 1.5 +PJC ]

2. A believer in the theories of Keynesianism. [ PJC ]